The courts at Osgoode Hall don’t conduct trials. This courtroom is part of the Division Court, a special section of the Superior Court of Justice.

Most of the time, when a court or tribunal makes a decision, it takes effect immediately. But sometimes, even the best adjudicators can disagree or make mistakes. When that happens, you can appeal your case to a higher court. In this room, the Divisional Court hears appeals from Small Claims Court, some family law trials, and many tribunals (like the Landlord and Tenant Board). In most cases, a group of 3 Divisional Court judges will decide together if a mistake has been made.

Normally there is no new evidence presented in an appeal, meaning that there are no witnesses or new testimony. The Divisional Court usually only looks at transcripts of the previous trial and the evidence that the original judge saw. However, lawyers will make new arguments about the alleged errors that they think the trial judge made. Based on the legal arguments, the Divisional Court can order a new trial or make other changes to the decision.

During the appeal, anyone involved in the original trial can present legal arguments to support their positions. The person who asks for the appeal is called the Appellant, and the other “side” is called the Respondent. The respondent gets to present arguments as well.  It’s up to the Appellant and their lawyer to explain what was wrong with the original judgment, using earlier cases and written laws as proof. Decisions from earlier cases matter because consistency is one of the most important values of the justice system: cases with similar facts should have similar outcomes so that people can be sure of what the law says and know how to act within it. When judges consider new areas of law, they look at similar cases for guidance.