OK, kiddo! Here are all the fantastically amazing posts tagged with Judges
Former Top Judge Pooh-Poohs Polygamist’s Gay Argument
Claire L’Heureux-Dube, a former Supreme Court judge, has predicted that the courts will toss out any arguments linking same-sex marriage to a polygamist sect in Canada.
Two men currently facing charges related to a religious cult in Bountiful, British Columbia have already indicated that they will invoke gay marriage as an argument defending their dozens of wives.
“It is contrary to the equality of the sexes,” L’Heureux-Dube said to the press, noting that in the United States these men would be charged with sexual exploitation rather than simply having multiple spouses. Indeed, the polygamy charges in Bountiful appear to be a blanket charge for greater accusations of incest and exploitation.
So where do the gays come in all of this? Beats me! I’ve only heard the argument from those wacky anti-gay lobbyists, not the actual connection.
- Former top court judge doesn’t buy polygamy argument [Canada.com]
Ontario Judge Makes Witness Wear HIV Mask
An Ontario judge is facing a misconduct investigation after he forced a sexual assault victim to wear a mask, fearing that he’d contract AIDS without it.
The witness, who is HIV-positive and has Hepatitis C, was not permitted to testify until Justice Jon-Jo Douglas was satisfied that the courtroom’s “saftey and integrity” was protected. This included ordering all court staff to wear rubber gloves and placing all documents handled by the witness into plastic bags.
Quotes from the courtroom transcript reveal Judge Douglas’ astonishing ignorance:
I am frankly shocked that in this day and age we were not advised [about the witness' HIV status]. The HIV virus will live in a dried state for year after year after year and only needs moisture to reactivate itself.
I mean, [the witness] speaks within two feet of me with two serious infectious diseases. Either you mask your witness and/or move us to another courtroom or we do not proceed.
Bluma Brenner, an assistant professor at McGill’s AIDS clinic, called the judge’s claims about dried HIV re-activation “outlandish.” The witness’ lawyer also took offense, adding that a mask was not required in the community and could interfere with the court reporter.
Ontario’s Criminal Lawyers Association, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, and the HIV and AIDS Legal Clinic in Ontario have all lodged formal complaints against the judge. The Crown has also appealed to have the judge removed from the case over apparent bias.
As for Judge Douglas’ wishes to ensure the safety and integrity of the courtroom, I can offer a little advice: Sanding down sharp corners and ensuring non-excessive microphone volume levels will make any courtroom a safer place to work. Restoring integrity, on the other hand…
- Judge’s ignorance of AIDS draws fire [Toronto Star]
Kablamo! “Pro-Family” Groups Explode Over Ruling
So, sometime after lunch on Wednesday, I was disrupted by a peculiar noise not unlike watermelons being dropped off an overpass. At first I was a little concerned, but after reading some of the online “pro-family” news sources, I discovered it was just all of Canada’s traditional families exploding.
As it turns out, an Ontario judge ruled that a child’s biological father was permitted to be a legal guardian alongside his adoptive lesbian mothers. In short: this kid has two mommies and one daddy.
Of course, that nutty anti-gay lobby was quick to go into assault mode, quickly crafting a connection between Wednesday’s ruling and same-sex marriage. Dave Quist, head of the Institute of Marriage and Family Canada, said the government needs to “hit the pause button” on same-sex marriage and launch a royal commission to study the state of the family in Canada. Former MP, Pat O’brien, was a tad more dramatic, asking: “Words like mother, father, marriage—could they become meaningless?”
Such concern. Could “mother,” “father,” and “marriage” become meaningless words? Like “zooberblab,” “gafungwa,” and… “pro-family?”
I’ll alert the dictionary people. Just to be safe.
But, in the meantime… Why such a reaction? Could the anti-gay lobby’s objections that same-sex marriage denies children of their biological parents really just have been a red herring to cover the fact they’re really just not too fond of gays? (Shock horror!)
And couldn’t this three-parent situation have just as easily happened to an opposite-sex parent family that relied on an in-vitro donor? Why is same-sex marriage even entering the picture? You know, ’cause perhaps—just perhaps—families are classified into more than just traditional and ungodly homosexual fakers.
Well, have a great weekend, kids!
- 3-parent family stirs debate [London Free Press]
- Ontario court says boy can have dad, mom—and mom [CBC News]
New Ontario (Pre-)Judge
So what does a right-wing government do when 8 provincial courts independently rule that a ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional? Why, it appoints new judges, of course! And that’s exactly what our prime minister did this week. And, surprisingly, it’s not the appointment of a former president of the Conservative party into the Quebec high court that’s drawing the most criticism—it’s the new Ontario Judge.
Judge Joe David Brown, who will now officially sit in the Ontario Superior Court, is well known for representing the radical right-wing lobby groups Focus on the Family Canada and REAL Women of Canada in a court challenge to declare same-sex marriage unconstitutional. The case was a spectacular failure. (After all, declaring equality unconstitutional is kind of like declaring Stephen Harper a charismatic joy.) But selecting someone who represented such an eyebrow-raising, destined-to-lose case doesn’t exactly reflect an unbiased nature.
When contacted by the press, Judge Brown refused to talk:
In my past incarnation, I would speak to you. In my present incarnation, you would have to speak to Chief Justice Heather Smith.
Hey, does that mean he’s been recently reincarnated? If so, that’s pretty encouraging! But maybe we should still keep our eyes on this one.
- PM’s pick for bench draws fire [Globe and Mail]
