Our Staff
Cheryl Milne, LL.B., M.S.W., Executive Director
Cheryl Milne is the inaugural executive director of the Centre. Prior to this position she had extensive experience as a legal advocate for children with the legal clinic Justice for Children and Youth. There she led the clinic’s Charter litigation at the Supreme Court of Canada including the challenge to the corporal punishment defence in the Criminal Code [ Canadian Foundation for Children, Youth and the Law v. Canada (2004)], the striking down of the reverse onus sections of the Youth Criminal Justice Act for adult sentencing [ R. v. D.B. (2008)], and most recently an intervention involving the right of a capable adolescent to consent to her own medical treatment ( A.C. v. Manitoba Child and Family Services (on reserve)]. She is currently the Chair of the Ontario Bar Association’s Constitutional, Civil Liberties and Human Rights section. She teaches a clinical course in constitutional advocacy at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law, and Social Work & the Law at Ryerson University.
Our Students
Renatta Austin, Work-Study Student is a first year law student, who recently completed her BA (Hon) in Political Science and Criminology at the University of Toronto. She is interested in a range of constitutional rights issues, including women's rights, comparative constitutional rights and criminal justice. Since joining the Asper Centre in October of 2009, Renatta has been responsible for summarizing recent appellate court judgments, obtaining facta for our data bank and updating the centre's website. Renatta is also a member of the Emerging Constitutional Issues working group and is looking forward to participating in the Asper Centre clinic in the future.
Esther Roche, Social Work and Law, Practicum Student is in her third year of a four year combined Juris Doctor/Masters of Social Work (JD/MSW) program offered by the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto. Esther is a senior editor with the Faculty of Law’s Journal of Law and Equality and has experience preparing reports for the International Human Rights Program. Her placement focuses on gaining experience in indirect social work practice on behalf of client populations. The practicum has a social justice and advocacy focus that will draw upon her academic and volunteer experience as a law student. Past JD/MSW practicum students have conducted research on the issue of corporal punishment of children, organized multidisciplinary conferences, and conducted research on a broad range of topics relevant to the Centre’s mandate.