One of Ontario's longest-serving and most respected judges, Mr. Justice Stephen Borins of the Ontario Court of Appeal, died Saturday after a battle with leukemia.
Appointed to Ontario's County Court bench in 1975, Judge Borins' legal acumen was so highly regarded that in 1997, he was elevated to the province's top court.

"He knew the law inside out and backwards," said Patrick LeSage, former chief judge of the Superior Court of Ontario.

"I saw him as a very bright, knowledgeable, careful, thorough, caring person. There is no one I know who has written more significant judgments in the full breadth of the law than Steve Borins."

Frank Addario, president of the Criminal Lawyers' Association, said Judge Borins "was principled and intellectually curious. He had an inspiring willingness to stand up for the underdog. I felt he was a courageous judge."

As an appellate judge, Judge Borins was not one to jump on board a majority decision if he harboured misgivings. Perhaps the best examples of this tendency were his dissenting reasons in a case that was destined to explode into one of the country's most notorious wrongful convictions - R. v. William Mullins-Johnson.
In late 1996, the Court of Appeal dismissed Mr. Mullins-Johnson's appeal of his first-degree murder conviction in the killing of his four-year-old niece. Judge Borins alone ruled that Mr. Mullins-Johnson ought to be granted a new trial.

Eleven years later, as doubts swirled around the quality of pathology evidence given by Dr. Charles Smith, Mr. Mullins-Johnson was granted bail. Mr. Mullins-Johnson was fully exonerated last year.

Born in Toronto, on Oct. 3, 1934, Judge Borins graduated from the University of Toronto law school.

A Note From AIDWYC

AIDWYC is saddened at the passing of Mr. Justice Stephen Borins of the Ontario Court of Appeal. Justice Borins attended the “Sounds Like Justice” Benefit Concert on May 8, 2008 whereat William Mullins-Johnson was able to express his gratitude to him for his dissenting vote when his case was heard in the Ontario Court of Appeal in 1996. We express our condolences to his family, friends, admirers and colleagues.