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They say it takes a big man to admit when he’s wrong, and aside from the gendered sentiment it’s a fairly accurate statement. Actual heartfelt and earnest apologies are surprisingly hard to come by, but that’s exactly what a Canadian judge has penned. Last week we told you about the ire of The Hon. Mr. Justice R.W. Danyliuk a judge in Saskatchewan, Canada. But, as it turns out, the judge got it wrong and he’s very sorry about the whole mess.
If you’ll recall, Judge Danyliuk’s anger was sparked when a draft consent order was filed without the proper application form or accompanying affidavit. But as it turns out, there were additional filings made in the case which would have contextualized the draft consent order, they were just improperly rejected by a court clerk. Rut-roh.
So they very premise of the benchslap was disproven by an account of the full events. And, according to the judge, he was also surprised about the viral nature of his order as it was picked up by news outlets throughout the world. (If only we all understood exactly what made a story go viral, well, it’d make this job a lot easier.)
Anyway, apologies are in order, and Judge Danyliuk uses the same eloquence that made the benchslap so readable to say he is sorry.
As well, I had absolutely no intention to malign, bully, or embarrass Mr. Green. The wording of my initial fiat — while unintended to be harmful in any way and intended to soften my criticism with humour — has blown up in my face. As noted, I have known him for many years — decades, in fact. He was my student in a class I taught in law school. He is highly capable counsel. He has appeared before me many times, doing high quality work. He enjoys an excellent reputation within the practicing bar and before this Court. I regard him as a valuable member of the profession. He is a very good lawyer and a great guy. His sense of humour and easygoing manner is well known. He can make and take a joke It was with all of this in mind and with an incomplete record that I drafted my first fiat. My last wish was to cause him harm or upset or reputational damage.
I appreciate that, while unintended, my fiat has done exactly that to Mr. Green. How it gained such wide distribution, so quickly, remains a mystery. But it did. I am utterly chagrined that it affected Mr. Green in this way, and so publicly.
As a result, within this present fiat I unreservedly apologize to Mr. Green, his family, and members of his firm for all upset or trouble I have caused, however unintentional it was. Such was never my aim, yet it has occurred and non of that was his fault. I have apologized to him directly, person-to-person, openly and sincerely and he graciously accepted. But that private apology was insufficient given the public nature of the harm done to his reputation. Hence this new fiat.
Times have changed. Judges no longer always write in stilted, stentorian tones. The language used is more accessible. Humour is not always misplaced. But given the circumstance — of which I was no aware — which preceded this application landing on my desk, I would surely have drafted my response to Mr. Green different had I been aware of the background. Judges are human. We do not always get it exactly right.
Again, my profound apologies to Mr. Green for the unintended consequences of my earlier fiat.
That’s a helluva apology.
You can read the full filing below.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).