Cudjoe was Legal Aid Ontario's lawyer manager in Toronto
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has welcomed new judge Gordon J. Cudjoe.
Cudjoe will sit in Brampton. He takes the place of Justice L. Ricchetti, who became a supernumerary judge as of July 30, 2023. Previously, Cudjoe was Legal Aid Ontario’s lawyer manager in Toronto.
While he was born in Ottawa, he grew up in Ghana and received his Bachelor of Arts degree (Honours) from the University of Ghana before returning to Canada in 1993. He obtained his Bachelor of Laws and a Master of Arts degree in criminology from the University of Toronto.
Cudjoe was admitted to the Ontario bar in 2001; that same year, he commenced with Toronto’s duty counsel (criminal) office (Old City Hall). He transitioned to a role with Michael Tulloch & Associates in March 2002.
He went on to establish criminal defence firm Cudjoe Bremner Law in 2003, acting for clients on homicide cases and appearing in several jury trials. He has also tackled cases involving minor thefts and has appeared at all levels of Ontario court, including the Court of Appeal.
Cudjoe had a particular interest in working with the homeless and mentally ill in the court system, including those with schizophrenia, alcoholism, and drug addictions. He argued Charter cases with a focus on racial profiling in such matters, according to Osgoode Hall Law School. His practice concentrated on criminal law.
After joining Legal Aid Ontario in 2015, he went on to manage the Provincial Case Management Office. He started with Osgoode Hall Law School as a co-adjunct professor in 2020, teaching a seminar course on anti-Black racism and how it has percolated into the criminal justice system.
Moreover, he has been a Second Chance Scholarship Foundation director since 2006; the foundation provides education and mentoring to at-risk youth.
Justice minister and attorney-general Arif Virani announced Cudjoe’s appointment last Friday.
