GODERICH — September 8, 2026
The wheels of justice will be turning in Goderich today, with criminal, family and civil matters scheduled before both the Ontario Court of Justice and the Superior Court of Justice.
Proceedings are scheduled through the Goderich courthouse at 1 Court House Square, although many of today’s appearances will take place by videoconference.
Criminal Court
The Ontario Court of Justice criminal docket begins at 10 a.m. and includes several bail-stage appearances.
The public list identifies Armand Dugas, Karley Frayer, Miranda Grieve, Andrew McDonald and Kent Wall as having matters in the bail phase. Several individuals have more than one case number appearing on the docket.
A separate matter involving Jamie Leachman is scheduled to set a date for trial.
The public docket does not identify the charges underlying these proceedings. A bail appearance is not a trial, and everyone charged with an offence is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Small Claims Court
Three settlement conferences are scheduled in the Small Claims virtual courtroom:
- Ford v. Heritage Funeral Homes et al. at 9:30 a.m.
- Amiraco Properties Inc. v. Moor at 10:45 a.m.
- D&J Bluewater Holdings Inc. v. Rymaky Holdings Inc. et al. at 12:30 p.m.
Settlement conferences are generally intended to narrow the issues, encourage resolution and help prepare cases that cannot be settled for trial. They are not themselves trials, and the appearance of a person or business on the docket does not indicate that the claim has been proven.
Superior Court
The Superior Court of Justice has a trial-scheduling conference listed for 9:31 a.m. in Fitzsimons v. Ward. The proceeding is scheduled to take place by videoconference.
Family Court
Family Court has the busiest list of the day, with matters beginning at 9:30 a.m. in Courtroom 2 and continuing into the afternoon.
The docket includes case conferences, settlement conferences, motions, trial-management conferences, enforcement hearings and an uncontested trial. Proceedings involving the Children’s Aid Society and Huron-Perth Children’s Aid Society are also listed for 2:15 p.m.
Some family proceedings may be subject to access restrictions or publication bans intended to protect children and vulnerable parties.
Open Courts Matter
Daily court dockets provide the public with a valuable window into the justice system. They show not only criminal proceedings, but also the large volume of family disputes, civil claims and procedural appearances handled by local courts.
Court lists may change throughout the day, and a scheduled appearance does not guarantee that a hearing will proceed at the listed time.
Anyone wishing to observe a proceeding should contact or attend the Goderich courthouse for current access information. Members of the public must obey courtroom rules and any publication ban or access restriction imposed by the court.
Ontario Free Press will continue watching the local courts because justice must not only be done—it must be open, accountable and seen to be done.