A judge who cried during a victim impact statement is expected to release a decision today on whether she’ll disqualify herself from sentencing a man for sexual assault.
The man’s lawyer told Kelowna provincial court Judge Monica McParland in July that she is incapable of delivering a fair sentence because she became emotional during the victim’s statement and she scoffed at the defence suggestion for a sentence.
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Defence lawyer Jacqueline Halliburn asked the judge to recuse herself, saying judges don’t cry in every sexual interference case and she displayed bias when she scoffed at the suggestion her client serve a 90-day intermittent jail term.
Crown prosecutor Angela Ross countered that judges are expected to demonstrate compassion and humanity and no scoff was heard from the judge in a court recording when Halliburn made the sentencing suggestion.
Jeremy Carlson was charged with assault and sexual interference of a person under the age of 16 and later pleaded guilty to sexual interference of a minor.
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The Crown had asked for up to 20 months in jail, followed by probation.
The Canadian Press
