New Judges Appointed to the Ontario Court of Justice

Press Release

January 20, 2026

The Honourable Doug Downey, Attorney General of Ontario, is pleased to announce the appointment of four new judges to the Ontario Court of Justice, effective January 29, 2026.

Justice Joanne Michelle Marie Clouston was called to the Manitoba bar in 2012 and the Ontario bar in 2018. She began her legal career in Manitoba as an associate lawyer with the former law firm of Petersen King before joining Law North Law Corporation as child protection agency counsel for Child and Family Services and Michif Child and Family Services in Thompson, Manitoba. She also represented family law clients as private and legal aid counsel. In 2018, Justice Clouston joined Ontario’s Ministry of the Attorney General in the Fort Frances Crown Attorney’s Office as per diem counsel, before working as senior legal counsel with Kenora-Rainy River Districts Child and Family Services. In this role, she was supervisor of the agency’s legal unit while also providing legal services and appearing before the Court of Appeal for Ontario, the Superior Court of Justice and the Ontario Court of Justice. Justice Clouston was appointed as a justice of the peace in Kenora in May 2025.

Justice Clouston was a founding board member of Les Louveteaux, the first fully-Francophone daycare in the Northern community of Thompson, Manitoba and a member of the Organization of Counsel for Children’s Aid Societies. She has also volunteered with the Longbow Lake Volunteer Fire Brigade.

Justice Clouston graduated from the University of Manitoba Faculty of Law.

Chief Justice Sharon Nicklas has assigned Justice Clouston to Kenora.

Justice Archana Arun Medhekar was called to the Ontario bar in 2004, following her legal education in India. She was an associate with Satwant Singh Khosla Law Office, working in various areas including family, corporate and immigration law, before joining the former MW Lawyers LLP as partner in 2005. Justice Medhekar established her own firm in 2008. She practiced as a family lawyer, lawyer for the Office of the Children’s Lawyer (OCL), duty counsel, mediator and arbitrator. From 2018 to 2025, Justice Medhekar represented over 350 young clients as an OCL legal panel member. She has appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada, the Court of Appeal for Ontario, the Superior Court of Justice and the Ontario Court of Justice. Justice Medhekar was certified as a specialist in Family Law by the Law Society of Ontario.

Justice Medhekar has volunteered with several organizations and has been honoured with awards including a Volunteer Service Award from the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration and a Top 25 Canadian Immigrants Award. Since 2023, she has volunteered with COSTI Immigrant Services, a community-based agency providing employment, educational and social services to immigrant communities. Justice Medhekar also volunteered with the United Nations working group of Mediators Beyond Borders International. In addition, she teaches at the York University School of Continuing Studies in the Certificate in Family Mediation program and at the University of Guelph-Humber. Justice Medhekar was president of the Ontario Association of Family Mediation. She is a longtime recreational softball player with Bloordale Baseball League.

Justice Medhekar graduated from Manikchand Pahade Law College in India and the National Committee of Accreditation. She received a Master of Laws from Osgoode Hall Law School at York University.

Chief Justice Sharon Nicklas has assigned Justice Medhekar to Fort Frances/Kenora.

Justice Jesse M. Razaqpur was called to the Ontario bar in 2010. He began his legal career as a criminal defence lawyer with Edward H. Royle & Associates LLP, often representing legal aid clients. In 2015, Justice Razaqpur established his own criminal law practice in Toronto, regularly appearing before the Superior Court of Justice and the Ontario Court of Justice. He became an agent for the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC) in 2018, where he prosecuted a large volume of drug cases in the Hamilton area. Since 2023, he has acted as contact counsel for the PPSC with MMLR Law Professional Corporation, where he was one of three partners. Justice Razaqpur has also been a member of the Indigenous Peoples’ Court Steering Committee in the Ontario Court of Justice, working to launch a new specialty court in Hamilton.

Justice Razaqpur has volunteered with Green Venture, a Hamilton environmental organization, as well as the Ancaster and Dundas Community Food Drives and the Salvation Army in Hamilton. He was also a board member of a non-profit co-operative preschool in Dundas. Since 2023, he has been a member of the Hamilton Law Association Library Committee.

Justice Razaqpur graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School at York University.

Chief Justice Sharon Nicklas has assigned Justice Razaqpur to Simcoe/Cayuga/Brantford.

Justice Mary Meta Elizabeth Warren was called to the Ontario bar in 2014. She spent many years at Carroll & Wallace Barristers, including as an articling student and as a lawyer, appearing before the Court of Appeal for Ontario, the Superior Court of Justice and the Ontario Court of Justice. Since 2018, she has practised as a partner with the now former Stein & Warren Barristers, in association with Carroll & Wallace. Justice Warren has acted as counsel in a variety of criminal matters and worked in conjunction with family counsel when clients had related family law matters. She represented police officers across Ontario in Special Investigations Unit investigations and police discipline matters, represented complainants in sexual assault cases, worked on numerous public inquiries and acted as counsel at coroner’s inquests. Justice Warren has been per diem counsel for the Legal Services Board of Nunavut, also known as Nunavut Legal Aid, since 2019, often travelling to remote communities in the Arctic.

Justice Warren holds the roles of adjunct professor, clinic director and volunteer supervising lawyer with the Ticket Defence Program, a charitable organization that works with the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law to represent unhoused and low-income individuals with provincial fines and tickets. She has also acted as a volunteer lawyer with the Ontario Justice Education Network, providing public legal education to youth in conjunction with prosecutors and police officers.

Justice Warren graduated from the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law.

Chief Justice Sharon Nicklas has assigned Justice Warren to North Bay.

Additional Resources

• Read about the Ontario Court of Justice
• Read about the appointment of judges to the Ontario Court of Justice

Media Contacts

Julia Facca
Minister’s Office
julia.facca@ontario.ca

Alexandra Wilkes
Communications Branch
mag-media@ontario.ca

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