Russell Brown announced Monday that he is stepping down as a judge of the Supreme Court of Canada with immediate effect — a move that follows after the Canadian Judicial Council (CJC) began investigating a claim of wrongdoing against Brown in connection with an incident in the US
Brown’s decision to step down from Canada’s Supreme Court means the CJC’s investigation into an alleged alcohol-induced incident in Arizona will end without any report on the matter.
Under the Federal Judges Act, the Board has a duty to investigate complaints against federally appointed judges. With Brown stepping down, the council said, that work will stop.
Brown has been on leave for months since reports surfaced that the judge got into some kind of confrontation with patrons of a Scottsdale luxury resort in late January.
While accounts of the incident differ, it has been established that there was some sort of fight between Brown and a man at the resort, Jon Crump, a U.S. Navy veteran who was at the resort with a group of friends.
Crump claims that a drunken Brown was belligerent and harassed his drinking companions. He said Brown followed him and some in his group to their hotel rooms. After a brief skirmish, Crump said he punched Brown after he wouldn’t leave. Subsequently, Crump reported the Stephen Harper-appointed judge to the CJC.
Brown has said that Crump’s version of events is false, claiming instead that the former Marine inexplicably hit him on the head.
More to come …
