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Hearing into judge's conduct to begin May 19
Lori Douglas
OTTAWA – The initial hearing into the conduct of Manitoba judge Lori Douglas is set for May 19.
Douglas has been sitting on the sidelines on leave as a family court judge in Manitoba since August 2010 after a former client of her husband, laywer Jack King, came forward with allegations of sexual harassment.
The client, Alex Chapman, alleged he was paid to keep quiet after he was sent nude photos of Douglas and was asked if he would have sex with her. This was before she was appointed to the bench. He complained about King to the Manitoba Law Society and about Douglas to the Canadian Judicial Council. The CJC oversees the conduct of federally appointed judges.
King has claimed his wife did nothing wrong and her lawyer said she fully disclosed the situation when she was being vetted to become a judge. In March 2011 King pleaded guilty to a Law Society of Manitoba charge of professional misconduct. He was given a reprimand and ordered to pay the society’s costs of $13,650.
The Canadian Judicial Council, which oversees the conduct of federal judges, ordered a full hearing into Douglas’s actions in the matter last November. It is only the eighth time since the CJC was formed 40 years ago a public hearing has been ordered.
There was no word on why specifically the hearing was ordered. It came after a panel of five judges reviewed the allegations and determined it was a serious enough matter to warrant a full public inquiry.
The initial hearing will be to determine standing in the case, applications to intervene and the appointments of counsel. The CJC is accepting written submissions on those subjects before May 15.
The dates and location of the full hearing are still to be determined.
At the end of the hearing, the committee will recommend either removing the judge from the bench or not. That has only happened on one occasion. In one other instance a judge stepped aside before the committee made its ruling.
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