Winnipeg hearing dates set in Lori Douglas nude photos case
Douglas case to take place over course of two weeks in November
An inquiry committee announced Tuesday it would be holding public hearings in Winnipeg starting Nov. 24 over the conduct of Associate Chief Justice Lori Douglas of the Manitoba Court of the Queen’s Bench.
Douglas faces a complaint that in 2010 she sexually harassed a man named Alex Chapman.
Chapman was a client of her husband and lawyer, the late Jack King.
Chapman says King showed him sexually explicit photos of the judge and asked him to have sex with her.
Douglas has denied the allegation — she and her husband have said he acted alone, without her knowledge, and was suffering from depression at the time.
The inquiry held hearings in 2012, but was put on hold after Douglas's lawyer, Sheila Block, filed an application for a judicial review.
Block said aggressive questioning by a lawyer representing the five-member inquiry committee suggested the committee was biased.
The committee was dissolved and a new committee was appointed with just three members.
The Honourable J. Michael MacDonald, Chair of the Judicial Conduct Committee of Council, said in a release the priority in all cases where a judge is accused of misconduct is that complaints be reviewed in a fair and transparent manner.
"I am pleased that the Inquiry Committee is proceeding with its work, so it can report back to the full Canadian Judicial Council as expeditiously and fairly as possible."
Hearings could last up to two weeks in November.