blake 3:17
24th March 2016, 22:33
Jian Ghomeshi has been acquitted on four counts of sexual assault and one count of choking by an Ontario Court judge who says the "deceptive and manipulative" evidence of the complainants raised a reasonable doubt in the guilt of the former CBC Radio host.
Angry protests erupt outside court after Ghomeshi acquittal (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/jian-ghomeshi-judge-ruling-1.3504250)
In a searing rebuke of the complainants, Judge William Horkins said the evidence from all three not only suffered from inconsistencies, but was "tainted by outright deception."
Judge William Horkins ruling (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/horkins-decision-ghomeshi-1.3505808)
Jian Ghomeshi trial: Twists and turns of case rivalled most intense courtroom dramas (http://www.cbc.ca/news/jian-ghomeshi-sexual-assault-trial-1.3502101)
"The harsh reality is that once a witness has been shown to be deceptive and manipulative in giving their evidence, that witness can no longer expect the court to consider them to be a trusted source of the truth," Horkins said.
'Serious deficiencies'"I am forced to conclude that it is impossible for the court to have sufficient faith in the reliability or sincerity of these complainants. Put simply, the volume of serious deficiencies in the evidence leaves the court with a reasonable doubt."
After Horkins delivered his ruling (http://www.ontariocourts.ca/en/24Mar16.pdf), Ghomeshi, 48, hugged his mother, sister and other supporters who sat behind him in the courtroom. He said nothing as he exited the courthouse, but his sister Jila made a statement.
"Our hardest burden has been our feeling of helplessness as we have watched him endure a punishment that was delivered not only prior to a verdict, but prior to any semblance of due process for well over a year," she said.
"It has been extremely painful for those of us who love him," she said, adding that he brother "remained the person that we know and love."
Outside the courthouse, as Crown attorney Michael Callaghan was set to respond to the ruling, a topless protestor rushed the podium. She was handcuffed and placed in police cruiser.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/jian-ghomeshi-sexual-assault-trial-ruling-1.3505446
- - - Updated - - -
IS JIAN GHOMESHI GUILTY OR INNOCENT? SADLY, IT MAY NOT MATTER
So where are women to go from here? There's talk of establishing a sexual assault court as a solution. But laws governing the crime remain the same, and who will educate lawyers about not "whacking the complainant?"
BY JANE DOE (https://nowtoronto.com/topics/jane-doe/)
FEBRUARY 18, 2016
8:00 AM
IS JIAN GHOMESHI GUILTY OR INNOCENT? SADLY, IT MAY NOT MATTER
So where are women to go from here? There's talk of establishing a sexual assault court as a solution. But laws governing the crime remain the same, and who will educate lawyers about not "whacking the complainant?"
BY JANE DOE (https://nowtoronto.com/topics/jane-doe/)
FEBRUARY 18, 2016
8:00 AM
Now that the trial portion has ended and the women who have accused Jian Ghomeshi of sexual assault have been found guilty of not behaving the way sexually assaulted women should (https://nowtoronto.com/news/jian-ghomeshi-trial-who-has-accusers-back-in-this-set-up/), we await the judge's decision on the matter, scheduled for March 24.
In the interest of full disclosure, I should tell you that my observations of the trial are biased: I know that the legal system doesn't work for women who report sexual assault.
I believe the three women involved, and I believe the other women who came forward to accuse Ghomeshi but whose cases didn't get to court. I also believe the three women who approached me during the eight-day trial to tell me about their own encounters with Ghomeshi.
The court case, and all the media attention it received, was not the first sexual assault rodeo I've been to. I support sexually assaulted women regularly at their trials, at their request, and most often after they have abandoned hope about the outcome.
I've been across the country to interview sexually assaulted women about the systemic nature of the crime, like its contested and revictimizing language, the efficacy of the publication ban and rape kit, police warnings, and the infantilizing and demonizing of sexually assaulted women socially, in court and by the "helping" professions, including some of the feminist ones.
Ghomeshi defence lawyer Marie Henein was legal counsel to the Feminist Coalition I formed in 2012 to seek intervenor status at the Supreme Court of Canada in support of the full decriminalization of sex work and the human and labour rights of sex workers. She was feminist, brilliant and pro bono. I admired her greatly, and her shoes and I am in her debt.
But I cannot countenance the moral code by which she and other defence lawyers in rape cases believe (https://nowtoronto.com/news/theatre-of-the-absurd-is-more-like-it/) that it's acceptable to support the full rights of the accused while ignoring the rights, dignity and humanity of women who testify against them - even though our law allows it.
I've had the privilege to meet and correspond with internationally celebrated former Supreme Court justice Claire L'Heureux-Dubé, who would, I believe, censure Henein for referencing her feminist work miles out of context in support of Ghomeshi during closing arguments last week.
