(OTTAWA) Supreme Court Justice Russell Brown was allegedly involved in an altercation at a fancy Arizona hotel after engaging in behavior deemed harassing by a veteran. This one would have struck in the face the magistrate who was, according to the veteran, in a state of intoxication. The principal concerned, who was put on leave on 1er February, denies these allegations published Friday in the Vancouver Sun.
What happened in Scottsdale, Arizona finally surfaced days after the Supreme Court of Canada announced that Alberta Justice Russell Brown had been “placed on leave” on 1er last February because he was the subject of a complaint. This is being studied by the Canadian Judicial Council (CJC).
Neither institution has provided details about the nature of the complaint, which was reported on January 29, and referred to British Columbia Supreme Court Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson, and to which Justice Brown took until February 20 to reply.
THE Vancouver Sunhe published an article on Friday detailing the events that would have occurred at the chic Omni Scottsdale Resort & Spa, where the magistrate gave a speech on January 28 at a gala where the former justice of the Supreme Court of Canada Louise Arbor was honoured.
At the hotel bar, Judge Brown allegedly “harassed my friends” and “talked about how important it was”, and followed some of them to their hotel rooms, according to the account says Jon Crump, a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, in an interview with the Postmedia tabloid.
This is where he would have lost his patience, still according to his version of the facts. “I said to him, ‘You’re clearly drunk and the girls are scared of you.’ He pushed me. […] I pushed him away, then I punched him twice in the face and he fell to the ground”.
Police were called back, a report was written. The officer who showed up at the scene around 1:30 a.m. wrote that Crump had a “quarrelsome, hostile demeanor and appeared to be under the influence of alcohol,” according to the report Postmedia claims to have seen. .
Judge Brown denies
Thursday, the magistrate appointed in 2015 broke the silence he had kept since his suspension.
“Originally, my intention in this matter was not to comment, and to let the process take its course,” he said in a statement provided to the Vancouver Sun.
“It has become impossible in light of Mr. Crump’s statements that have been reported. These statements are patently false. I will give more details soon, ”added the judge.
The Supreme Court of Canada announced on Tuesday the “leave” of the magistrate, whose absence on the bench had been noticed and whose absence was beginning to raise questions.
Without confirming that the complaint actually involves allegations of misconduct or harassment, the CJC said it takes these issues very seriously in a statement sent to the Vancouver Sun.
The Supreme Court had not yet responded to questions from The Press at the time of publishing these lines, a little before noon on Friday.