Complaints dismissed against N.S. judge who said ‘Clearly, a drunk can consent’
HALIFAX — An independent judicial review committee has dismissed complaints against a Nova Scotia judge who presided over a high-profile case involving a taxi driver accused of sexually assaulting an intoxicated female passenger found partially naked and unconscious in his cab.
The review was ordered after the Nova Scotia Judicial Council received hundreds of complaints about provincial court Judge Gregory Lenehan, most of which focused on his comments at the conclusion of the trial.
His decision to acquit 40-year-old Bassam Al-Rawi — later overturned by the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal — sparked swift and widespread public outrage when he concluded: “Clearly, a drunk can consent.”
A number of complainants alleged Lenehan’s comments were part of a troubling track record revealing a gender bias, such as when he asked a breastfeeding mother to leave his courtroom. He was also accused of using misogynistic reasoning and reinforcing “rape culture” and “social biases.”