Justice of the peace could avoid facing discipline by retiring
Not the first time accused JP has said he plans to step down
A Toronto justice of the peace’s intention to retire this summer means he will avoid facing discipline for allegedly bullying and mocking a selfrepresented defendant.
Justice of the peace Alfred “Budd” Johnston was supposed to face a discipline hearing on June 7 before the Justices of the Peace Review Council, the independent body tasked with investigating and disciplining JPs. But he never showed.
Instead, “presenting counsel” — the outside lawyers tasked with presenting the case against Johnston — noted that the JP had informed the associate chief justice on May 30 that he plans to retire effective Aug. 31 and was expected to be “under doctor’s care” until that date and unable to perform his duties, according to a decision posted on the review council’s website.
The discipline panel decided to adjourn the matter until Sept. 5. Should Johnston retire as planned on Aug. 31, the panel will lose jurisdiction over him and the September hearing will not take place.
It’s not the first time that Johnston, appointed in 2003, has announced his intention to retire.
Nor is it the first time that Johnston has been in the crosshairs of the review council.
He was suspended for seven days without pay in 2014 for dismissing 68 traffic cases because the prosecutor was 71 seconds late, a move the review council described as an “abuse of power.” At the time, his lawyer told the panel that Johnston intended to retire the follow- ing summer, in 2015, but he never did.
The latest discipline case against him stems from comments he made in provincial offences court in 2016, where he was allegedly “condescending, sarcastic, bullying and mocking” toward a selfrepresented defendant, according to a notice of hearing on the review council’s website. The allegations haven’t been proven.
According to the discipline panel’s decision adjourning the case until Sept. 5, in an April letter addressed to the review council registrar, Johnston lamented his treatment during his first discipline hearing.
He noted in his letter that after that first hearing, he “took ill and was under doctor’s care for a short time,” and said he had been spending a lot of time preparing for his retirement “as I am most certain that I could never go through the same ordeal ever again.
“I have been kicked around all my life, because I am the product of two minorities. I am just too old, nor do I have the strength to kick back,” Johnston said in the letter. “I cannot afford a lawyer to assist or represent me as I know I will get no assistance with costs.
“I am unable to appear before the Justices of the Peace Review Council, as I know I would not be able to handle the way I fear I will be treated. I am fearful and suffer from anxiety attacks whenever I even think of dealing with the Justices of the Peace Review Council. I am even afraid to open any mail because of the affect (sic) it may have on me.”
Justices of the peace, who earn about $132,000 a year, are appointed by the provincial government.
They preside over bail hearings, authorize search warrants and conduct trials in provincial offences court, which deals with non-criminal charges, among other duties.