TORONTO – The Ontario judge who awarded custody of seven-year-old Katelynn Sampson to a woman now charged with her death should be investigated for misconduct, says an Ontario New Democratic Party MPP.
Peter Kormos says he has filed a complaint with the Ontario Judicial Council asking it to look into the actions of Madam Justice Debra Paulseth’s conduct.
Kormos on Monday released documents showing how he believes Paulseth “failed miserably” in her responsibility to protect the girl’s interests.
The documents include forms showing the judge failed to appoint a children’s lawyer or to order an assessment, even when those options plainly were available to her. She also ignored law compelling her to take the child’s best interest into account.
A short courtroom interrogation of Katelynn’s drug-addicted mother, Bernice Sampson, and the caregiver she awarded custody to, “best friend” Donna Irving, is utterly insufficient, says Kormos. He released a transcript of that dialogue, which is riddled with half-answered questions and unexplored avenues, including the child’s potential living conditions and Irving’s criminal history.
“A casual encounter with a stranger would have resulted in more inquiries about her well-being,” he said Monday. “The judge failed in her duty as a judicial officer.”
Katelynn was found dead in a Toronto apartment building in early August. One officer described her injuries as the worst he had seen in 20 years on the job. Irving and her live-in boyfriend, 46-year-old Warren Johnson, are charged with second-degree murder.
Ontario’s Attorney General has said he is reviewing the province’s laws in the wake of the girl’s death.
But Kormos, who formerly worked as a criminal defence attorney, is convinced it wasn’t a problem of inadequate laws, but rather Paulseth’s actions, which failed to protect Katelynn from harm.
“This child was put at risk by a judge who failed to perform her duty,” he said Monday. “I leave it to the judicial council to determine whether or not that constitutes misconduct or neglect of duty.”
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