The tale of two clumsy judges!
Good Day Readers:
One would have thought after Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench Justice Robert Dewar's, intemperate, infamous comments regarding sexual assault former Judge John Reilly would have noted the resulting firestorm.
However, this should not be allowed to completely overshadow some of the good work Justice Reilly did while sitting on the Bench bringing attention to the problems associated with applying Canada's judicial system on Alberta reservations. It was refreshing for a change to hear a member of the judiciary calling a spade a f.....g shove something that is unfortunately done all too infrequently.
Sincerely,
Clare L. Pieuk
__________________________________________________
Liberal candidate John Reilly apologizes for remarks on sexual assault
By: Richard Cuthbertson, Althia Raj, Calgary Herald, Postmedia
April 7, 2011
Alberta’s longest-serving provincial judge John Reilly is coming under fire for remarks made on a radio talk show last week concerning a sexual-assault case. He is running as a Liberal candidate in Alberta's Wild Rose riding. (Photograph by: Raeleen Badham, Calgary Herald)
OTTAWA – John Reilly, a retired judge and Liberal candidate for the Alberta riding of Wild Rose, was forced to apologize Thursday for suggesting in a radio interview that not all sexual offenders should be incarcerated.
Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff called an Alberta candidate’s comments on sexual offenders "disgraceful,” but said he has accepted Reilly’s apology and he’ll continue to serve as the party’s candidate for the riding.
Reilly said the case he cited of a man sexually assaulting a woman at a party was a “very clumsy” example and a “huge mistake politically,” but added he still stands by his position that mandatory minimum jail sentences are wrong and take away the discretion of judges.
The controversial figure also swung back at the federal Conservative party, calling them “vicious” and arguing the attacks against him were being orchestrated by the Tories.
“It makes me proud that they think I’m somebody deserving of national attention,” he said in an interview with the Herald.
But Reilly refused to talk Thursday about the sexual assault case he used as an example on the radio program. He did defend his record as a judge, saying he had sentenced sex offenders to prison terms the court of appeal determined were too harsh.
He declined to give examples, saying that was part of the mistake he made last week.
Conservative Party officials handed out transcripts and audio clips Thursday from an interview that Reilly, with 35 years on the bench, did with Alberta radio talk show host David Rutherford on The Rutherford Show on March 31.
In a wide-ranging interview that probed the 64-year-old’s experience on the bench, Reilly cited several examples of cases that did not warrant what he believed were tough-on-crime sentences — including that of a young man who penetrated a woman with his fingers.
The Crown wanted him to go to jail for three years, but Reilly felt his offence did not warrant a sentence of that length.
“This is one of my problems with the criminal justice system the way it is, is that I say we put too much emphasis on the offence and not enough emphasis on the offender. If you’re looking at what the Conservative government wants to do is say if this is the offence, you go to jail. And that’s going to put people in jail that don’t need to be there,” Reilly told host Dave Rutherford. The matter comes just a day after Ignatieff was forced to turf Quebec Liberal candidate Andre Forbes for past comments he made disparaging aboriginals.
Ignatieff said Thursday that Reilly, 64, has issued an “unreserved apology” for his remarks and will thus remain the party’s candidate.
“These remarks are utterly, totally unacceptable,” Ignatieff said. “We find them, in fact, disgraceful.”
But the Liberal leader said the comment had to be put into the context of the Reilly’s long and “distinguished” record on the Alberta bench.
“He has served the community with a long record of distinguished public service. He made one remark that he’s going to regret for the rest of his life. He’s offered an unreserved apology, I’ve accepted it and on those grounds he can continue as a candidate.
“Basically because we’re looking at a man’s life, we’re looking at a man’s life as a judge, as a public responsible official . . . That remark was simply unacceptable and he knows that.”
The retired provincial court judge is a controversial figure, and has been candid with his views on the justice system and First Nations issues.
That candor won’t go away, Reilly said, but he acknowledged there are restrictions when running for political office.
He said he has a “huge concern” for offences involving violence against women on the Stoney Nakoda First Nation, west of Calgary. The First Nation was the subject of his recent book called Bad Medicine.
“I know some people see me as a champion of women’s rights, and I know I am,” he said. “I’m very concerned about cases of violence against women. I don’t agree that every one of them should result in periods of imprisonment because I think there are more enlightened ways of dealing with them.”
