WINNIPEG — A Manitoba judge whose nude pictures were posted online has lost a bid to quash a disciplinary hearing which could result in her removal.
A panel of judges appointed by the Canadian Judicial Council has dismissed a motion from the lawyer for Associate Chief Justice Lori Douglas to throw the case out.
Lawyer Sheila Block compared Douglas to celebrities whose nude photos were hacked and argued the panel shouldn't put Douglas through more trauma because she was a victim of cyber sexual assault.
The panel rejected that, along with an argument that they shouldn't see the racy photos because that would violate Douglas's privacy.
The panel is expected to post written reasons for the ruling within days.
The disciplinary panel was appointed to determine if the photos undermine the justice system and whether Douglas failed to disclose their existence before she was appointed a judge in 2005.
Douglas's late husband, lawyer Jack King, posted the intimate photos of his wife online over a decade ago and showed them to a client, Alexander Chapman, to try to entice him to have sex with her.
Chapman later alleged the behaviour was sexual harassment. He was paid $25,000 to destroy the photos and drop the complaint. But he held on to copies and made them public in 2010.
