As the hearing for Federal Court Justice Robin Camp begins Tuesday, his lawyer will argue though his comments may have been ignorant and insensitive, they don’t show that he was biased in the case.
WATCH: Judge who criticized alleged rape victim now faces public inquiry. Vassy Kapelos reports.
Court transcripts show he also questioned the woman’s morals, suggested her attempts to fight off her attacker were feeble and described her as “the accused” throughout the trial.
READ MORE: Looming inquiry into federal judge exposes flaws with Canada’s judicial appointment process
In his opening documents, Camp’s lawyer Frank Addario said said his client admits his comments were “insensitive, rude, and, in places, displayed an ignorance of the ways in which victims of trauma and/or sexual violence process and respond to events.”
But he argues that those comments don’t show a wilful bias or animosity towards women.
WATCH: Sexual assault advocates Deb Singh and Lenore Lukasik-Foss give their thoughts about Robin Camp’s conduct in the sexual assault trial
The ignorance, Addario claims, is due to Camp’s prior experience, or lack thereof, with sexual assault cases prior to being made a judge.
He will also argue that Camp should not be removed because the problem of his ignorance can be solved with education.
“It is widely recognized that no judge starts off perfect and that judges can be taught things they do not know,” Addario writes.
“Justice Camp is not a perfect judge. But he is a repentant good judge with a desire to learn from his mistakes.”
Since the case, Addario says Camp has been undergoing counselling with a clinical psychologist and will testify that “he will never make comments like those again, because he has a better understanding of the issues raised in sexual assault prosecutions and because he now understands why his comments were wrong.”
On the presenting council’s side, lawyer Marjorie Hickey says the victim will be testifying against Camp, and will be talking about how his comments made her feel.
The review committee will make recommendations to full judicial council. If it decides Camp should be removed from the bench, the final decision lies with federal Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould.
In the original case, the 19-year-old victim accused Alexander Wagner of sexual assault at a Calgary house party. Camp aquitted Wagner, but the ruling was overturned by the Alberta Court of Appeal.
READ: Frank Addario’s opening documents
*with files from the Canadian Press.
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