A Hamilton judge who wore a Donald Trump campaign hat in the courtroom has been the subject of 81 complaints.
Those grievances over Justice Bernd Zabel wearing a “Make America Great Again” baseball cap while presiding in November are the subject of a public Ontario Judicial Council hearing later this month.
The hearing panel will include an Ontario Court of Appeal judge as chair, an Ontario Court of Justice judge, a lawyer and a community member.
A hearing in Toronto on Aug. 23 is expected to hear evidence about the allegations and decide whether Zabel is guilty of judicial misconduct.
The hearing notice says that on November 9th, Zabel is alleged to have made comments in court about the U.S. presidential election, which referred to his views and those of judicial colleagues.
An Ontario Court of Justice spokeswoman said in January Zabel had stopped hearing cases in court on Dec. 21.
Kate Andrew did not give a reason for the decision, and said there would be no further comment on the matter.
The incident raised concerns about Zabel’s impartiality in the courtroom and he later called his behaviour a “lapse in judgement,” in addition to issuing an apology to the courts, the bar and his colleagues.
With files from The Canadian Press
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