Nader R. Hasan

Nader practises criminal, regulatory and constitutional law.  He defends clients accused of white-collar crimes, violent offences, drug offences and professional misconduct.

Nader has acted on high-stakes and high-profile trials, including the case of R v Zameer, where he helped to secure an acquittal for a man accused of killing a police officer. Before that, Nader successfully represented a former Member of Parliament accused of corruption.

Nader’s appellate work has helped shape Canadian criminal and constitutional law. Nader was lead counsel to the appellant in R v I.M., a case in which the Supreme Court of Canada created new standards for when youths can be sentenced as adults for criminal offences. He was also lead counsel to the appellants in Clyde River (Hamlet) v Petroleum Geo‑Services Inc., a landmark Indigenous rights case.

Nader has an expertise in the law of search and seizure and has appeared in many of the leading appellate cases in this area. His treatise Search & Seizure (co-authored with Justice Mabel Lai, Randy Schwartz and David Schermbrucker) has been cited repeatedly by courts across the country, including the Supreme Court of Canada.

For more than a decade, Nader has been an Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law, teaching in the areas of criminal and constitutional law. He is also a roster member of security-cleared special advocates who act in national security matters.

With a reputation as a champion for the underdog, Nader acts regularly for clients seeking to vindicate their constitutional rights.  He has acted for the wrongfully accused and wrongfully convicted.  He also acts for Indigenous groups, environmental NGOs, and civil liberties organizations in constitutional cases. He is a board member and Vice-Chair of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and a member of the Advisory Committee of the David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights.

In 2025, Nader was inducted into the American College of Trial Lawyers. He has also been repeatedly recognized by Chambers, Best Lawyers and Benchmark as a go-to lawyer for criminal law.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supreme Court of Canada

• R. v. I.M., 2025 SCC 23 (evidentiary burden for sentencing youths as adults)
• R. v. Lozada, 2024 SCC 18 (jury instructions on party liability)
• R. v. Hills, 2023 SCC 2 (constitutional challenge to mandatory minimum sentence)
• R. v. Sharma, 2022 SCC 39 (constitutional challenge to the unavailability of conditional sentences for certain offences)
• R. v. Safdar, 2022 SCC 21 (the right to a speedy trial under s. 11(b) of the Charter)
• R. v. Chouhan, 2021 SCC 26 (constitutional challenge to the removal of peremptory challenges of prospective jurors)
• Bent v. Platnick, 2020 SCC 23 (test for dismissal of defamation actions under Ontario’s anti-SLAPP law)
• R. v. S.H., 2020 SCC 3 (authentication of digital evidence)
• Canada (Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness) v. Chhina (availability of writ of habeas corpus to immigration detainees)
• Orphan Well Association v. Grant Thornton Ltd., [2019] S.C.R. 150 (federal paramountcy doctrine)
• R. v. Culotta, [2018] 3 S.C.R. 597 (scope of s. 24(2) of the Charter)
• Clyde River (Hamlet) v. Petroleum Geo‑Services Inc., 2017 SCC 40 (Crown’s duty to consult Indigenous groups in National Energy Board proceedings)
• R. v. Peers, 2017 SCC 13 (whether certain Securities Act offences trigger the right to a jury trial).
• R. v. Safarzadeh-Markhali, 2016 SCC 14 (constitutional challenge to the Truth in Sentencing Act).
• World Bank Group v. Wallace, 2016 SCC 15 (waiver of international immunity under the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act).
• R. v. Smith, [2015] S.C.J. No. 34 (constitutionality of medical marijuana legislation)
• R. v. Nur, [2015] S.C.J. No. 15 (constitutionality of mandatory minimum sentence for firearms possession)
• R. v. Fearon, [2014] S.C.J. No. 77 (lawfulness of warrantless searches of cell phones)
• R. v. Sipos, [2014] S.C.J. No. 47 (rules for fresh evidence in dangerous offender proceedings)
• Canada (Citizenship and Immigration) v. Harkat, [2014] S.C.J. No. 37  (constitutionality of security certificates)
• R. v. Vu, [2013] S.C.J. No. 60 (constitutional limits of police search and seizure of computers)
• R. v. Yumnu, [2012] S.C.J. No. 73; R. v. Emms, [2012] S.C.J. No. 74; R. v. Davey, [2012] S.C.J. No. 75 (jury vetting by the Crown and the police)
• R. v. Cole, [2012] S.C.J. No. 53 (searches of workplace computers)
• R. v. Prokofiew, [2012] S.C.J. No. 49 (right to silence at trial)
• R. v. Ipeelee; R. v. Ladue, [2012] S.C.J. No. 13 (sentencing of Aboriginal offenders)

