I would be interested in knowing the basis of Ghomeshi’s recent high profile legal claim. I understand that he is a unionized employee. If so, he has no claim for wrongful dismissal. He has no claim for breach of contract against the CBC. All of his rights and obligations would be in his collective agreement. Perhaps he has a tort based claim, although I would think it would have to be an intentional tort. Also, he seems to be the only one talking about his sex life, except maybe the accusers. I have not heard anyone at the CBC make any comment.

The problem with these high profile celebrity claims is that the truth seems to get lost in the public realm. If truth is the first casualty of war then it is also the first victim in a celebrity sex scandal. We have to trust in the legal system to bring out the truth in the correct forum. Our system is imperfect in some ways, but it is the best in the world and the best we can think of at the moment. Its a work in progress.

I hope we have as a society have moved beyond caring what consenting adults do on their own private time, but when there are serious allegations of criminal conduct then that is another matter. The problem is that when you have a celebrity and the allegations involve sexual misconduct and personal sexual habits of a unique nature then things go a bit sideways and the trial tends to take place in the media, which is never a good thing. People are quick to judge both the alleged victims and alleged perpetrator, often harshly, while only knowing a scintilla of the information.

The concept of “innocent until proven guilty” is a main tenant of our society and has been for a very long time. It can be a difficult principle to uphold in practice when we are talking about a celebrity sex scandal, but it should always be honoured on both sides of the fence. Both Mr. Ghomeshi should be treated as innocent until proven guilty, no matter how outrageous the allegations, but also the accusers. Accusers are often treated as jilted lovers with a axe to grind. The best thing to do when allegations are made is let the investigators do their job in peace without constant media oversight and public rushing to judgment with every new fact released to maximize impact.

One thing is for certain, Canada is going to join the USA in having a very public media trial of a celebrity based upon his sexual conduct. That’s not such a good thing in my opinion.

As is the motto of my alma mater, Queen’s Law: Soit Droit Fait (“Let Right be Done”)

By Darryl A. Aarbo