The Ontario Court of Appeal has ordered new trials for two women who originally pleaded guilty after now disgraced forensic pathologist Dr. Charles Smith testified they had asphyxiated their babies.

A judicial inquiry into Dr. Charles Smith's work found the pathologist's testimony was responsible, in part, for several people being wrongfully convicted of killing children and being sentenced to prison. (Canadian Press)

Smith's testimony has since been found to be responsible for a number of wrongful convictions.

On Wednesday, the Appeal Court set aside guilty pleas from the women, one of whom was convicted of manslaughter and the other of infanticide.

Neither woman can be identified because of court-ordered publication bans. The Crown said it would not bring evidence at the new trials. Such a move from the Crown would mean both women would be acquitted.

The Crown conceded that the two women felt pressured to plead guilty to the crimes because of Smith's stellar reputation as a pediatric forensic pathologist.

The panel of judges apologized to the women for the suffering they and their families experienced, saying all the cases involving Smith's mistakes are sad and difficult.

Both women always maintained they didn't know they were pregnant when they gave birth in the bathrooms of their homes. The two cases date back to 1992 and 1996.

'Dr. Smith has an awful legacy, there's no doubt about it.'— Defence lawyer James Lockyer

James Lockyer, the lawyer representing the women, told the Appeal Court they were overwhelmed by their respective situations.

"They went through an awful experience and then it just got multiplied by the criminal charges that were laid as a result of Dr. Smith's wrong opinions," he said.

"If either or both of them had taken the case to trial, the results could have been a whole lot worse for them. Instead of looking at two ladies who at least managed to avoid going to jail, we might well be looking at people who had gone to jail."

Lockyer said both women were put in a difficult position because of Smith's reputation at the time.

"It's a huge relief. I mean, they carried this for more than a decade, both of them," Lockyer said.

"Dr. Smith has an awful legacy, there's no doubt about it. … He did a lot of damage to a lot of people and a lot of damage to the justice system as a whole."

The cases are among 20 studied by a panel of experts, which concluded Smith had made errors in those cases, 13 of which resulted in criminal convictions.

Five other people who Smith testified against want their convictions overturned as well.

With files from The Canadian Press