Sandrine Ampleman-Tremblay, LLB, LLM, DCL

Area of Study / Keywords

Criminal Law & Criminal Procedure State Accountability Police Sexual Violence Social Justice Legal Rights Legal History Bilingualism in Legal Studies

About

Sandrine Ampleman-Tremblay is an assistant professor at the University of Alberta Faculty of Law, a position she has held since 2023. She completed her LLB at Laval University, her LLM at the University of Toronto and her doctor of civil law degree (DCL) at McGill University. 

During her DCL, she was an SSHRC Joseph-Armand Bombardier scholar. Ampleman-Tremblay’s engagement in student and faculty life at McGill helped her develop a keen interest in legal education, with an emphasis on graduate studies and the experience of francophone students. She remains interested in issues related to bilingualism and graduate studies.

Ampleman-Tremblay's research focuses mostly on sexual violence, individual and collective responsibility, and legal rights. Her current project entitled "Rethinking Legal Narratives & Criminal Responsibility: A Case Study of Extreme Intoxication" is funded by a SSHRC Insight Grant. The latter investigates criminal responsibility for extreme intoxication and pays specific attention to the tensions that s. 33.1 of the Criminal Code causes between mental health advocates and victims of intoxicated violence. Ampleman-Tremblay  has presented her work in national and international academic settings, civil society and academia joint initiatives, as well as podcasts. Her work has been published in French and English in the Manitoba Law Journal, the Canadian Journal of Women and the Law, the Ottawa Law Review, and the Dalhousie Law Journal amongst others.

At the Faculty of Law, Ampleman-Tremblay teaches courses on criminal law and legal history. In 2025, she received the Faculty of Law's Tevie H. Miller Teaching Award, which recognizes excellence in teaching by a full-time member of the Faculty of Law.

Research

Selected Recent Publications:

Peer-reviewed journals

• “The Viens Inquiry: At the Intersection of State Control, Police Sexual Violence, and Accountability” Canadian Journal of Human Rights (forthcoming)
• “Police Sexual Violence as Psychological Detention: Making Full Use of Charter Rights” (2025) 48:1 Dalhousie Law Journal
• "Media coverage of sexual violence by police in colonial contexts: an explorative study"  (2024) Settler Colonial Studies
• “L’accompagnement des personnes victimes lors d’entrevues sur les faits au Québec” (2024) 55:2 Ottawa Law Review 211
• “Comprendre l’inconduite sexuelle policière : une perspective canadienne” (2022) 34:1 Canadian Journal of Women and the Law 1
• “Justice Côté: Great Dissenter, Voice of the Court, or Both?” (2021) 44:2 Manitoba Law Journal 1 (with the collaboration of Camille Nadeau) 

Other journals

• “R v Lufiau, R v Varennes, and The Gamble of Litigating a ‘Right’ to Jury Trials Outside of Section 11(f)” (2024) 33:2 Constitutional Forum 27

Book chapters

• “Developments and Grey Areas in Legal Rights: Detention, Arrest, Trial Within a Reasonable Time and Juries (ss. 9, 10(a), (b), (c), 11(b) and (f)) ” in Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, 6th, ed, Errol Mendes and Stéphane Beaulac, eds. (forthcoming,2025) 

LAW 420A - Criminal Law

A general introduction to the criminal law, including basic procedure, evidence, and sentencing rules, with primary emphasis on substantive criminal law. Topics include the physical and fault elements of offences, common law and statutory defences, and constitutional principles.

LAW 420B - Criminal Law

A general introduction to the criminal law, including basic procedure, evidence, and sentencing rules, with primary emphasis on substantive criminal law. Topics include the physical and fault elements of offences, common law and statutory defences, and constitutional principles.

LAW 496 - Legal History

An examination of law and legal institutions from a historical perspective designed to explore continuity and change in common, statute, and constitutional law. Every year, the course will consist of a limited number of seminar offerings whose focus will be on the historical development of law, legal processes, and institutions.

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