Courts of Appeal

• Mathur v. Ontario, 2024 ONCA 820 (constitutional challenge to Ontario’s inadequate targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions)
• R. v. Gauthier, 2024 ONCA 621 (s. 8 Charter challenge to police’s warrantless acquisition of accused’s recorded statements)
• R. v. Morris, 2021 ONCA 680 (accounting for systemic racism in sentencing decisions)
• R. v. Scott, 2021 ONCA 625 (defending against Crown appeal of murder acquittal)
• Mazhar v. Farooqi, 2021 ONCA 355 (Anti-SLAPP motion to dismiss defamation action)
• R. v. Sharma, 2020 ONCA 478 (impact of systemic racism against Indigenous offenders on the constitutionality of certain sentencing provisions of the Criminal Code)
• R. v. Ali, 2019 ONCA 1006 (Ont. C.A.) (interpretation of the Criminal Code’s anti-terrorism provisions)
• Re Ali, 2019 ONCA 602 (Ont. CA.) (review of the Ontario Review Board’s disposition order)
• R. v. Patel, 2017 ONCA 702 (Ont. C.A.) (party liability for homicide)
• R v. W.D., 2019 ONCA 120 (adequacy of jury instructions on assessing credibility)
• R. v. Saikaley, 2017 ONCA 374 (Ont. C.A.) (constitutionality of cell phone searches at the border)
• Hamlet of Clyde River et al v. TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Company ASA et al, Court File No. A-354-14 (F.C.A.) (argued on April 20, 2015) (judicial review of seismic testing permit)
• Wall v. Ontario (Office of the Independent Police Review Director) (2014), 123 O.R. (3d) 574 (C.A.) (OIPRD’s failure to investigate police misconduct during G20 summit)
• Forest Ethics Advocacy Assn. v. Canada (National Energy Board), [2014] F.C.J. No. 1089 (C.A.) (constitutional challenge to National Energy Board’s process)
• Hartley v. Cunningham (2013), 118 O.R. (3d) 288 (Ont. C.A.) (interpretation of Forestry Act)
• R. v. D.B., [2013] O.J. No. 4365 (C.A.) (proper use of hearsay statements when admitted for “narrative”)
• Magder v. Ford, [2013] O.J. No. 6298 (Div. Crt)) (Mayor of Toronto’s violations of the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act)
• R. v. Jiwa, [2012] O.J. No. 3721 (C.A.) (sentencing in involuntary manslaughter cases)

Superior Court of Justice

• R. v. Zameer (jury acquittal in first-degree murder trial)
• R. v. Grewal, 2023 ONSC 1516 (acquittal on breach of trust charges)
• R. v. Zameer, 2022 ONSC 296 (contesting the publication ban)
• R. v. Zameer, 2021 ONSC 6129 (bail granted in first-degree murder case)
• C.M. v. York (Regional) Police, [2019] O.J. No. 6317 (Div. Crt) (interpretation of the Police Record Checks Reform Act)
• R. v. Safdar, [2018] O.J. No. 6328 (S.C.J.) (right to a speedy trial pursuant to s. 11(b) of the Charter)
• R. v. Safdar, [2018] O.J. No. 6328 (S.C.J.) (application of the rule from Browne v. Dunn)
• Alford v. Law Society of Upper Canada, 2018 ONSC 4269 (jurisdiction of the Superior Court of Justice to hear application for judicial review)
• Rizvee v. Newman, [2017] O.J. No. 3522 (S.C.J.) (motion to dismiss defamation claim under anti-SLAPP legislation)
• R. v. M.J., [2016] O.J. No. 3177 (S.C.J.) (constitutional challenge to mandatory minimum sentence)
• R. v. Patel, [2014] O.J. No. 2125 (S.C.J.) (for-cause screening of jurors and admissibility of post-offence conduct)
• R. v. Akbari, [2014] O.J. No. 4222 (S.C.J.) (sentencing in historical sex assault)

Ontario Court of Justice

• R. v. Ghadaki, [2018] O.J. No. 7092 (C.J.) (Provincial Offences Act by-law prosecution)
• R. v. Coldin, [2012] O.J. No. 1009 (C.J.) (constitutional challenge to s. 174 of the Criminal Code)

Capital Markets Tribunal 

• Canada Cannabis Corporation (Re), 2023 ONCMT 41 (abuse of process application granted)

U.S. Courts

• Lopez v. Zenk, No. 06-CV-4601 (RJD) (E.D.N.Y. 2008) (obtained settlement for prisoner who was assaulted by prison guards)
• People v. Days, 26 Misc.3d 1205(A) (N.Y. Co. Ct. 2009) (obtained new trial for accused convicted of murder)
• Lopez v. Terrell, 697 F. Supp. 2d 549 (S.D.N.Y. 2010) (calculation of Good Conduct Time credit)