Quebec judge apologizes for after-party insults

A Quebec court judge accused of behaving badly after an office Christmas party has apologized in front of the the body that hears complaints against judges, the Conseil de la magistratureor magistrates council.

JusticeSuzanneVadboncoeuristhe subject of a complaint filed by aconstable at the Montreal courthouse, who saidVadboncoeur insulted him.

The incident took place in the parking garage of the courthouse in December. The complaint saidVadboncoeurgrew impatient when the garage door wasn'topening. She allegedly called the constables on-hand "incompetent" and "thick."

In offering anapology Fridayto a session of thecouncil,Vadboncoeur said she had three glasses of wine and a coffee at the party.

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Police seize reporter's laptop

The complaint againstVadboncoeurfirst came to light in a story by the Journal de Montreal in June.

After the story appeared,the councilfiled a complaint with the Sret du Qubec. The council claimed information about the complaint was obtained by illegally hacking into its website.

On Wednesday, police seized a laptop belonging to theJournal's justice reporter,Michal Nguyen.

The federation of Quebec journalists condemned the seizure for attempting to reveal a journalist's sources.

The National Assembly passed a unanimous motion on Thursday,also affirming the importance of protecting sources.