One would have thought after Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench Justice Robert Dewar's, intemperate, infamous comments regarding sexual assault former Judge John Reilly would have noted the resulting firestorm.
However, this should not be allowed to completely overshadow some of the good work Justice Reilly did while sitting on the Bench bringing attention to the problems associated with applying Canada's judicial system on Alberta reservations. It was refreshing for a change to hear a member of the judiciary calling a spade a f.....g shove something that is unfortunately done all too infrequently.
Sincerely,
Clare L. Pieuk
__________________________________________________
Liberal candidate John Reilly apologizes for remarks on sexual assault
By: Richard Cuthbertson, Althia Raj, Calgary Herald, Postmedia
April 7, 2011
Alberta’s longest-serving provincial judge John Reilly is coming under fire for remarks made on a radio talk show last week concerning a sexual-assault case. He is running as a Liberal candidate in Alberta's Wild Rose riding. (Photograph by: Raeleen Badham, Calgary Herald)
OTTAWA – John Reilly, a retired judge and Liberal candidate for the Alberta riding of Wild Rose, was forced to apologize Thursday for suggesting in a radio interview that not all sexual offenders should be incarcerated.
Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff called an Alberta candidate’s comments on sexual offenders "disgraceful,” but said he has accepted Reilly’s apology and he’ll continue to serve as the party’s candidate for the riding.
Reilly said the case he cited of a man sexually assaulting a woman at a party was a “very clumsy” example and a “huge mistake politically,” but added he still stands by his position that mandatory minimum jail sentences are wrong and take away the discretion of judges.
The controversial figure also swung back at the federal Conservative party, calling them “vicious” and arguing the attacks against him were being orchestrated by the Tories.
“It makes me proud that they think I’m somebody deserving of national attention,” he said in an interview with the Herald.
But Reilly refused to talk Thursday about the sexual assault case he used as an example on the radio program. He did defend his record as a judge, saying he had sentenced sex offenders to prison terms the court of appeal determined were too harsh.
He declined to give examples, saying that was part of the mistake he made last week.
Conservative Party officials handed out transcripts and audio clips Thursday from an interview that Reilly, with 35 years on the bench, did with Alberta radio talk show host David Rutherford on The Rutherford Show on March 31.
In a wide-ranging interview that probed the 64-year-old’s experience on the bench, Reilly cited several examples of cases that did not warrant what he believed were tough-on-crime sentences — including that of a young man who penetrated a woman with his fingers.
The Crown wanted him to go to jail for three years, but Reilly felt his offence did not warrant a sentence of that length.
“This is one of my problems with the criminal justice system the way it is, is that I say we put too much emphasis on the offence and not enough emphasis on the offender. If you’re looking at what the Conservative government wants to do is say if this is the offence, you go to jail. And that’s going to put people in jail that don’t need to be there,” Reilly told host Dave Rutherford. The matter comes just a day after Ignatieff was forced to turf Quebec Liberal candidate Andre Forbes for past comments he made disparaging aboriginals.
Ignatieff said Thursday that Reilly, 64, has issued an “unreserved apology” for his remarks and will thus remain the party’s candidate.
“These remarks are utterly, totally unacceptable,” Ignatieff said. “We find them, in fact, disgraceful.”
But the Liberal leader said the comment had to be put into the context of the Reilly’s long and “distinguished” record on the Alberta bench.
“He has served the community with a long record of distinguished public service. He made one remark that he’s going to regret for the rest of his life. He’s offered an unreserved apology, I’ve accepted it and on those grounds he can continue as a candidate.
“Basically because we’re looking at a man’s life, we’re looking at a man’s life as a judge, as a public responsible official . . . That remark was simply unacceptable and he knows that.”
The retired provincial court judge is a controversial figure, and has been candid with his views on the justice system and First Nations issues.
That candor won’t go away, Reilly said, but he acknowledged there are restrictions when running for political office.
He said he has a “huge concern” for offences involving violence against women on the Stoney Nakoda First Nation, west of Calgary. The First Nation was the subject of his recent book called Bad Medicine.
“I know some people see me as a champion of women’s rights, and I know I am,” he said. “I’m very concerned about cases of violence against women. I don’t agree that every one of them should result in periods of imprisonment because I think there are more enlightened ways of dealing with them.”
posted by Clare L. Pieuk at 10:41 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home