AFTERMATH; CRITICALCOMMENT: PART FIVE: LORRIE GOLDSTEIN; LONDON FREE PRESS;

"YESTERDAY, IT WAS JUSTICE STEPHEN GOUDGE'S DEVASTATING REPORT ON A 20-YEAR REIGN OF TERROR AND ERROR IN THE COURTS BY DR. CHARLES SMITH, AN INCOMPETENT, ARROGANT AND DECEITFUL CHILD FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST."

LORRIE GOLDSTEIN: LONDON FREE PRESS;

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Lorrie Goldstein's column in the London Free Press ran Thursday under the heading: "Faith in justice system on the ropes in Ontario."

"Premier Dalton McGuinty doesn't appear to realize the enormous problem he faces in the wake of two devastating reports in two days undermining public confidence in Ontario's justice system," the column began.

"Yesterday, it was Justice Stephen Goudge's devastating report on a 20-year reign of terror and error in the courts by Dr. Charles Smith, an incompetent, arrogant and deceitful child forensic pathologist," it continued.

"Goudge also found Smith was allowed to run amok by senior officials in the chief coroner's office, who failed to supervise him and defended him even after his inexcusable conduct became obvious.

As a result, innocent parents, relatives and other care-givers of children were wrongly prosecuted and imprisoned for child abuse ranging up to murder, while the justice system was brought into disrepute.

A day earlier, Ombudsman Andre Marin issued a damning report on the province's Special Investigations Unit, which probes police actions that result in death or serious injury to civilians.

Marin concluded the SIU is a toothless watchdog whose investigations are hopelessly biased in favour of the police.

Problems inside both agencies predate McGuinty's government, but the buck stops with the premier.

And public confidence won't be restored simply by appointing a new SIU director, as McGuinty controversially did just before Marin's report was released.

Nor will it be strengthened by vague promises from McGuinty yesterday to "move beyond" the abuse tragedy and "redress the wrongs" because "we need to turn the page."

Turn the page? First, McGuinty must convince the public there isn't one law for police and another for civilians and that the coroner's office isn't more interested in convictions than truth.

Taken together, these two reports are so corrosive to public faith in the justice system, that, absent genuine reforms, some juries may become unwilling to accept police testimony or forensic evidence, no matter how credible, simply because they don't trust the sources.

That's why O.J. Simpson was acquitted in 1995 of murdering Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman in Los Angeles.

Don't think it could happen here? Think again."

Harold Levy...hlevy15@gmail.com;