A complaint has been filed against a Hamilton judge who wore a Donald Trump hat in the courtroom this week.

Ontario Court Justice Bernd Zabel is under fire after reportedly entering a courtroom at the John Sopinka Courthouse Wednesday morning wearing a red "Make America Great Again" hat — the official campaign merchandise of Trump supporters in the United States.

"I think it fair to describe Justice Zabel's conduct as childish and clearly unbecoming of a judge," Osgoode Hall Law School professor Gus Van Harten wrote in his five-page complaint to the Ontario Judicial Council on Friday.

"It is far from a trivial lapse of judgment for him to have used his judicial office in this way."

According to a report in the Globe and Mail on Friday — an article that spurred Van Harten's complaint — Zabel had told the court he was wearing the hat "because (the election) was a historic occasion."

Though he took the hat off during proceedings, he kept it on the bench next to him, the report said, and had it back on his head when he returned from the morning recess.

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The departure from convention raised eyebrows in an institution where formality and decorum rule — spectators in the body of the court, for example, are regularly chastised for even wearing eyeglasses on their heads — and where impartiality is sacrosanct.

"Judges depend on public confidence in their objectivity — if they are believed to espouse specific political or partisan views in the courtroom, that objectivity is lost and with it public confidence," said Lorne Sossin, dean of Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto.

In his complaint to the judicial council, Van Harten expressed concern about the consequences of the judge's conduct:

"For example, it has been publicly reported in recent days that members of groups disparaged by President-elect Trump have reacted to his victory with fear. There is a legitimate concern that Justice Zabel's conduct may fuel such fear among persons appearing in Ontario courts."

He calls on the OJC "to take strong and public steps to condemn and discipline Justice Zabel for his inappropriate conduct."

He suggests Zabel should be forced to "recuse himself from cases involving members of groups that have been publicly maligned by President-elect Trump"— though he also stresses that he knows "not all Trump supporters are associated with misogyny and disdain for the vulnerable."

With court closed for Remembrance Day, The Spectator was unable to reach Zabel for comment Friday and the judge had declined to comment to the Globe on Thursday.

The Spectator was able to verify Friday that the incident occurred — but a Hamilton lawyer speaking on condition of anonymity noted that while it was certainly a hot topic among lawyers in private, it would likely be difficult to get comment on any issue involving a judge in the tight-knit legal community.

Even the head of the Hamilton Criminal Lawyers' Association declined to weigh in.

"Given I wasn't there, I wouldn't endeavour to comment personally," Jaime Stephenson wrote in an email response to The Spectator on Friday.

"As an association that is composed of a diverse membership, who are entitled to their own opinions, I would be remiss as a president to make a sweeping comment on behalf of the whole."

Another Hamilton lawyer similarly declined to comment because the lawyer was not there but was "glad" the issue was being covered.

The Crown's office directed questions to the Attorney General's office.

But outside of the court, the story has raised eyebrows and sparked debate on social media.

Lenore Lukasik-Foss, director of Hamilton's Sexual Assault Centre (SACHA), has concerns about the message this sends to people who could come before Zabel in court — particularly given the "reams and reams and reams of discriminatory and oppressive comments (Trump) has made toward many groups."

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"What if I was a sexual assault complainant in front of him? We all know there are many women who've come forward around Donald Trump — and you're wearing a hat saying, 'Yeah, he's awesome?' To me, I just think about how I would be feeling as a survivor in the courtroom," she said.

"I'd be very concerned if sitting judges share the same values as Donald Trump, and I'd be very concerned as a black person or a Muslim. For me this is not just a concern I have for survivors of sexual violence … but also for all the other groups. I'm just not sure there's a place for that in our courts."

Lukasik-Foss said the bar should be much higher for judges when it comes to being unbiased — and, in fact, it is.

According to the Principles of Judicial Office, developed by judges in the Ontario Court of Justice, judges "must be impartial and objective in the discharge of their judicial duties."

They are "not to be influenced by partisan interests … and shall not, by words or conduct, manifest favour, bias or prejudice toward any party or interest."

It is on this principle that Van Harten lodged his complaint.

"Justice Zabel's conduct would be inappropriate if it were associated with any political party, politician, or political movement, but it is made worse by the discriminatory and abusive character of views and attitudes commonly and reasonably associated with President-elect Trump and some in the partisan political movement that supports him."

He added that Zabel "was not treating his judicial office and those in his courtroom with the dignity and courtesy to which they are entitled and was not carrying out his role with honour."

The Ministry of the Attorney General's office and Lise Maisonneuve, chief justice of the Ontario Court of Justice, were unreachable Friday.

Zabel is a well-respected judge in Hamilton with more than two decades on the bench.

It was he who was asked to swear in new Hamilton police Chief Eric Girt at a ceremony this summer.

In a statement issued on social media Friday, Ward 3 Coun. Matthew Green expressed outrage at the reported incident.

He called it "an embarrassment to the City of Hamilton, the Judiciary, and the Canadian legal system as a whole."

He called for Zabel's resignation from the bench.

My thoughts on Justice Zabel's incredibly poor judgment and disrespect for the Ontario Court of Justice: @TheSpec @mollyhayes pic.twitter.com/F0thuzN0zu

— Matthew Green (@MGreenWard3) November 12, 2016