Criminal case against top military judge collapses, charges withdrawn
Posted March 11, 2020 5:18 pm.
Last Updated March 11, 2020 5:26 pm.
OTTAWA — The criminal case against Canada’s top military judge has collapsed.
The Canadian Armed Forces’ top prosecutor, Col. Bruce MacGregor, says he is withdrawing all charges against chief military judge Col. Mario Dutil in a case that had been seen as a key test of the military justice system.
Dutil was first charged by military police in January 2018 over allegations of having had an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate and signing a travel claim that contained false information.
Dutil’s deputy presided over the case at first but eventually recused himself and refused to name another military judge to take over because two of them have conflicts of interest and the third isn’t bilingual enough.
MacGregor subsequently asked the Federal Court to order one of those judges to preside over the case, but the request was rejected last week, with Federal Court Justice Luc Martineau saying the tidiest solution would be to have an outside civilian judge hear the case.
In announcing the withdrawal of the charges against Dutil, MacGregor, who long resisted taking the case to the civilian courts, said he would not appeal Martineau’s decision.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 11, 2020.
The Canadian Press
