Samantha’s research is inspired by the paper that she wrote in Professor Adam Dodek’s Professional Responsibility course during the January term in 2016, which later won the Canadian Bar Association's inaugural "Writing Her In" Student Essay Contest (now referred to as “Writing Them In”). Samantha then built on that research for her LLM graduate paper.
In 2020, Samantha returned to the Faculty of Law to hold the inaugural position of Black Legal Mentor in Residence. Moreover, when she created and taught "Law and Society: Intersectional Theory and Practice in the Law" in 2021, professional responsibility and legal ethics (including as it extends to the judiciary) was also the theme of one of her lectures.
“After taking Public Law with Professor Dodek in my first year of law school, I developed a keen interest in Canadian public law. In my final year of law school, I took Professional Responsibility with Professor Dodek where I also wrote my major research paper for the public law specialization,” said Peters.
Samantha’s Fellowship Research will be centered on judicial education as it relates to Bill C-3. In 2021, Parliament amended the Criminal Code and Judges Act with Bill C-3 to promote continued judicial education on sexual assault law and social context evidence. Through a critical rewriting of the 2013 trial decision in R. v. Desjourdy,in which an Ottawa police officer was acquitted of sexual assault charges against a Black woman complainant, her research will offer an example of how rewritten judgments could be used to advance judicial education with feminist and critical race perspectives. The other co-recipient of this research fellowship is Archana Medhekar.
Peters is a workplace investigator and a human rights advisor. She is also the Director of Legal Initiatives and Public Interest at Black Femme Legal, a project funded by the Law Foundation of Ontario, which provides legal and non-legal resources and support to Black 2SLGBTQI+ workers across Ontario through a Black femme-centered approach, lens and praxis.
In 2023, Black Femme Legal launched Ontario’s first ever Pro Bono Employment Law Advice Clinic for Black 2SLGBTQI+ communities. This year, Black Femme Legal is offering trans-misogynoir in the workplace training to legal clinics and law firms, which is now accredited by the Law Society of Ontario for two (2) EDI Professional hours.
Samantha is a Human Rights Expert Panel Member of the Court Challenges Program of Canada, a member of the Gender Diversity Advisory Group at the Canadian Bar Association and an active member of the Ontario Bar Association. She engages in work at the intersection of law, education and policy, ranging from law reform initiatives to legal education to legislative research.
“I’m really honoured to receive this award especially because it has provided me with a unique opportunity to research, speak, and write about how we can increase access to justice for Black queer cis and trans women and femmes by educating judges on their professional responsibility in critical, intersectional and expansive ways.”
Congratulations Samantha!