Kitchener justice of the peace pleads not guilty in courthouse incident involving another justice of the peace

A justice of the peace was in a Kitchener court today to face charges of his own. CTV’s Alexandra Holyk explains.

A justice of the peace has pleaded not guilty to forcible confinement and criminal harassment charges stemming from an incident involving another justice of the peace at the Kitchener courthouse in April 2024.

James Ziegler’s trial began on Wednesday. The 74-year-old is currently unassigned but, since both parties work at the courthouse, Justice John Olver was brought in from Durham Region to oversee the trial.

The victim, whom CTV News has decided not to identify, testified about what happened on April 19, 2024.

The woman said she was sitting in her office with her back to the door when she suddenly heard it slam. Turning, she saw an agitated Ziegler standing between the door and her desk. She described him as having “wild eyes.”

The victim asked Ziegler what was going on, but he did not immediately answer. Then, she recalled, he leaned over her desk and said, “I love you. I want to have sex with you. I love the way you look. I love the way you laugh. I love the way you smile. I love everything about you, and I want to have sex with you.”

The woman repeatedly told Ziegler she was not interested and did not want to have sex with him, adding that she saw him solely as a colleague. In response, he began pacing between her desk and the door.

“I wouldn’t have an opportunity to get out,” recalled the victim, adding that she was terrified. “I’ve got to get out of here. This isn’t going to end well.”

The alleged interaction lasted between 40 and 50 minutes but the woman testified it “felt like forever.”

Ziegler eventually left her office, and the victim tried to return to work but said she was distressed and embarrassed by the interaction.

“I sat in shock and shook,” she told the court.

The woman ran into Ziegler a couple more times that day at the courthouse.

At one point, she was sitting in her locked office when Ziegler began pounding his fists on the door and rattled the doorknob.

“Oh my God, I’m done for if he gets in here,” the victim recalled thinking.

Ziegler eventually left.

In the days following the incident, the woman said she feared for her safety and also worried Ziegler would show up at her home. She testified that she received texts, a phone call and voicemail message from him, asking to talk. She said she didn’t respond.

The defence disputed the woman’s version of events during cross-examination.

“I’m going to suggest to you that Justice of the Peace Ziegler, after he left your chambers at 9:45 a.m. or a little earlier, he never returned to your chambers on April 19th,” said lawyer Brennan Smart.

The woman replied: “That is absolutely not true.”

The trial will continue at the Kitchener courthouse on Thursday with Ziegler expected to take the stand.