A high-ranking judge with the Ontario Court of Justice is facing criminal charges of assault and has been stripped of his duties, the court announced Friday afternoon.
Justice Paul Currie, the senior judge for the court’s Central West region, has been charged with one count of both assault and assault causing bodily harm, the court said in a “notice to the profession and public” posted on its website.
He was released on bail Tuesday and is scheduled to next appear in a Guelph courtroom on May 23, according to Attorney-General Doug Downey’s spokesman Andrew Kennedy in an e-mail. Mr. Kennedy added “it would be inappropriate to comment on any specifics of this case” as it remains before the court.
The court’s posting said Justice Currie “will not be assigned any judicial or administrative duties until further notice.” Justice Anthony Leitch will act as senior justice for the region in the interim.
Regional senior judges, of which there are eight across the province, have the authority to exercise the same powers and duties of the chief justice in their specific regions. This includes the ability to direct and supervise court sittings and assign judicial duties across the region.
The Central West region encompasses courthouses in 11 south-central Ontario municipalities, including Brampton, Hamilton, Guelph and most of the Halton region.
Justice Currie was appointed as a judge in Brampton in 2004, after being called to the bar in 1984, and since 2015 has served as the local administrative judge in the city. Former Ontario Attorney-General Caroline Mulroney appointed him regional senior justice effective August, 2019, according to an April, 2019 news release from the province.