New Judges Appointed to the Ontario Court of Justice

The Honourable Doug Downey, Attorney General of Ontario, is pleased to announce the appointment of six new judges to the Ontario Court of Justice, effective March 26, 2026.

Justice Serge Hamel was called to the Ontario bar in 1993. He began his legal career with the law firm Kemp, Maille & Hamel, practicing family, real estate and administrative law. In 2005, Justice Hamel joined the Ministry of the Attorney General as an assistant Crown attorney in Haileybury, where he prosecuted a wide range of criminal matters. He has appeared before the Superior Court of Justice and the Ontario Court of Justice.

Justice Hamel was a board member and president of Centre de santé communautaire du Témiskaming, a non-profit organization focused on family and community health for the Francophone population in the Temiskaming Shores region. He was also a board member of his local Canadian Mental Health Association and the Classic Theatre Cobalt, a local independent theatre.

Justice Hamel graduated from the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law.

Chief Justice Sharon Nicklas has assigned Justice Hamel to Kirkland Lake/Haileybury.

Justice S. Rochelle Liberman was called to the Ontario bar in 2003. She began her legal career as an assistant Crown attorney in Durham Region and then joined the North York Crown Attorney’s Office in 2009. During her time in these offices, Justice Liberman prosecuted complex cases in both the Superior Court of Justice and the Ontario Court of Justice. Justice Liberman was a member of the Best Practices Child Abuse Working Group, a team of prosecutors in Toronto who specialize in child abuse cases. In 2022, Justice Liberman acted in a role as a domestic violence team lead.

Justice Liberman has been a committed volunteer for over 20 years. Her community involvement included being a crisis responder with the Crisis Text Line, assisting victims of crime and individuals in crisis. She was a mock trial coach with the Ontario Justice Education Network, guiding a high school mock trial team and was on the Joint Health and Safety Committee at the Ontario Court of Justice - Toronto. Most recently, Justice Liberman was a co-lead of the Student Education Committee. She was also an instructor of the trial advocacy course at Osgoode Hall Law School and appeared on panels at The Advocates’ Society.

Justice Liberman graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School at York University and completed her Master of Laws degree in 2021, specializing in Criminal Law and Procedure.

Chief Justice Sharon Nicklas has assigned Justice Liberman to Toronto.

Justice Kathleen Stevenson MacDonald was called to the Ontario bar in 2003. She began her legal career as a civil litigation associate at Reisler Franklin LLP. In 2004, Justice MacDonald joined the Ministry of the Attorney General as an assistant Crown attorney in Toronto, where she prosecuted criminal matters in the Superior Court of Justice and the Ontario Court of Justice. After ten years as an assistant Crown attorney, Justice MacDonald became senior counsel with the York Regional Police, where she provided legal advice, research and advocacy on criminal, civil, administrative and family matters. In 2023, she was promoted to executive director of the Professionalism, Leadership and Inclusion Office, providing strategic and ethical advice to the chief of police.

Justice MacDonald has an extensive history of community volunteering. Most recently, she has volunteered for Inn from the Cold, an organization dedicated to providing accommodation and training opportunities for homeless and at-risk individuals. She has also volunteered with Big Brothers and Big Sisters of York Region, a mentorship program for youth facing adversity.

Justice MacDonald graduated from the Western University Faculty of Law.

Chief Justice Sharon Nicklas has assigned Justice MacDonald to Barrie.

Justice Kevin Howard Matthews was called to the Ontario bar in 2006. He began his legal career with Foord Davies Murray as a criminal defence lawyer. In 2010, Justice Matthews established his own criminal law practice, Matthews Law, regularly appearing before the Superior Court of Justice and the Ontario Court of Justice. He was also a regional prosecutor in Niagara Region. In Thunder Bay, Justice Matthews acted as an agent for the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, where he prosecuted federal offences and provided advice and assistance to law enforcement.

Justice Matthews has been a sessional instructor in criminal law at Lakehead University’s Bora Laskin Faculty of Law and a director of the Thunder Bay Law Association. Since 2017, he has been a hockey coach with various Thunder Bay minor hockey associations. In addition, Justice Matthews has served as a director on the board of the George Jeffrey Children’s Foundation, an organization that raises funds to support children and youth living with physical and developmental disabilities.

Justice Matthews graduated from the University of Manitoba Faculty of Law.

Chief Justice Sharon Nicklas has assigned Justice Matthews to Thunder Bay.

Justice Jennifer Diane Quinn was called to the Ontario bar in 2000. She began her 26-year career at the Ministry of the Attorney General as an assistant Crown attorney in the downtown Toronto Crown Attorney’s Office, where she prosecuted a wide range of cases in the Superior Court of Justice and the Ontario Court of Justice. Justice Quinn spent four years with the Halton Region Crown Attorney’s Office before becoming Crown counsel in the ministry’s Criminal Law Division. In 2007, she joined the Court Services Division, where she acted as counsel and then deputy director of the Operational Support Branch, leading a team of lawyers and chairing multiple working groups and committees. Justice Quinn returned to the Criminal Law Division as Crown counsel in 2025, working with federal, provincial and territorial counterparts on criminal law reform issues.

Justice Quinn established a food pantry in Brampton with the Regeneration Outreach Community organization, providing food and other essentials to almost 70 families every week, including newcomers to Canada. For many years, she taught elementary school children at a local church and volunteered at retirement and long-term care homes, as well as with the Salvation Army. Justice Quinn has recently served on the board of a not-for-profit organization and volunteered with youth hockey through the Ontario Women's Hockey Association.

Justice Quinn graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School at York University.

Chief Justice Sharon Nicklas has assigned Justice Quinn to Halton.

Justice Neil Walter Riley was called to the Ontario bar in 2011. He began his legal career with a criminal defence firm in Barrie, as an associate lawyer before establishing his own criminal law practice, Neil Riley Law. Justice Riley joined Legal Aid Ontario’s Simcoe County Criminal Duty Counsel Office in 2014 as a staff lawyer. Since 2018, he has been an assistant Crown attorney with the Simcoe County Crown Attorney’s Office, where his work included engaging with the Ontario Provincial Police and other local police services, as well as community organizations like the Elizabeth Fry Society and the Canadian Mental Health Association.

Justice Riley has volunteered with The Lighthouse, an organization that provides shelter, medical care and mental health support to people experiencing homelessness in Orillia. He has also worked with local youth volunteering for many years as a lawyer-coach, helping prepare students for the Simcoe-Muskoka High School Mock Trial Program.

Justice Riley graduated from the Queen’s University Faculty of Law.

Chief Justice Sharon Nicklas has assigned Justice Riley to Barrie.