A British Columbia provincial court judge who cried during a victim impact statement in a 麻豆精选 courtroom is incapable of delivering a fair sentence, a defence lawyer says.
The lawyer also says Judge Monica McParland scoffed at the defence鈥檚 suggestion for an intermittent jail sentence and displayed an 鈥渙verall tone of bias鈥� against a person who pleaded guilty to the sexual interference of a minor.
鈥淚t is not appropriate for a judge to get so emotional during a victim impact statement, period,鈥� defence lawyer Jacqueline Halliburn said Monday in 麻豆精选 provincial court, adding 鈥滼udges don鈥檛 cry in every sexual interference case.鈥�
But Crown prosecutor Angela Ross said the judge鈥檚 actions fell well below the standard of misconduct required for an application of judicial recusal to be granted. 鈥淓ven gross discourtesy does not amount to judicial error,鈥� Ross said.
As well, Ross said, judges are expected to demonstrate 鈥渃ompassion and humanity鈥� in the fulfilment of their duties.
McParland herself will decide if she should quit the case and refer sentencing to another judge.
After Crown and defence arguments were made, McParland indicated her decision will come before the end of August.
Online court documents show the case is due to return to provincial court in 麻豆精选 for a decision on Aug. 17.
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Jeremy Melvin Carlson was charged in 2016 with sexual assault and the sexual interference of a person under the age of 16. Carlson, who is now in the process of transitioning to become a woman, subsequently pleaded guilty to sexual interference of a minor.
The Crown wants a jail sentence up to 20 months, followed by two years of probation. The defence suggested a 90-day intermittent jail term, to be served over 20 weekends.
The judge鈥檚 response when Halliburn proposed that sentence is a matter of dispute. Halliburn described it as a 鈥渟hort, sharp scoff鈥�, but the Crown attorney says no such response is audible on court recordings where it鈥檚 alleged to have occurred.
Halliburn introduced submissions from people who believed the judge displayed bias earlier in the proceedings. But Ross said those reactions were predictable from friends and family of Carlson, whom she described as 鈥渦ninformed observers鈥� who perhaps don鈥檛 fully understand the court system.
Judges routinely display a wide range of mannerisms and speaking styles in their interactions with counsel during sentencing proceedings, Ross said, and even if they were true, none of the behaviours ascribed to McParland meet the high standard of proof required for a judicial recusal.
Ron Seymour, 麻豆精选 Daily Courier
The Canadian Press
