"She will continue to work on various projects of importance and relevance to the court."

Good Day Readers:

So you know late last night-early this morning we e-mailed a senior Law Society of Manitoba official requesting scheduling information on the LSM's Disciplinary Hearing for Mr. Jack Anthony King. We have yet to receive a reply but will share it with you assuming, of course, we get one. If nothing is forthcoming in the near future we'll go higher.

Although we note the CBC article states no date has been set for Mr. King's hearing per se there could be pre-disciplinary committee meetings underway or about to start open to the public about which we've asked to be advised. It sure seems to be taking a longtime to arrange for the King Hearing. Could the LSM be waiting first for the Canadian Judicial Council's ruling on wife Lori Douglas?

It is our intention to attend Mr. King's Hearing as a Blogger-Citizen Journalist, or whatever it is we are, just like we'll be present at Blackie's April 19, 2011 Motion Hearing for arguments to recuse Law Society appointed prosecutor David M. Skwark (FillmoreRiley). The Society's case will be presented by Grant Mitchell (Taylor McCaffrey) while Blackie will be on the telephone from out of province.

We imagine legal contributor VJH will have something to say shortly about the latest development in the Douglas-King-Chapman sex mess.

Sincerely,
Clare L. Pieuk
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Judge in harassment complaint has role reduced
Thursday, February 10, 2011 2:00 PM CST
CBC News Douglas stepped away from her duties as a sitting judge of the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench in September, shortly after the complaint was filed with the Canadian Judicial Council. (CBC)

The Manitoba judge being investigated in connection with a sexual harassment and discrimination complaint is no longer doing administrative duties.

The complaint against Lori Douglas, an associate chief justice with the Court of Queen's Bench (family division), is currently under review by a panel of five judges.

Winnipegger Alexander Chapman, 44, made the complaint in July, claiming Douglas's husband, Jack King, tried to pressure him to have sex with her in 2002 and 2003.

At the time, both King and Douglas were lawyers, partners at the firm Thompson Dorfman Sweatman in Winnipeg.

Chapman's complaint was initially considered by Neil Wittmann, chief justice of the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta. He is the vice-chairperson of the Canadian Judicial Council's (CJC) judicial conduct committee.

Last month, Wittmann decided the matter warranted further consideration. The panel [three CJC members and two other judges] will decide if the file should be closed or whether any measures should be taken.

Alex Chapman filed a complaint of sexual harassment and discrimination against Lori Douglas in July 2010. (CBC)

Douglas stepped away from her duties as a sitting judge in September 2010, shortly after the complaint was filed with the CJC, but remained with the court in an administrative capacity.

However, in an email on Thursday, Glenn Joyal, chief justice of Manitoba's Court of Queen's Bench said Douglas' role has been reduced.

"Pending the final outcome of the proceedings before the Canadian Judicial Council, it has been agreed that associate Chief Justice Douglas will not be assigned any administrative duties in relation to the family division," the email stated.

"[She] will continue to work on various projects of importance and relevance to the court."

No further information was provided by Joyal.

Lawyer charged

Chapman filed a similar complaint against King with the Law Society of Manitoba in July 2010.

In early November, the society announced that it had charged King with violating three provisions of the code of professional conduct: integrity (breach of trust), prohibition against sexual harassment and conflict of interest.

The charges have yet to be proven in a disciplinary hearing, which includes two lawyers and one member of the public.

No date for that hearing has yet been set.

Chapman first met King in 2002, when he retained the lawyer to handle his divorce. King showed him sexually explicit photos of Douglas, naked in various forms of bondage, in chains, with sex toys and performing oral sex.

That information has been admitted to in court documents submitted by King.

At some point, Chapman, who is black, said King, who is white, also directed him to a porn website devoted to interracial sex, particularly between black men and white women.

When his divorce was concluded, Chapman filed a complaint to the managing partners at the law firm. Soon after receiving the complaint, King left the firm and signed a confidentiality agreement with Chapman, who was paid $25,000.

After seven years of silence, Chapman decided to file the complaint with the law society. He also decided to go public with his allegations at the end of August, telling CBC News he felt distraught about the matter.