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A sexual-assault conviction in Alberta has been erased and a new trial ordered because the trial judge was too sensitive to rape culture in his courtroom.

In the 2013 trial of Joshua Michael Schmaltz, Judge Darwin Greaves wrongly “entered the fray,” according to the Alberta Court of Appeal, meaning he advocated for the prosecution, guided the complainant to favourable interpretations of her testimony and stymied the defence lawyer’s efforts to probe inconsistencies.

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The cumulative effect of this conduct, which was motivated by a desire to protect the complainant from being unfairly questioned on “rape myths,” was an unfair trial ending with the judge’s unfair conviction, the appeal court ruled.

Elizabeth Sheehy, vice-dean of research at the University of Ottawa and an expert on women and the law, said the case should be appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada to “clarify both the judicial responsibility and the boundaries of appropriate judicial intervention for the benefit of women who experience sexual assault so that they know what they can realistically expect if they are to take on the courageous role of complainant.”