Former Philadelphia Flyers goalie Carter Hart is charged along with four other pro hockey players with sexual assault for an incident that took place in 2018. Their trial played out in recent months in a London, Ontario courtroom. The verdict and decision of Justice Maria Carroccia is expected in ten days, on July 24.<\/p>\n
The London Police Service announced the charge on February 5, 2024, following a reopened investigation that began in 2022 after new evidence was collected in regards to the 2018 incident.<\/p>\n
Hart, Dillon Dub\u00e9, Michael McLeod, Cal Foote, and Alex Formenton all face similar charges stemming from that incident. Each of the five players plead not guilty and fought against the charges in court.<\/p>\n
But in the next ten days comes the hardest part for all of us, the most difficult task for anyone in the public, or with the NHL ], or with an NHL team, for any person trying to make up their mind about the case and the future of the players.<\/p>\n
The hardest thing is to not jump the gun and instead to wait for the verdict. The hardest part is to withhold making any firm conclusions about Hart and the four other players, their guilt or innocence, or their post-trial futures.<\/p>\n
We all love to make quick and firm judgements based on our intuition, our own background, psychology, interest and worldview. But the charges in this matter are such a serious matter for all parties involved, it will do us well not to think fast here, but to think slow, to take our time, read over Justice Carroccia\u2019s ruling, think about her reading of the case, her findings of fact, and then make our own assessment.<\/p>\n
I say this even as rumour and speculation is heated in regards to the players, the incident, and the possibility of the NHL suspending the players, as well as the possibility that if the players are found not guilty they\u2019ll return to the NHL, with Carter Hart recently linked in speculative fashion to the Edmonton Oilers<\/a> by NHL insider Kevin Weeks on TSN.<\/p>\n More speculation came from NHL insider David Pagnotta of the Fourth Period talking on the Big Show with Rusic & Rose this week: \u201cThere are clubs that from a purely hockey perspective are keeping tabs on this and want to see how things go, and with respect to Carter Hart, he\u2019s been training, like a lot of the guys. Most of those guys were still on the ice in some capacity. You know, he\u2019s been training, and certainly would love an opportunity to resume, re-ignite his career, providing he\u2019s able to do so. And yeah, I do think there are teams that are keeping an eye on it.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked if the Oilers would be one of those teams, Pagnotta said, \u201cPossibly, yeah. I know there were some reports kind of linking them to Carter Hart.\u201d<\/p>\n This report was followed up by Edmonton sports commentator Jason Gregor saying on social media: \u201cAny report about the Oilers having interest in Carter Hart is incorrect. Edmonton will not be approaching him, even if he is found not guilty.\u201d<\/p>\n As for the NHL, it\u2019s long maintained it\u2019s investigated this case on its own\u00a0 but will have not release any findings until the judicial process is finished.<\/p>\n The NHL\u2019s stand is the correct one, in that it respects the court process.<\/p>\n Why put such a focus on withholding judgement on Hart and the others until the court ruling comes out?<\/p>\n After 20 years covering numerous major criminal cases in western Canada (1990 to 2010), one thing above all others became clear to me \u2014 that unless you\u2019re in court hearing all the evidence it\u2019s extremely difficult to form a credible opinion on the case.<\/p>\n Only the judge hears all the evidence. The judge is also uniquely situated to assess the credibility of witness testimony, as most judges in such major cases have spent many years doing just that, carefully observing and weighing credibility factors.<\/p>\n The judge is also the expert in how the facts of a case match up against the criminal law, such as the burden of proof the Crown prosecutor has to meet, and the need to prove the guilt of the accused beyond a reasonable doubt.<\/p>\n None of us outside the courtroom are going through this same process. None of us knows the evidence like the judge does. None of us has that heavy burden of weighing it carefully and responsibly to take make every effort that justice is done.<\/p>\n That is Carroccia\u2019s job. How about we respect her ability to do so?<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t to say that judges are infallible and get every decision right. The history of wrongful convictions tell us this isn\u2019t the case, and we\u2019re all also aware of cases where it appears a judge or jury has set free guilty parties.<\/p>\n Nonetheless, I\u2019m convinced the judge is best situated to ascertain which testimony was credible, which testimony was not, as well as what facts have been established in this case by the evidence, as opposed to the facts imagined by the general public in their reading of media reports of the trial\u2019s highlights.<\/p>\n One more problem with making up your mind ahead of time, before the judge\u2019s ruling: when you do read the ruling, instead of assessing it in sober and non-partisan fashion your confirmation bias will kick in and you\u2019ll be far more likely to reject or accept Carroccia\u2019s findings if she agrees with your own assessment. You\u2019ll be far less likely to view it fairly and accurately.<\/p>\n If the Oilers, as Gregor suggests, have already made up their minds on this case, that is their business, but it\u2019s not a process I support. I\u2019ll suggest they\u2019re jumping the gun.<\/p>\n But the same goes me, or you, or anyone else offering up a firm opinion just now on this case. We\u2019ve all got to work to control our own bias, me included. I\u2019ve got my own half-formed opinions based on hearsay accounts of media reports and my own reading. But I\u2019m a fool if I put great weight on that process.<\/p>\n Here is the good news. None of us have any need to jump the gun. The pressure is off of us.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve just had a public trial at great expense with able prosecution and vigorous defence. We now have a respected judge working weeks to decide on the outcome and explain her reasons. We have the great luxury of not having to rely on our quick judgement here, but to rely on her considered opinion. We don\u2019t have to go with our limited reading of limited media reports. We can rely on a person who heard every single piece of evidence.<\/p>\n The pressure is on Carroccia, not on us. She carries the weight of the decision, not you or me.<\/p>\n Again, I know that\u2019s hard to accept for all of us who love to shout our hot takes and passionate opinions on all such matters. I know it is the hardest thing to do at times, to think slow, not fast. But surely this is a serious enough matter to warrant a methodical, prudent decision and opinion-making approach.<\/p>\n At the Cult of Hockey<\/p>\n