The Toronto Courthouse is a major courthouse in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located behind Osgoode Hall at 361 University Avenue, north of Queen Street West. It is a branch of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and is mostly used for criminal trials, but also family law matters. Courtrooms on the main floor are used primarily for family law matters, while courtrooms located above the ground floor are primarily used for criminal matters, but, in rare cases, may be used for civil proceedings, especially where a litigant is in custody and must attend in person, or where someone may be subject to imprisonment in light of a finding of contempt, due to the civil court facilities located in other nearby buildings, such as the Canada Life Building, not having facilities to house inmates. [1]
The site of the Toronto Courthouse was previously occupied by Thomas Fuller's Romanesque Revival style Toronto Armories, demolished in 1963. The new courthouse was built in 1967 as the Metropolitan Toronto Courthouse. [2] It also served as a courthouse for York County and later York Region, the former which included the upper-tier Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto until it's creation in 1953. After 1980, it served solely as a courthouse for Metro Toronto, and since 1998 the amalgamated City of Toronto.
The building was designed by architect Ronald A. Dick, who described its form as one of "dignity and convenience." [3] The imposing structure features fin walls (walls strengthened by equally-spaced piers), a 12-sided form and an open passageway of the adjoining South Wing (completed in 1985).
There is a tunnel connecting the building to nearby Osgoode Hall, although its use is restricted to staff. Two additional stories were added in 1987. [3] It was one of the last large complexes in Ontario created with local Queenston limestone. [3]
A courthouse or court house is a structure which houses judicial functions for a governmental entity such as a state, region, province, county, prefecture, regency, or similar governmental unit. A courthouse is home to one or more courtrooms, the enclosed space in which a judge presides over a court, and one or more chambers, the private offices of judges. Larger courthouses often also have space for offices of judicial support staff such as court clerks and deputy clerks.
The University of Toronto Faculty of Law is the law school of the University of Toronto. Maclean's has consistently assessed the Faculty as the highest ranked common law school in Canada and the highest ranked in terms of faculty journal citations. The Faculty offers the JD, LLM, SJD, MSL, and GPLLM degrees in law.
Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the Journal of Law and Social Policy, and the Osgoode Hall Law Journal. A variety of LL.M. and Ph.D. degrees in law are available.
The Court of Appeal for Ontario is the appellate court for the province of Ontario, Canada. The seat of the court is Osgoode Hall in downtown Toronto.
Osgoode Hall is a landmark building in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The original 2+1⁄2-storey building was started in 1829 and finished in 1832 from a design by John Ewart and William Warren Baldwin. The structure is named for William Osgoode, the first Chief Justice of Upper Canada.
The court system of Canada is made up of many courts differing in levels of legal superiority and separated by jurisdiction. In the courts, the judiciary interpret and apply the law of Canada. Some of the courts are federal in nature, while others are provincial or territorial.
Osgoode is a subway station on Line 1 Yonge–University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The station, which opened in 1963, is located under University Avenue where it is crossed by Queen Street West and is named for the nearby Osgoode Hall, which honours William Osgoode, the first chief justice of Upper Canada. Wi-Fi service is available at this station.
John Sopinka was a Canadian lawyer and puisne justice on the Supreme Court of Canada, the first Ukrainian-Canadian appointed to the high court.
The British Columbia Court of Appeal (BCCA) is the highest appellate court in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It was established in 1910 following the 1907 Court of Appeal Act.
The Halifax Court House is a historic building in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia. Its main section was completed in 1863, with the east wing, built in 1930, being the newest portion. The Italian Renaissance style building was designed by William Thomas, a Toronto architect who created prominent structures across Canada, and built by George Lang.
Francis Riley Heakes was a Canadian architect. He studied under Kivas Tully in the mid-1880s.
The Discovery District is one of the commercial districts in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It has a high concentration of hospitals and research institutions, particularly those related to biotechnology. The district is roughly bounded by Bloor Street on the north, Bay Street on the east, Dundas Street on the south, and Spadina Avenue on the west.
The Baltimore City District Courthouses of the District Court of Maryland are located at North Avenue, Wabash Avenue, Patapsco Avenue and E. Fayette Street in Baltimore, Maryland, and serve as the courts of first impression for the majority of residents in Baltimore City.
The A. Grenville and William Davis Courthouse opened in 2000, and is located at 7755 Hurontario Street in Brampton, Ontario, Canada.
Pima County Courthouse is the former main county courthouse building in downtown Tucson, Arizona It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was designed by Roy Place in 1928 in Mission Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival style architecture.
The Superior Court of Los Angeles County is the California Superior Court located in Los Angeles County. It is the largest single unified trial court in the United States.
The Howard M. Metzenbaum U.S. Courthouse is a historic courthouse and post office building located on Superior Avenue in downtown Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Its west side faces Public Square and its north side faces The Mall. It was formerly the Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse and also known as Old Federal Building and Post Office.
The Alameda County Superior Court, officially the Superior Court of California, County of Alameda, is the California superior court with jurisdiction over Alameda County as established by Article VI of the Constitution of California. It functions as the trial court for both criminal and civil cases filed in Alameda County.
The E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse is a federal courthouse in Washington, D.C. that is home to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Since 2009, it has also been the meeting location for the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
10 Armoury Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is the site of a new courthouse that opened in 2023, consolidating six Ontario Court of Justice criminal courts, 73 judicial hearing rooms, and other court services in one location. The 17-story, 775,000-square-foot tower is the largest courthouse in Ontario. The courthouse replaces previous court facilities in Toronto, including those formerly at Old City Hall, College Park, 2201 Finch Avenue West, 1000 Finch Avenue West, 1911 Eglinton Avenue East, and 311 Jarvis Street.