KIRK MAKIN
Globe and Mail Update
Ontario Superior Court Judge Paul Cosgrove has lost his judicial credibility and should be removed from the bench, a Canadian Judicial Council inquiry committee has concluded.
The committee's findings - obtained by the Globe and Mail - put Judge Cosgrove in imminent peril of being one of the only judges ever to be removed.
In a 4-1 decision, the CJC inquiry committee said that Judge Cosgrove is guilty of "a failure in the due exercise of his office by abusing his powers as a judge."
The complaint that generated the inquiry came from Ontario Attorney-General Michael Bryant. Mr. Bryant accused Judge Cosgrove of showing apparent bias against the police and Crown during the murder trial of Julia Elliott. Judge Cosgrove stayed the murder charge after making 150 findings of Charter breaches by the Crown and police.