Is the sexual orientation of a judge relevent?

( about the judge)

Hmmn, having read the printed news from the Mail ( above) I think it wasn't quite the 'shock horror' type of thing that was implied.

It was a significant thing at the time LesleyC but it isn't significant now and certainly isn't relevant to the case.

There are a number of disgraceful headlines today, attacking the judges and showing pictures of the brave woman Gina Miller, who led the action. The people who voted for the "sovereignty" of the UK were, surely, voting for the rule of UK law and the UK parliament. This is exactly what the judges have done - upheld the sovereignty of parliament. The alternative is an autocratic PM and whatever "yes men" he or she appoints pushing through all kids of changes without the consent of the people - who are represented by all the MPs and not just the cabinet acting with the royal prerogative. This is what prevents the UK from becoming a dictatorship. (Look at what has happened in Russia where the constitution has allowed Putin to be re-elected repeatedly as either PM or President and can effectively act as a dictator. A failure of their constitution - with no judges to counter that power grab.)
Parliament - both houses - has a right to be involved in the way in which we leave the EU and not just be told to wait patiently and don't interfere for 2-3 years, until some kind of fait accompli is presented to them.
I gather Gina Millar has had a lot of really nasty threats on social media. (Even other people with the same name have had nasty threats.) Some of these are, no doubt, doubly unpleasant because she is a woman.
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/article-50-fallout-sees-gina-millar-receive-death-threats-online_uk_581ba19fe4b020461a1bec57
Meanwhile the Sun, The Mail etc carry on trying to fan the flames of hatred in this country in a completely irresponsible manner.
Still, what do we expect when newspapers are owned by power mad billionaires who have their own right wing agenda, plus one should assume, an endless thirst for power.

Why should the fact a person is homosexual need be mentioned no matter what position they take , it has been legal since 1967

I was in shock, glad I had been a vegetarian for years, when I heard what chefs are 'famous for using frozen chickens for'..........I would never accept the last 4 as any type of sexuality although clearly there are promoters for them..........

Well done disgruntled couldn't agree more. Hate the DM with a passion

I always think a person's sexuality is totally irrelevant and before reading the article would have said it was irrelevant here too. However it does say "He made legal history almost a decade ago when he became the first openly gay judge to be made a Lord Justice of Appeal", so I think it is kind of justified in this case. It must have been a significant thing at the time.

Well if you will read The Daily Wail,

A paywall means you can't read it unless you pay to read the Times. It happens quite often with the Times and Financial Times. It makes it impossible to read the article.

I thought that would be the case jen
What do you mean, Paywall?

But those links were in May and from when he was made Master of the Rolls. Perhaps his history was relevant then. It wasn't in the judgment mentioned in the OP.

It's the Daily Mail, what can you expect!

www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/pa/article-3610687/Ex-Olympic-fencer-Sir-Terence-Etherton-Master-Rolls.html

Didn't work in last post so I will try again.

No & No

The Daily Mail has said this from the article:-

'Master of the Rolls Sir Terence Etherton, 65, is the second most senior judge in England and Wales, after Lord Thomas.
He made legal history almost a decade ago when he became the first openly gay judge to be made a Lord Justice of Appeal, The Guardian reported.'(link to the Guardian)

Sir Terence Etherton was called to the Bar in 1974 and became a QC in 1990. He was appointed a High Court Judge in 2001 before becoming a Lord Justice of Appeal in 2008.
He said his appointment 'shows that diversity in sexuality is not a bar to preferment up to the highest levels of the judiciary'.

He entered a civil partnership in 2006 and in 2014, after a change in the law, he and partner Andrew Stone were married in a traditional Jewish wedding ceremony at West London Synagogue.

Sir Terence, who studied history and law at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, was in the British sabre team from 1977 to 1980 and qualified for the 1980 summer Olympics in Moscow. He boycotted the games in protest against the USSR's invasion of Afghanistan.

The Master of the Rolls - a position which dates back to at least the 13th century - is the head of civil justice and the second most senior judge - after the Lord Chief Justice - in England and Wales.'
---

I don't understand what the problem is to be honest.

The article from the Daily Mail makes reference to the background of ' ALL 3 JUDGES ' ,not picking out one and making a big deal of his sexuality which would indeed lead me to agree it is of no consequence to making judicial decisions.

The piece from The Guardian which is included in the Daily Mail article is obviously mentioning the sexual orientation of Sir Terence Etherton and I find no issue with mentioning his background in either paper.

My problem is just because the Daily Mail has mentioned it some will make a predisposed assumption that there must be a reason for/opportunity to snipe at someone/ show a racist tendency/ be homophobic.

The Daily Mail reported on Sir Terence Etherton becoming Master of The Rolls in a similar vein to the Guardian but no doubt there would be cries of why does the Daily Mail think it neccessary to mention his sexual orientation because he has become Master of The Rolls , homophobic and poor journalism, yet nobody would bat an eye lid to virtually the same article being reported in the Guardian.

Ironically it is the Guardian headline not the Daily Mail which draws attention to Etherton being ' Gay '.

Ex-olympic fencer sir terence etherton to become master of the rolls | Daily Mail Online

www.theguardian.com/law/2016/may/26/britain-first-openly-gay-judge-master-of-the-rolls-terence-etherton

So no I don't find the Mail has made 'an issue' of a judges sexuality to undermine today's High Court Judgement on Article 50.

Can 'Unelected ' judges be regarded as representing the populace?
My vote for Brexit was purely against the unelected J-C Juncker who could make decisions which affect all of us

No

The Daily Fail, like the Sun, would never ever make it into this house

The government side of it is paid by the taxpayer. The government itself has no money. It uses ours.
If the government decides to contest the decision, it will be taxpayers' money.
The other side of the case is crowdfunded from now on.

Paywall, Jane.

radicalnan your sexual awareness course made me giggle - did you all manage to keep a straight face?
Only 8? I can think of a few more

The sad thing is some people only read one rag , and soak up the bile , repeating it as fact . This is the Trump tactic , if you watch his use of innuendo : he may not be bright , but boy is he sly !!

as well?

But isn't there a Crowdfunder money-raiser for the case as?

MissdekeThe case was brought by Gina Miller, a Fund Manager.
It has not been funded by the taxpayer.
www.ft.com/content/c8c5ff24-7bf8-11e6-b837-eb4b4333ee43

The brief biographiess of a couple of other judges gave details of their wives, families and hobbies - all completely irrelevant to the matter in hand. I'm afraid those of you who think that the introduction of personal information of this kind are probably right in surmising that the Daily Fail's intention was indeed to call into question the moral values of the panel without appearing to do so. I understand this is known as a 'dog whistle' - the invitation to judge on grounds of sexual orientation will hear the message loud and clear, even though nothing is actually implied in the text as written. A depressingly common, and devious, approach in this style of do-called journalism. Whilst we're on the subject of gender, am I the only one to question the all-male line-up?