Judging the judges: 4 cases of real and alleged misconduct

Ontario Superior Court judge Robert Clark has declared a mistrial in a drug case he was presiding over in Toronto, after being accused of saying the F-word as the defence was giving closing arguments to the jury. Here are four more cases of Ontario judges who have faced allegations of misconduct.

2002

Judge: William G. Richards

Complaint: Richards improperly terminated a criminal trial in a courtroom at Old City Hall in Toronto on July 10, 1998.

Defence lawyer George Carter wanted to play security video from a William Ashley store while he was cross-examining the Crown’s witness, Anna Adilman.

After some time, Richards interrupted Carter and asked the police officer operating the player to turn it off.

It’s alleged Richards didn’t consult with the Crown or the Defence before terminating the proceedings less than a half-hour after they began.

Quote: “This matter was marked for a day … I am not going to hear it,” Richards allegedly said during the proceedings. “Obviously, I have been acquainted with defence counsel before and he’s very thorough and I guarantee I could not finish it today if I heard it … so, I’m going to strike the plea and stop the proceedings and … move it back to whatever court it came from.”

Decision: Complaint dismissed due to Richards’s “sincere apology” and reputation as a diligent and hard-working judge.

2004

Judge: Kerry P. Evans

Complaint: Improper touching, sometimes in a sexual manner, and inappropriate remarks with sexual innuendoes outside the courtroom from 1999 to 2002, when Evans was suspended.

The eight complainants all worked as employees of the court system in Barrie and other satellite courthouses. Incidents include Evans grabbing a woman’s left buttock as she was getting into a car, taking a jujube from his pocket and putting it in her mouth despite her resistance, and dropping by another woman’s home around 11:30 p.m.

Quote: “It is our view that Justice Evans has demonstrated on a number of occasions a disturbing insensitivity to other persons’ comfort zones,” the council said in its decision. “On other occasions, he has clearly crossed the line.”

Decision: There has been misconduct. The punishment was to be determined at a hearing on a later date.

Judge: Dianne Nicholas

Complaint: In the April 2002 welfare-fraud case of Silvana Segreto, Nicholas made inappropriate comments about the defendant’s brother, whom she knows, and spoke with her neighbour Thomas Grumley about the case that was still before her. Grumley then told his children about it over dinner, and they told Segreto’s niece.

Quote: “We are satisfied that Justice Nicholas is mortified and embarrassed by her conduct,” the council said. “She was also motivated to admit her misconduct spontaneously and expeditiously and made a sincere apology. She is clearly embarrassed by the media reporting which has given the complaint … wide coverage.”

Decision: Nicholas acknowledged judicial misconduct on her part. She was allowed to continue to sit as a judge.

2012

Judge: Howard I. Chisvin

Complaint: Chisvin dismissed all charges before him in plea court when the Crown Attorney was late coming back after a recess on July 21, 2011. It was one minute and 27 seconds after court had reconvened.

Later in the day, Chisvin realized his error. He contacted the Regional Senior Justice and arranged for a two-week leave of absence due to stress.

Quote: “Mr. McCallion (the Crown), all provincial matters have been dealt with by want of prosecution,” Chisvin said in court. “There was no Crown in here for some10 minutes and you were being paged and paged and paged. They’ve been dismissed for want of prosecution.”

Decision: Misconduct. Formal reprimand for Chisvin’s misconduct and a warning that if he does it again, there would be serious consequences for him as a judge.

Chisvin asked to be compensated for $43,241.99 in legal costs, but the council denied the request.