Canada – from www.grandforksherald.com – A senior Manitoba judge is facing allegations that nude photographs of her engaged in bondage and other sexual acts were posted on the Internet by her husband three years before she was appointed a judge.
CBC News reports that Alexander Chapman, a computer specialist, has filed a complaint against Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench associate chief justice Lori Douglas, and another complaint with the Manitoba Law Society against her husband, Jack King.
Chapman’s complaint alleges that in 2003 King, who was his divorce lawyer, showed him photographs of Douglas performing oral sex and participating in several types of bondage and pressed him to have sex with her.
The CBC report said King’s lawyer, Bill Gange, said his client was suffering from depression at the time, and Douglas was not aware her husband was soliciting a client to have sex with her or that he was posting the photos on a porn website devoted to interracial sex.
Chapman, who is black, told CBC said he was bothered by King’s suggestions and pretended he was too busy with work to meet Douglas, who was a lawyer at the time. She was appointed as a judge in 2005.
When asked by CBC News whether she disclosed the incident in her judicial application, Douglas replied she considered it a private matter, CBC News reported.
Chapman claims he received $25,000 from King in return for promises not to take legal action against King and his partners.
But Chapman told CBC News he decided to come forward despite having agreed not to speak about the matter and to destroy all materials sent to him by King because he felt emotionally distraught.
In a letter sent to the Manitoba Law Society earlier this month, King acknowledged he met and talked about sex with Chapman, but only after Chapman obtained his divorce in April 2003. King also denies Douglas knew of it, the CBC report said.
His lawyer said the events Chapman alleges were part of an isolated incident, and King’s behavior at the time is not in any way consistent with his behavior, before or since.
Canada – from www.cbc.ca – A Manitoba family court judge involved in a scandal over nude photos of her that appeared online has requested to be temporarily relieved of her duties as a sitting justice of Manitoba’s Court of Queen’s Bench.
Queen’s Bench Justice Marc Monnin said Wednesday that Lori Douglas, an associate chief justice, will “remain in her position in an administrative capacity” as the Canadian Judicial Council investigates a complaint against her.
Douglas requested to be relieved “in the interests of the judiciary and of the court,” Monnin said in an emailed statement.
Winnipegger Alexander Chapman, 44, made a complaint to the judicial council in July.
‘The test for removal is whether or not a judge has the confidence of the public to discharge the duties of their office.’—Normand Sabourin, Canadian Judicial Council
Chapman alleges that Douglas’s husband, Winnipeg lawyer Jack King, 64, harassed him in 2003 by pressing him to have sex with Douglas, who was also a lawyer at the time.
Douglas was appointed a judge of the Court of Queen’s Bench (family division) on May 19, 2005. She was appointed as an Associate Chief Justice of the Court of Queen’s Bench (family division) on May 14, 2009, which mean she also became a member of the Canadian Judicial Council, an agency that sets policies for the federal judicial system.
Douglas has declined to comment, saying it’s a private matter.
The executive director of the judicial council said Wednesday it would take about three months to complete an investigation into Chapman’s allegations.
The complaint will be investigated by a chief justice from outside Manitoba, Sabourin said, but if it’s deemed serious enough, it could be heard at a public inquiry.
“The inquiry would hear witnesses, review all the scope of the allegations against the judge and would determine if it’s a matter that warrants a judge’s removal,” said Normand Sabourin.
“The test for removal is whether or not a judge has the confidence of the public to discharge the duties of their office … so that is the ultimate test,” he said.
A federally appointed judge can only be removed upon order of Parliament.
Complainant seeks $67M
Chapman has made a separate complaint to the Manitoba Law Society about King’s alleged conduct.
On Wednesday, Chapman filed separate lawsuits against King for $10 million and against Douglas for $7 million. He is also suing the law firm Thompson Dorfman Sweatman, where the couple used to work, for $50 million.
He told CBC News on Wednesday that he couldn’t live with what he says happened any longer.
“I’m standing here at the courthouse and I’m very nervous … I’ve been like this for seven years,” he said.
“I just want people to know that this happened to me and it was real for me.”
He said he was relieved to have his story out in the open.