L'Heureux-Dubé's judgments have upheld the testimony of sexually assaulted women and debunked the rape myths that Henein chose to perpetuate in her defence of Ghomeshi. These are the sorts of contradictions and dualities that criminal law sanctions.
But let one woman contradict or fail to recall her initial account of her sexual assault, let her forget or hide something she knows will harm her, and all legal hell flames up around her.
Ghomeshi's accusers were portrayed as colluding, career-focused liars. The defence and the Crown prosecutor ignored the actions of the accused, reinforcing the paradigm that sexual assault is about the woman's behaviour, not the alleged perpetrator's. The outcome? Even the Toronto police admit the conviction rate is "abysmally low," and Statistics Canada confirms that fact.
The Ghomeshi trial is far from a one-off. In a courtroom one floor up at Old City Hall, another trial was playing out that made Ghomeshi's seem a degree less odious by comparison - only there was just one reporter covering that case.
During the cross-examination of complainant Mandi Gray, defence lawyer Lisa Bristow attacked the York PhD student and activist with every rape myth in the book and trotted out a few of her own.
Bristow remarked during her questioning that Gray "seemed like a dead fish in bed," read out her phone number in open court and accused her of winking at and sticking her tongue out at the accused, Mustafa Ururyar, while on the stand. She also accused Gray of lying to get revenge, drinking too much, publicly groping Ururyar's groin and texting him for hot sex.
Gray was pilloried for not reporting right away, delaying the collection of her sexual assault evidence kit, using the assault to further her academic career, not fighting back, remaining in bed with the man who assaulted her and being a political activist. The Crown prosecutor rose only once to object.
When Bristow asked the judge to caution courtroom observers, whom she called "the peanut gallery," against gasping in disbelief at what we were hearing, he obliged.
Gray's cross-examination has been held over until April 11 and two more dates in May after it was revealed that the investigating officer had failed to submit his notes and was on vacation.
Last summer Gray launched a precedent-setting complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Commission alleging that York University had been negligent by not responding to her sexual assault.
A Human Rights Commission tribunal is not a criminal court. The treatment it affords women who have been sexually assaulted remains to be seen. But what is significant about it is that it can order change while a criminal court cannot.
Aboriginal women tell us that while restorative justice traditions work well in many circumstances, they are not effective in addressing crimes of sexual violence.
So where are women to go from here? There is talk of establishing a sexual assault court as a solution.
https://nowtoronto.com/news/is-jian-ghomeshi-guilty-or-innocent-sadly-it-may-not-matter/
Angry protests erupt outside court after Ghomeshi acquittal (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/jian-ghomeshi-judge-ruling-1.3504250)
In a searing rebuke of the complainants, Judge William Horkins said the evidence from all three not only suffered from inconsistencies, but was "tainted by outright deception."
Judge William Horkins ruling (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/horkins-decision-ghomeshi-1.3505808)
Jian Ghomeshi trial: Twists and turns of case rivalled most intense courtroom dramas (http://www.cbc.ca/news/jian-ghomeshi-sexual-assault-trial-1.3502101)
"The harsh reality is that once a witness has been shown to be deceptive and manipulative in giving their evidence, that witness can no longer expect the court to consider them to be a trusted source of the truth," Horkins said.
'Serious deficiencies'"I am forced to conclude that it is impossible for the court to have sufficient faith in the reliability or sincerity of these complainants. Put simply, the volume of serious deficiencies in the evidence leaves the court with a reasonable doubt."
After Horkins delivered his ruling (http://www.ontariocourts.ca/en/24Mar16.pdf), Ghomeshi, 48, hugged his mother, sister and other supporters who sat behind him in the courtroom. He said nothing as he exited the courthouse, but his sister Jila made a statement.
"Our hardest burden has been our feeling of helplessness as we have watched him endure a punishment that was delivered not only prior to a verdict, but prior to any semblance of due process for well over a year," she said.
"It has been extremely painful for those of us who love him," she said, adding that he brother "remained the person that we know and love."
Outside the courthouse, as Crown attorney Michael Callaghan was set to respond to the ruling, a topless protestor rushed the podium. She was handcuffed and placed in police cruiser.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/jian-ghomeshi-sexual-assault-trial-ruling-1.3505446
- - - Updated - - -
IS JIAN GHOMESHI GUILTY OR INNOCENT? SADLY, IT MAY NOT MATTER
So where are women to go from here? There's talk of establishing a sexual assault court as a solution. But laws governing the crime remain the same, and who will educate lawyers about not "whacking the complainant?"
BY JANE DOE (https://nowtoronto.com/topics/jane-doe/)
FEBRUARY 18, 2016
8:00 AM
IS JIAN GHOMESHI GUILTY OR INNOCENT? SADLY, IT MAY NOT MATTER
So where are women to go from here? There's talk of establishing a sexual assault court as a solution. But laws governing the crime remain the same, and who will educate lawyers about not "whacking the complainant?"
