Case of judge whose nude photos posted on the web needs judicial review: lawyer

OTTAWA – The lawyer for a Manitoba judge whose nude photos were posted on the Internet says a judicial review is the only way her client will get a fair shake.

Lawyer Sheila Block says a process run by the Canadian Judicial Council is flawed and biased against her client, Manitoba Queen’s Bench Justice Lori Douglas, and a judicial review is needed.

The committee of the Canadian Judicial Council has been examining Douglas over a 2010 complaint that she sexually harassed a man named Alex Chapman.

Chapman said Douglas’ husband — who was his divorce lawyer at the time — showed him sexually explicit photos of the judge, posted those pictures on a website and tried to get him to have sex with Douglas.

The judicial council inquiry was supposed to look at whether Douglas failed to disclose the matter when she was appointed a judge in 2005 and if the photos should disqualify her from sitting on the bench.

Douglas, who became associate chief justice of the Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench, denies all the allegations, saying King acted alone without her knowledge.