Janani
Shanmuganathan
Janani is a passionate and dedicated advocate. Her track record speaks for itself.
She has been counsel on almost 40 appeals at the Ontario Court of Appeal. She has argued at the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada. She was also co-counsel in R. v. Nur, the first case in over 30 years where the Supreme Court found a mandatory minimum sentence unconstitutional and struck it from the Criminal Code. Janani is now one of Canada’s leading experts on challenging mandatory minimum sentences, having been part of four other successful challenges.
Janani is also a skilled trial lawyer. She was co-counsel on two successful homicide trials, including a first-degree murder trial that involved her client ‘confessing’ to the police at the end of a Mr. Big operation. She has represented clients charged with all kinds of offences and has won acquittals in complex cases involving drugs, sexual assaults and bodily harm.
In addition to criminal law, Janani also does regulatory work, defending professionals subject to investigations and disciplinary proceedings. She has defended lawyers before the Law Society of Ontario on interlocutory suspensions, good character hearings, and discipline proceedings. Janani also acts for health professionals.
Outside of the courtroom, Janani teaches other lawyers, law students, and undergraduates. She lectures at legal education programs on trial and appellate advocacy. She is an adjunct professor at Osgoode Hall Law School and has taught in the undergraduate Criminology program at the University of Toronto. She is published in the Supreme Court Law Review and wrote a chapter in a recent textbook on prosecuting and defending drug charges (Prosecuting and Defending Drug Cases: A Practitioner’s Handbook (2019), Emond Publishing: Toronto). She is also on the board of the South Asian Bar Association and is volunteer duty counsel with the Law Society of Ontario and with the Probono Inmate Appeal Program at the Ontario Court of Appeal.
Janani started her legal career as an articling student at Greenspan Humphrey Weinstein, one of the country’s leading criminal law firms, and was a lawyer at Derstine Penman Criminal Lawyers and Erin Dann Barrister before joining Goddard & Shanmuganathan LLP as a partner. She received her undergraduate and Masters degrees in Criminology and her law degree from the University of Toronto.
Cases
Trials
R. v. R.P. (2019) – Defending a teacher against allegations of sexual offences made by three complainants. The client was acquitted on all counts after a trial in the Ontario Court of Justice
R. v. L.E. (2019) – Defending a retired principal against allegations of sexual offences made by three complainants. The client was acquitted on all counts after a trial in the Superior Court of Justice
R. v. M.G. (2019) – Defending a teacher charged with historical sexual assault against a former student
R. v. S.S. (2019) – Successfully resisting a dangerous offender application in the Superior Court of Justice
R. v. F.D. (2019) – Defending a teacher charged with sexually assaulting a student. Client acquitted on all counts after a trial in the Ontario Court of Justice
R. v. R.G. (2018) – Defending a teacher charged with assaulting a student. Client acquitted on all counts after a trial in the Ontario Court of Justice
R. v. B.T. (2018) – Defending a client charged with trafficking fentanyl and other drug offences. Following cross-examinations of the police officers at the preliminary hearing, the Crown withdrew the fentanyl charges
R. v. S.B. (2018) – Defending a teacher charged with assault causing bodily harm. Client acquitted after a trial in the Ontario Court of Justice
R. v. N .O. (2018) – Defending a client charged with impaired driving offences. Following cross-examinations of the police officers at trial, the Crown withdrew the charges
R. v. J.D. (2018) – Defending a client charged with sexual assault. Client acquitted on all counts after a trial in the Ontario Court of Justice
R. v. G.C. (2017) – Defending a client charged with numerous drug trafficking offences. Client acquitted on all counts after a trial in the Superior Court of Justice
R. v. M.A. (2017) – Defending a client charged with assault causing bodily harm against a 6-month old infant. Client acquitted after a trial in the Superior Court of Justice
R. v. L.O. (2016) – Defending a client charged with first-degree murder. Client found not guilty by a jury
R. v. S.H. (2015) – Successfully striking down the one-year mandatory minimum sentence for trafficking a firearm in the Superior Court of Justice
Law Society Proceedings
R.G. v. L.S.O. (2019) – Successful good character hearing for a client with a prior conviction for manslaughter. The hearing panel found that the client was presently of good character and permitted to become a lawyer
L.S.O. v. B.R. (2019) – Successfully resisted an interlocutory suspension motion by the Law Society against a lawyer facing child pornography offences
F.P. v. L.S.U.C. (2018) – Successful good character hearing at the Law Society of Ontario for a lawyer who was previously disbarred. The panel found that the client was presently of good character and permitted to practice law again
Appeals
R. v. A.D. (2021) – Successful sentence appeal at the Ontario Court of Appeal resulting in a reduction of the client’s sentence
R. v. T.P. (2021) – Successfully resisted a Crown appeal at the Ontario Court of Appeal for firearms related offences
R. v. P.C. (2020) – Represented the South Asian Bar Association on an intervention to the Supreme Court of Canada
R. v. S.W. (2020) – Successful conviction appeal at the Ontario Court of Appeal resulting in acquittals for child pornography related offences
R. v. L.W. (2020) – Successful appeal at the Supreme Court of Canada resulting in a stay of proceedings for drug trafficking offences
R. v. B.F. (2020) – Wrote the factum for a successful conviction appeal at the Ontario Court of Appeal resulting in a new trial for a manslaughter conviction
R. v. C.W. (2020) – Successfully resisted a Crown appeal at the Superior Court of Justice for impaired driving offences
C. v. OCPC (2020) – Successfully resisted an application for judicial review
R. v. C.E. (2019) – Successful appeal resulting in a new trial for a client who was convicted as part of the 2013 Via Rail Terrorism plot
R. v. B.J.T. (2019) – Successfully striking down the one-year mandatory minimum sentence for sexual interference at the Ontario Court of Appeal
R. v. C.W. (2019) – Successful conviction appeal at the Ontario Court of Appeal for a client convicted of accessory after the fact to attempted murder. The Ontario Court of Appeal acquitted the client
R. v. N.J. (2018) – Successfully striking down the one-year mandatory minimum sentence for possession of child pornography at the Ontario Court of Appeal
R. v. S.B. (2017) – Successful sentence appeal at the Ontario Court of Appeal resulting in a reduction of the client’s sentence
R. v. J.N. (2017) – Successful conviction appeal at the Ontario Court of Appeal resulting in a substitution for second degree murder
R. v. J.L. (2016) – Represented the Criminal Lawyers’ Association at the Supreme Court of Canada in an appeal resulting in the striking down of the one-year mandatory minimum sentence for possession for the purpose of drug trafficking
R. v. M.O. (2015) – Successfully resisted a Crown appeal at the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal
R. v. H.N. (2015) – Successfully striking down the one-year mandatory minimum sentence for possession of a firearm at the Supreme Court of Canada
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Telephone: 647-525-1399
Email: info@gsllp.ca
Address:
116 Simcoe Street, Suite 100
Toronto, ON
M5H 4E2