BY JANE DOE (https://nowtoronto.com/topics/jane-doe/)
FEBRUARY 18, 2016
8:00 AM
Now that the trial portion has ended and the women who have accused Jian Ghomeshi of sexual assault have been found guilty of not behaving the way sexually assaulted women should (https://nowtoronto.com/news/jian-ghomeshi-trial-who-has-accusers-back-in-this-set-up/), we await the judge's decision on the matter, scheduled for March 24.
In the interest of full disclosure, I should tell you that my observations of the trial are biased: I know that the legal system doesn't work for women who report sexual assault.
I believe the three women involved, and I believe the other women who came forward to accuse Ghomeshi but whose cases didn't get to court. I also believe the three women who approached me during the eight-day trial to tell me about their own encounters with Ghomeshi.
The court case, and all the media attention it received, was not the first sexual assault rodeo I've been to. I support sexually assaulted women regularly at their trials, at their request, and most often after they have abandoned hope about the outcome.
I've been across the country to interview sexually assaulted women about the systemic nature of the crime, like its contested and revictimizing language, the efficacy of the publication ban and rape kit, police warnings, and the infantilizing and demonizing of sexually assaulted women socially, in court and by the "helping" professions, including some of the feminist ones.
Ghomeshi defence lawyer Marie Henein was legal counsel to the Feminist Coalition I formed in 2012 to seek intervenor status at the Supreme Court of Canada in support of the full decriminalization of sex work and the human and labour rights of sex workers. She was feminist, brilliant and pro bono. I admired her greatly, and her shoes and I am in her debt.
But I cannot countenance the moral code by which she and other defence lawyers in rape cases believe (https://nowtoronto.com/news/theatre-of-the-absurd-is-more-like-it/) that it's acceptable to support the full rights of the accused while ignoring the rights, dignity and humanity of women who testify against them - even though our law allows it.
I've had the privilege to meet and correspond with internationally celebrated former Supreme Court justice Claire L'Heureux-Dubé, who would, I believe, censure Henein for referencing her feminist work miles out of context in support of Ghomeshi during closing arguments last week.
L'Heureux-Dubé's judgments have upheld the testimony of sexually assaulted women and debunked the rape myths that Henein chose to perpetuate in her defence of Ghomeshi. These are the sorts of contradictions and dualities that criminal law sanctions.
But let one woman contradict or fail to recall her initial account of her sexual assault, let her forget or hide something she knows will harm her, and all legal hell flames up around her.
Ghomeshi's accusers were portrayed as colluding, career-focused liars. The defence and the Crown prosecutor ignored the actions of the accused, reinforcing the paradigm that sexual assault is about the woman's behaviour, not the alleged perpetrator's. The outcome? Even the Toronto police admit the conviction rate is "abysmally low," and Statistics Canada confirms that fact.
The Ghomeshi trial is far from a one-off. In a courtroom one floor up at Old City Hall, another trial was playing out that made Ghomeshi's seem a degree less odious by comparison - only there was just one reporter covering that case.
During the cross-examination of complainant Mandi Gray, defence lawyer Lisa Bristow attacked the York PhD student and activist with every rape myth in the book and trotted out a few of her own.
Bristow remarked during her questioning that Gray "seemed like a dead fish in bed," read out her phone number in open court and accused her of winking at and sticking her tongue out at the accused, Mustafa Ururyar, while on the stand. She also accused Gray of lying to get revenge, drinking too much, publicly groping Ururyar's groin and texting him for hot sex.
Gray was pilloried for not reporting right away, delaying the collection of her sexual assault evidence kit, using the assault to further her academic career, not fighting back, remaining in bed with the man who assaulted her and being a political activist. The Crown prosecutor rose only once to object.
When Bristow asked the judge to caution courtroom observers, whom she called "the peanut gallery," against gasping in disbelief at what we were hearing, he obliged.
Gray's cross-examination has been held over until April 11 and two more dates in May after it was revealed that the investigating officer had failed to submit his notes and was on vacation.
Last summer Gray launched a precedent-setting complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Commission alleging that York University had been negligent by not responding to her sexual assault.
A Human Rights Commission tribunal is not a criminal court. The treatment it affords women who have been sexually assaulted remains to be seen. But what is significant about it is that it can order change while a criminal court cannot.
Aboriginal women tell us that while restorative justice traditions work well in many circumstances, they are not effective in addressing crimes of sexual violence.
So where are women to go from here? There is talk of establishing a sexual assault court as a solution.
https://nowtoronto.com/news/is-jian-ghomeshi-guilty-or-innocent-sadly-it-may-not-matter/