Lockyer Zaduk Zeeh

10/09/2026

Jeff Couse was successful on a sentence appeal at the Ontario Court of Appeal, with the Court finding that the sentencing judge erred and that the 10-year sentence imposed was demonstrably unfit. The sentence was reduced from 10 years to 4 years.

10/07/2026

After a two-day trial this week in the Ontario Court of Justice in Toronto, Victoria Strugurescu’s client was acquitted of one count of sexual assault.

10/02/2026

Another great result. On the day of Arooba Shakeel’s client’s preliminary hearing in the Toronto Ontario Court of Justice, the Crown entered a stay of proceedings on six counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking.

The case likely would have raised significant Charter issues, as well as issues concerning the client’s knowledge and control of the substances.

10/02/2026

Craig Zeeh and Nadeen Awad’s client, who was facing a charge of accessory after the fact to murder in the Kitchener Ontario Court of Justice, had the charge withdrawn after the Crown concluded there was no reasonable prospect of conviction.

It is a great result and the right outcome. Sadly, however, the client had previously been detained following a Superior Court bail hearing conducted by another office and ultimately spent approximately 15 months in custody awaiting his preliminary hearing before the charge was withdrawn.

10/02/2026

Today, on Wrongful Conviction Day, we recognize those who have lost years, and sometimes decades, of their lives to miscarriages of justice, along with the families who have carried that burden beside them.

For James Lockyer, the fight against wrongful convictions has been a defining part of his career. As a founding director of Innocence Canada, James has spent decades working on some of Canada’s most significant wrongful conviction cases, including those of Guy Paul Morin, David Milgaard, Steven Truscott and many others.

This year has provided powerful reminders of why that work matters. Just this week, the Ontario Court of Appeal acquitted Jennifer Gaskin more than two decades after her manslaughter conviction, following fresh medical evidence that fundamentally undermined the evidence relied upon at her original trial.

Days earlier, the Minister of Justice ordered a new appeal for Odelia and Neressa Quewezance after concluding there were reasonable grounds to believe a miscarriage of justice may have occurred in their 1994 murder convictions. James and Innocence Canada have been involved in their case for years.

Wrongful convictions are not simply historical mistakes. They destroy lives, separate families and undermine confidence in the justice system. Correcting them can take decades of persistence.

Today we recognize those who were wrongly convicted, those still fighting to clear their names, and everyone committed to ensuring that when the justice system gets it wrong, there remains a path to make it right.

09/29/2026

Today, the Ontario Court of Appeal acquitted Jennifer Gaskin of her 2002 conviction arising from the death of her two-and-a-half-month-old son, Joeseph.

Ms. Gaskin was assisted by James Lockyer and Jack Gemmell, and was joined at the Court of Appeal by our articling students, Stephanie Wilson and Zach Auger.

09/29/2026

In her affidavit on appeal, Jennifer Gaskin wrote:

“I never struck Joeseph and I never shook him. I did nothing to cause his death. I have never felt able to breathe freely because I feel everyone sees me as a monster.”

Today, with James Lockyer assisting her, the Court of Appeal for Ontario | Cour d'appel de l'Ontario entered an acquittal and exonerated her.

It is another tragic case in which years cannot be given back, but today the miscarriage of justice was finally corrected.

09/28/2026

Tomorrow, beginning at 9:00 a.m. at the Court of Appeal for Ontario, Ms. Gaskin and her counsel, James Lockyer, will argue her appeal as she seeks to clear her name.

Jennifer Gaskin’s appeal is the latest in an effort to undo the damage caused by the now widely contested SBS forensic theory

09/24/2026

Today, the Minister of Justice referred Odelia and Neressa Quewezance’s case to the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal for a new appeal.

That referral means the Minister must be satisfied that there is a reasonable basis to conclude that a miscarriage of justice likely occurred.

Another significant development in a long-running wrongful conviction case, and another major result for James Lockyer and Innocence Canada.

09/24/2026

Today, the Minister of Justice referred Odelia and Neressa Quewezance’s case to the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal for a new appeal.

That referral means the Minister must be satisfied that there is a reasonable basis to conclude that a miscarriage of justice likely occurred.

Another significant development in a long-running wrongful conviction case, and another major result for James Lockyer and Innocence Canada.

A pair of Saskatchewan sisters are receiving a new appeal more than three decades after their murder convictions.