Addario Law Group is a team of lawyers who are experts in criminal, regulatory and constitutional law. We represent clients during investigations, at trial and on appeal. We excel at finding innovative ways to defend our client’s interests. That means we don’t stop when we come across an obstacle. We push through. And we keep pushing for the best possible result.
Ask Frank what it takes to be a good criminal lawyer and he’ll say: start with a healthy dose of skepticism and a willingness to challenge authority. Combine that with a genuine passion for helping people solve problems they can’t fix on their own and you have a good criminal lawyer. You also have a pretty good description of Frank himself.
It’s these qualities that drive his interest in criminal law and that have placed him at the top of his profession. Named one of the 25 Most Influential Lawyers in Canada in 2010 and past President of the Criminal Lawyers’ Association (CLA), he has frequently appeared as counsel before the Supreme Court of Canada. He regularly represents individuals and corporations under investigation or who are the target of enforcement proceedings by police and regulatory agencies.
In 2011 he was given the Lexpert Zenith Award for contributing to Access to Justice for his work in leading the CLA in a boycott of Legal Aid in order to bring attention to the chronic underfunding of the program and force the government to provide better access to justice for its poorest citizens. In 2012 he received the Dianne Martin Medal for Social Justice Through Law. Osgoode Hall Law School awards this medal to a member of the Canadian legal community who has demonstrated a commitment to using the law as a means for achieving social justice.
Frank is frequently asked to explain criminal law issues by the media. He writes and speaks about criminal law and civil liberties to lawyers and to the wider public on a regular basis. His interest in advocating for those whose rights need defending has led him to become a director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.
After practicing at the respected firm of Ruby & Edwardh and leading the criminal law litigation group at Sack Goldblatt Mitchell LLP, he founded the Addario Law Group in 2012.
Show Notable Cases
AS COUNSEL
- R. v. Huang, 2013 ONCA 240
- R. v. Cole, SCC File No. 24268
- R. v. Cole (2011), 269 C.C.C. (3d) 402 (Ont. C.A.)
- R. v. Yadegari (2011), 276 O.A.C. 322 (Ont. C.A.)
- R. v. Turpin (2011), 272 C.C.C. (3d) 340 (Ont. C.A.)
- R. v. Badgerow (2010), 260 O.A.C. 273 (Ont. C.A.)
- R. v. Grant, [2009] 2 S.C.R. 353
- R. v. Batisse (2009), 241 C.C.C. (3d) 491 (Ont. C.A.)
- Branch v. Ontario (Ministry of the Environment) (2009), 93 O.R. (3d) 665 (Ont. Sup. Ct.)
- Tele-Mobile Co. v. Ontario, [2008] 1 S.C.R. 305
- R. v. Luedecke (2008), 236 C.C.C. (3d) 317 (Ont. C.A.)
- R. v. Sauvé (2004), 182 C.C.C. (3d) 321 (Ont. C.A.)
- R. v. Glad Day Bookshop (2004), 183 C.C.C. (3d) 449 (Ont. Sup. Ct.)
- R. v. Dimitrov (2003), 181 CCC (3d) 554 (Ont. C.A.)
- R. v. Williams (2003), 181 C.C.C. (3d) 414 (Ont. C.A.)
- R. v. O’Connor (2002), 170 C.C.C. (3d) 365 (Ont. C.A.)
- R. v. Ruzic, [2001] 1 S.C.R. 687
- R. v. Barrow (2001), 155 C.C.C. (3d) 362 (Ont. C.A.)
- R. v. Biniaris, [2000] 1 S.C.R. 381
- R. v. Suzack (2000), 141 C.C.C. (3d) 449 (Ont. C.A.)
- R. v. Babinski (1999), 135 C.C.C. (3d) 1 (Ont. C.A.)
- R. v. Laws (1998), 128 C.C.C. (3d) 516 (Ont. C.A.)
- United States of America v. Dynar, [1997] 2 S.C.R. 462
- R. v. Caputo (1997), 114 C.C.C. (3d) 1 (Ont. C.A.)
- R. v. Paintings, Drawings, and Photographic Slides of Paintings (1995), 97 C.C.C. (3d) 290 (Ont. Ct. Gen. Div.)
- R. v. Durette, [1994] 1 S.C.R. 469
- R. v. Greenbaum, [1993] 1 S.C.R. 674
- R. v. DeSousa, [1992] 2 S.C.R. 944
- R. v. Lachance, [1990] 2 S.C.R. 1490
AS INTERVENER for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association
- R. v. Yumnu et. al.; R. v. Davey; R. v. Emms, SCC File Nos. 34090, 34091, 34340, 34179, 34087
- R. v. Prokofiew, SCC File No. 33754
- R. v. Banks (2007), 216 C.C.C. (3d) 19 (Ont. C.A.)
- R. v. Golden, [2001] 3 S.C.R. 679
AS INTERVENER for the Criminal Lawyers’ Association
- R. v. N.S. (2010), 262 C.C.C. (3d) 4 (Ont. C.A.); SCC File No. 33989
- R. v. Côté, 2011 SCC 46
- R. v. Suberu, [2009] 2 S.C.R. 460
- Canada (Attorney General) v. Horvath (2009), 248 C.C.C. (3d) 1 (Ont. C.A.)
- R. v. A.M., [2008] 1 S.C.R. 569
- R. v. Kang-Brown, [2008] 1 S.C.R. 456
- R. v. Clayton, [2007] 2 S.C.R. 725
- R. v. Shearing, [2002] 3 S.C.R. 33
- R. v. Sharpe, [2001] 1 S.C.R. 45
- R. v. McCallen (1999), 131 C.C.C. (3d) 518 (Ont. C.A.)
AS INTERVENER for the Canadian Conference for the Arts
AS INTERVENER for The Advocates’ Society
Show Notable Publications
- Addario, Frank, “Demeanour Faces Up to Its Fair Trial Value”, For the Defence, April 2012
- Addario, Frank, “An Absence of Truth in Sentencing”, The Mark Online, February 24, 2010
- Addario, Frank, “Penny-Ante Legal Aid System Creates Two Tiers Of Justice”, The Toronto Star, September 28, 2009
- Addario, Frank, “Tough-on-Crime Politicians Should Focus on Prevention”, The Globe and Mail, May 25, 2009
- Addario, Frank, “Underfunding The Real Crisis”, The Law Times, April 14, 2008
- Addario, Frank, “Judges are Constitutional Guardians, Not Cheerleaders for the Police”, The Globe and Mail, September 17, 2007
- Addario, Frank and Alan Gold, “The Defence Versus Justice Moldaver”, The Toronto Star, December 2006
- Addario, Frank and Marcus Pratt, “R. v. Ghorvei: The Ontario Court of Appeal Polishes Up Some Bad Apples” (2000), 29 C.R. (5th) 111