{"id":264618,"date":"2016-12-13T11:30:25","date_gmt":"2016-12-13T16:30:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/issues\/demanding-accountability-for-a-judges-failure\/"},"modified":"2025-10-07T21:23:48","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T01:23:48","slug":"demanding-accountability-for-a-judges-failure","status":"publish","type":"issues","link":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2016\/12\/demanding-accountability-for-a-judges-failure\/","title":{"rendered":"Demanding accountability for a judge\u2019s failure"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week, Professor Brenda Cossman lamented in the Globe and Mail<\/em><\/a> that the Committee of Inquiry has advised the Canadian Judicial Council to \u201cpunish\u201d Justice Robin Camp rather than show \u201cempathy\u201d for his remorse and his belated effort at re-education. In a sexual assault trial over which he presided, Camp repeatedly referred to the young, homeless Indigenous complainant as \u201cthe accused,\u201d called her \u201camoral.\u201d He asked her why she didn\u2019t just keep her knees together to avoid the attack, among numerous other remarks. In total, the committee identified 17 instances where the judge\u2019s questions or comments amounted to judicial misconduct on the basis of demonstrable antipathy toward sexual assault laws enacted to promote women\u2019s equality, and reliance on long-discredited discriminatory myths and stereotypes.<\/p>\n

Cossman, the director of the Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies at the University of Toronto, was asked to work with Camp after the committee began investigating the allegations against him. She pointed out that as an educator she felt compelled to follow her professional obligations. We feel the same impulse, as fellow professors in the academy. None of us would deny the transformative potential of education\u2014 we see it every year in our students. We applaud the Committee of Inquiry\u2019s recommendation to remove Camp from the Bench. While we all hope that as a result of the efforts of Camp\u2019s educators, he finally understands equality values, misogyny, discrimination and, more basically, the law governing sexual assault trials, it doesn\u2019t mean he should keep his job.<\/p>\n

Judging comes with enormous responsibility and it is rewarded with formidable power, a hefty salary, excellent benefits and great prestige. Because of the importance of judicial independence, it is almost impossible to impose mandatory judicial education or to \u201cfire\u201d a judge. The responsibility of the judicial role weighs heavily on most judges, and many describe carrying this to bed each night as they replay, review, reconsider and worry about the victims and accused persons who pass through their courtrooms.<\/p>\n

That responsibility demands the highest standards of conduct, even as it rewards judges with those privileges. A serious failure to live up to those standards, so clearly manifested in Camp\u2019s abysmal performance, is surely a reason to lose the privilege. It is not a \u201cpunishment\u201d as we understand that concept in law. Rather, it is a consequence of a breach of the responsibility that is fundamental to the job. Camp\u2019s egregious conduct profoundly undermined public confidence in the judiciary.<\/p>\n

Cossman regrets the \u201cpost-empathy\u201d world she says we seem to live in now.\u00a0But it is galling how people of privilege demand so much empathy for their errors, while according so little to others when they fail.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, that calendar of naked women hanging on my cubicle wall at work? \u00a0Sorry. It\u2019s tradition, my brother gives me one every year.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh sorry, I didn\u2019t realize you were drunk and passed out and therefore didn\u2019t want to have sex with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGrab her by the pussy.\u201d Oh sorry, says the most privileged man in the world, that was just \u201clocker-room talk.\u201d<\/p>\n

Men with privilege can be our best apologists. They call upon plentiful resources to pursue their rehabilitation; they show remorse; they say \u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d And then they want us all to just move on. When faced with consequences, they seem astonished. They call it \u201cpunishment\u201d and cry out for empathy and forgiveness. We can all feel empathy for someone whose downfall is public and dramatic. Those who rise to great heights sometimes fall the hardest. Yet having empathy does not mean we cannot demand accountability.<\/p>\n

Camp made multiple, serious mistakes. These mistakes had a devastating impact on the victim before him and, as the committee\u2019s report strongly emphasized, inflicted significant damage on the justice system as a whole. The Camp Inquiry has educated us all on sexual assault law, the enduring reality of discrimination in sexual assault cases, and the critical importance of women\u2019s equality rights to a fair legal process. Camp should accept the consequences of his breach of judicial standards. This is not a punishment but a lesson learned, for him and for all of us.<\/p>\n

Photo:\u00a0Todd Korol\/The Canadian Press<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Do you have something to say about the article you just read? Be part of the\u00a0<\/em>Policy Options\u00a0discussion, and send in your own submission.\u00a0Here is a\u00a0<\/em>link<\/em><\/a>\u00a0on how to do it. <\/em>|\u00a0Souhaitez-vous r\u00e9agir \u00e0 cet article ? <\/em>Joignez-vous aux d\u00e9bats d\u2019<\/em>Options politiques\u00a0et soumettez-nous votre texte en suivant ces\u00a0<\/em>directives<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week, Professor Brenda Cossman lamented in the Globe and Mail that the Committee of Inquiry has advised the Canadian Judicial Council to \u201cpunish\u201d Justice Robin Camp rather than show \u201cempathy\u201d for his remorse and his belated effort at re-education. In a sexual assault trial over which he presided, Camp repeatedly referred to the young, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":252292,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"2025-08-30T05:42:50Z","apple_news_api_id":"a7efff99-e448-4fd8-ab5a-f9b19673af8c","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2025-08-30T05:42:50Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/Ap-__meRIT9irWvmxlnOvjA","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[9359,9357,9372],"tags":[],"article-status":[],"irpp-category":[4339,4251],"section":[],"irpp-tag":[],"class_list":["post-264618","issues","type-issues","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-loi-droits","category-politiques-sociales","category-recent-stories-fr","irpp-category-loi-et-justice","irpp-category-politique-sociale"],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nDemanding accountability for a judge\u2019s failure<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2016\/12\/demanding-accountability-for-a-judges-failure\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Demanding accountability for a judge\u2019s failure\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Last week, Professor Brenda Cossman lamented in the Globe and Mail that the Committee of Inquiry has advised the Canadian Judicial Council to \u201cpunish\u201d Justice Robin Camp rather than show \u201cempathy\u201d for his remorse and his belated effort at re-education. 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