‘Crying judge’ refuses to recuse

Judge McParland accused of showing too much emotion

There was no sobbing in court Friday as the so-called crying judge refused to excuse herself from a sexual assault sentencing for shedding a tear during the reading of a victim-impact statement.

Right off the bat, in proceedings at Kelowna Law Courts on Friday morning, Provincial Court Judge Monica McParland was serious and strident and stated: “I refuse to recuse myself.”

She then went on to read a 13-page prepared text for about 20 minutes outlining her reasons for not capitulating to the defence lawyer’s request. When news of the judge crying hit the media last month, it quickly became a national story with outlets across the country relaying the details.

This case goes back to November 2017, when Jeremy Melvin Carlson pled guilty to one count of sexual interference against a person under the age of 16.

The minor was an eight-year-old girl in 2015 and 2016 when Carlson repeatedly molested her.

By the time Carlson appeared in court again in April for a sentencing hearing and the reading of the victim-impact statement, he was undergoing hormone therapy to transition to become a woman and is now going by the name Rhiley Carlson.

It was the mother of the molested girl who read the victim-impact statement that day in court.

She spoke of moving forward seeming like an impossibility, her daughter’s loss of childhood innocence and her daughter losing the concept of a safe world.

The mother felt like she had completely failed her daughter, who has become reclusive and depressed.

The identity of the girl and her mother are protected by a court-ordered publication ban. McParland characterized her emotional reaction as “briefly dabbed a tear from her eye with a tissue.”

Carlson’s lawyer, Jacqueline Halliburn, characterized it as “crying” and said the judge “scoffed” when the defence stated its sentencing position.

The defence suggested a 90-day intermittent jail term, to be served over 20 weekends.

The Crown seeks a jail sentence up to 20 months with two years of probation.

It was just before 4 p.m. on April 30, the day of the sentencing hearing, that Carlson’s lawyer advised she wanted to apply to have the judge excused for bias.

“Just because a judge demonstrates human compassion, it does not amount to judicial bias,” said the judge, quoting commentaries on judicial conduct from the Supreme Court of Canada and the Canadian Judicial Council.

Carlson’s lawyer filed a written request for the judge to be taken off the case.

Friday’s court session was for the judge to announce whether she would quit the case and leave sentencing to another judge or stay on and sentence.

Her decision to stay prompted an adjournment request from both the defence and the Crown.

Sentencing proceedings will start up again Aug. 30 for two days for the Crown to bring in two witnesses and the defence three witnesses.

On Friday, Carlson sat in the front row of the public gallery in courtroom No. 6 wearing a plaid shirt and Capri pants and running shoes with pink laces while chatting and cuddling with a blonde woman.

When official proceedings began, Carlson joined her lawyer, Jacqueline Halliburn, in a seat in front of the judge.

At one point, when Halliburn was whispering to Carlson, the judge stopped speaking and waited until they were finished to resume.