Mr Camp had since been elevated to the Federal Court.
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“What did he expect me to say?” “He was 63, a white South African male”.
During the hearing, the alleged victim said the judge “made me hate myself” and had made her think about killing herself.
He is also said to have remarked that “a woman cannot be raped against her will”, and asked the survivor as to why “couldn’t just keep [her] knees together”. She said he did not subscribe to the myth that women are less worthy of belief in sex-assault trials.
Camp acquitted the man of sexual assault, but the verdict was overturned on appeal and a new trial was ordered. He was a member of the Alberta Provincial Court when he presided over the trial of a homeless youth, Alexander Wagar, accused of raping a homeless 19-year-old woman. As he became more senior, he took on mostly litigation cases.
The bulk of the evidence, Hickey told the five-member panel, will come in the form of an “agreed statement of fact” and various documents.
After moving to Calgary in 1998, his practice focused mainly on contractual, bankruptcy and trust law, as well as on oil and gas litigation.
Addario said Camp has undergone counselling, mentoring and training with three experts – a judge, a psychologist and a professor who is an expert on the law of sexual assault.
“What we learned in law school didn’t equip us to do a lot of things”, said McCawley, who noted such trials are not easy, even for an experienced judge.
“His motivation was very much for the concern and the embarrassment he had caused the complainant in this case”, McCawley said.
“He’s not a misogynist. He’s a very compassionate, empathetic person”.
“‘What was going to happen to him seemed to be nearly secondary”, she said, of his hearing before the judicial council, which could lead to his removal from the bench.
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Camp’s lawyer argued on the first day of the hearing that many judges have made offensive comments pertaining to other victims and they have not been removed from the bench.
