The Canadian Judicial Council is to determine whether Justice Robin Camp, who made the comments in 2014 while a provincial court judge in Calgary, should be removed from the bench. He also reportedly called the plaintiff “the accused”.
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A local women’s equality group will be intervening as part of the process looking at Judge Robin Camp’s actions.
Camp’s novelist daughter Lauren-Lee Camp – also a victim of rape – wrote in a letter of support that her father’s comments in the case were “disgraceful”, but that he is now “staggered by the mistakes he made”.
But the panel has already heard that this matter is not simply about Camp’s comments, it is about “the public perception of the justice system”.
Camp acquitted the man of sexual assault, but the verdict was overturned on appeal and a new trial was ordered.
During the hearing before the Canadian Judicial Council on Tuesday, the alleged victim said his comments “made me hate myself” and led her to consider suicide.
He’s expected to apologise for his opinions and say he has participated in counselling and training with a sexual assault legal expert, a psychologist and a superior court judge.
The committee is composed of three senior judges and two lawyers – or, as the young woman endearingly put it when she thanked them for hearing her, “You guys”.
The judge has indicated he wants to remain on the bench.
“Justice Camp, immediately after the complaint was lodged, apologized and took steps to interrogate his beliefs and to challenge his assumptions”, Addario said.
A notice of response to the allegations against him said Justice Camp “agrees that these comments were insensitive and inappropriate”. “His is an ethical and empathetic judge”.
Camp’s lawyer, Frank Addario, said that while his client wasn’t a flawless judge, he shouldn’t lose his job over conduct in one case.
“On the other hand, the evidence will show that he did not understand the degree to which pervasive myths contributed to his thinking”, Addario said. It’s a very high position.
“The council was created in 1971. and since that time there have been 11 public inquiries, so it’s not a common occurrence”, said Johanna Laporte, the judicial council’s director of communications, said. If it decides Camp should be removed from the bench, the final decision lies with the federal justice minister.
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The inquiry is expected to last several days and the panel will then make a recommendation to the full Canadian Judicial Council.
