Need a judicial score card?

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post, "Associate Chief Justice Lori Douglas now has company!"

Good Afternoon Mr. Pieuk,

My God, the last 24 hours has been an exercise in judicial indiscretions!

Douglas does indeed have company, but as a Manitoban taxpayer - I'm outraged!

At least our Porn Queen Justice is still working, Corrin is on leave! As a Provincial Court judge, thankfully its not as complicated to remove him, provided Mr. Swan (Justice Minister) has the cojones to do so. He'll probably await the outcome of the criminal charges - so Corrin gets a paid vacation for the next 2 years or so...

And in other news .....

The Canadian Judicial Council is now investigating Justice Robert Dewar for his inappropriate statements, but since you don't get removed for having naked bondage pictures on the net, I doubt Mr. Dewar will have to do much more than "apologize," which is hardly appropriate.

What is wrong with the Bench in this Province? Is the air so stale in chambers that our judiciary is deprived of oxygen and is making these gross errors in conduct?

I certainly do not want to be taxed to pay for two judges to do essentially nothing and one to shoot his unevolved mouth off!

A very, very disappointed .....

VJH

(Who, by the by, is NOT a member of this godforsaken profession!)
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Dear VJH:

Thank you for writing as we knew you would.

Here's a posting from the CBC Manitoba webpage which appeared later today and provides a little more information on Justice Corrin than was initially released by Manitoba Justice:

A judge who has served provincial court in Manitoba for more than two decades has been charged with assault and uttering threats.

The charges against Brian Corrin, 65, were laid by Winnipeg police on Thursday, according to a spokesperson with the Manitoba courts.

The allegations involve a family member.

According to Winnipeg police, the incident happened February 20 at a home in the city's River Heights neighbourhood.

Corrin allegedly became involved in a confrontation with a woman and physically assaulted her, causing minor injuries. The woman was also threatened, police said.

An arrest warrant was issued on Thursday and Corrin was taken into custody.

He has been released on a promise to appear in court to face the charges.

He has also been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome.

Corrin is a former Winnipeg city councillor and provincial NDP MLA and once also ran for mayor.

He served as councillor from 1974-77, when he moved to the legislature after winning a seat in the 1977 provincial election.

He served the Winnipeg riding of Wellington as an opposition member and justice critic. In 1983, while still in the legislature, Corrin challenged incumbent Mayor Bill Norrie in the civic election, but was soundly defeated.

He has been a provincial judge since 1988.

In 1996, he was suspended for 30 days after a panel of six judges found him guilty of misconduct.

One of the incidents that led to the decision was a court hearing he had skipped so he could oversee repairs on his car.

"He has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome." We interpret this to mean he'll be at home collecting his full salary (probably in the neighbourhood of $300,000 annually) plus benefits until his case goes to trial and he's found guilty if that is, in fact, the outcome. It could be argued Madam Douglas is at least doing something productive, albeit sharpening pencils for the other judges, to earn her keep.

Here's another one for you VJH. During the Pre-Trial Conference phase of the Manitoba Metis Federation's beyond asinine Canadian taxpayer financed defamation lawsuit against www.CyberSmokeSignls.com
prosecuted by Winnipeg lawyer Murray Trachtenberg, the presiding Justice who began the process (early September 2008) suddenly evaporated.

www.ptlaw.mb.ca; mtrachtenberg@ptlaw.mb.ca

The last Pre-Trial was late February 2010 be when we returned for yet another in early June 2010 Her replacement simply stated she was now on leave. Since then whenever we're at the Law Courts doing research (as recentlly as Thursday of this week) we always check the bulletin board displaying the list of hearings. Her name has yet to appear. What happened to her VJH? It's getting to the point where you'll soon need a score card to keep track of the judges.

BTW, it's too bad you're not a lawyer because you have an excellent legal mind and write even better. The profession is an honourable one, unfortunately, that's no how it's practiced by many in Winnipeg. We sometimes wonder if as an attorney were to be judged by the Manitoba Law Society or the Canadian Judicial Council where should you take your chances? It's a toss up but we'd go with the LSM because all you need to get off is a little note from your doctor.

Sincerely/Clare L. Pieuk