Mark Halfyard – Appeal Counsel hear my name
Mark Halfyard – Appeal Counsel
hear my name
Mark C. Halfyard is the senior appellate lawyer at Daniel Brown Law and bring over 20 years of appellate experience to the table.
He obtained his B.A. in legal studies and political science from Carleton University (2001), graduating top of his faculty. He graduated from law school with honours from the University of Ottawa (2004), where he completed a clerkship with the Regional Senior Judge of the Ontario Superior Court.
The Law Society of Ontario has certified Mark as a specialist in criminal law. With less than 100 certified criminal specialists in Ontario, this certification means that the recipient is: “recognized and experienced” and has “maintained exemplary standards of professional practice.” He has also been recognized by Best Lawyers in Canada in the categories of Appellate Litigation and Criminal Defence. In 2024 Mark was inducted as a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, a peer-selected, invitation-only, and aggressively diverse honorary society of 3,500 of North America’s best trial lawyers representing less than one-half of one percent of all lawyers, vigorously vetted for skills, expertise, and service.
Mark is one of Canada’s most prolific appellate lawyers, having argued over 300 appeals at the Court of Appeal for Ontario. He also appears regularly in the Superior Court of Justice and the Federal courts. Mark has also appeared 10 times before the Supreme Court of Canada, Canada’s highest appellate court.
He has successfully overturned convictions for all manner of offences including: murder, sexual assault, drug trafficking and importing, impaired driving, robbery, fraud, firearms, kidnapping, and child abduction.
Mark has a particular interest in cases that involve racial bias and Charter violations and prides himself on being a strong advocate for procedural fairness in the criminal justice system. Mark has argued seminal cases at the Supreme Court of Canada on the expertise of drug recognition experts (DREs), sexual assault, the right to trial within a reasonable time, mandatory minimum sentences, the unconstitutionality of the sexual offender registry system (SOIRA), improper Crown practices in jury selection, and to strengthen the presumption of innocence. Mark has advocated for in-custody clients’ right to adequate food, the right to full and fair Crown disclosure, and against false confessions.
Mark is the co-author of Criminal Appeals (Emond Publishing). He has also published various articles on criminal law and appellate issues and is regularly consulted by media outlets for his expertise as a criminal appeal lawyer.
Mark is a Toronto Director of the Criminal Lawyers’ Association (CLA). He co-Chairs the Litigation Committee, which oversees interventions to the Supreme Court of Canada. Mark also Chairs—and is a member—of the Pro bono Inmate Appeal Program (PIAP), which assists unrepresented appellants before the Court of Appeal for Ontario. He has also volunteered as a criminal review counsel for Innocence Canada.
Mark is an adjunct professor at Osgoode Hall Law School (Criminal Law LL.M. Program) and the University of Toronto School of Law (Appellate Externship Program). He has previously taught criminal law at various other institutions, including the Ontario Tech University, where his focus was on organized crime. He also taught courses on constitutional law, evidence, and oral advocacy. Mark regularly appears as a guest lecturer at legal conferences for defence lawyers, Crown counsel, and even judicial continued education.
Mark will be dauntless and diligent in bringing any appeal before the Superior Court, the Court of Appeal for Ontario, or the Supreme Court of Canada.
A criminal conviction does not have to be the end of the road.
Mark can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at (416) 297-7200 x102.