New Judge Appointed to the Ontario Court of Justice

October 07, 2022

Attorney General Doug Downey announced the appointment of a new judge to the Ontario Court of Justice, effective October 20, 2022.

Justice Richard Nathanson was called to the Ontario bar in 1995. He began his career as a defence lawyer and then duty counsel before joining the North York Crown Attorney’s office in 2000. As an assistant Crown attorney, he prosecuted various criminal offenses in the Ontario and Superior Courts of Justice for over 20 years. His cases ranged from property offences and impaired driving to sexual assault and murder. Justice Nathanson served as the head of the domestic violence team at the North York Crown Attorney’s office from 2009 to 2011 and again from 2014 to 2015. He was selected as one of the first six regional sexual violence Crowns in Ontario and joined the Sexual Violence Advisory Group. As part of this team, he spent four years providing advice and guidance to prosecutors and police across Ontario, as well as developing a mentorship program and a best practices manual covering all aspects of sexual violence prosecutions. Since April 2021, he has been a Deputy Crown Attorney at the North York Crown Attorney’s office.

Justice Nathanson has volunteered with Level Justice Indigenous Youth Outreach Program for the past eight years, supporting mentorship and learning opportunities in the justice sector for First Nations, Métis and Inuit youth. In 1998, he spent a year volunteering for Habitat for Humanity in Ecuador and Bolivia. He has participated in the Ride to Conquer Cancer each year since 2010 and has played in the Ontario Hydro Hockey League since 2004 and coached youth baseball in Toronto.

Chief Justice Maisonneuve has assigned Justice Nathanson to Toronto.