Lonan3 Posted November 16, 2007 Share Posted November 16, 2007 TIMES ARTICLE A High Court judge who told a sheikh involved in a multimillion-pound divorce battle that he could choose to “depart on his flying carpet” has been ordered to step down from the case. Mr Justice Singer was also forced to apologise publicly after being roundly castigated by senior judges for apparently making “mocking and disparaging” remarks during a private hearing in the High Court Family Division. Yesterday the Court of Appeal judges noted that Mr Justice Singer had said: — That the sheikh could choose “to depart on his flying carpet” to escape paying costs — That the sheikh should be available to attend hearings “at this relatively fast-free time of the year” — That he should be in court so that “every grain of sand is sifted” — And the sheikh’s evidence was “a bit gelatinous . . . like Turkish Delight”. Lord Justice Ward said: “No little part of my embarrassment comes from my belief that the injection of a little humour lightens the load of high emotion that so often attends litigation and I am the very last judge to criticise laughter in court. For my part I am totally convinced that [the judge's] jokes were not meant to be racist and I unreservedly acquit the judge of any suggestion they were so intended.” Fair enough, perhaps; but if an ordinary member of the public had employed 'humour' of this kind to a Muslim, would they have been unreservedly acquitted? Or would a race relations officer be hell bent on bringing a charge against them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Static Posted November 16, 2007 Share Posted November 16, 2007 Humour - not particulary funny comments whichever way you look at them, a judge should not resort to racial or any other sort of stereotypes in court, especially to someone in the centre of the case. Racist - not sure. Pandering to prejudices and stereotypes definitely. Stupid, ignorant and downright rude - Yes. Whatever his feelings for one of the two parties in the case and no matter how the shiekh may have behaved (or not as no mention of case details) the judges role is to be impartial and above the law and in coming outt with comments like he did he was definitely not impartial. He let his own racial stereotypes get in the way of the case and should definitley have stepped down. He should also have been disciplined in whatver way was suitable for his profession. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P.K. Posted November 16, 2007 Share Posted November 16, 2007 Nope! Hence I don't need to hide behind a user name... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P.K. Posted November 16, 2007 Share Posted November 16, 2007 Humour - not particulary funny comments whichever way you look at them Well, humour is subjective. For all you know the sheikh thought it was side-splittingly funny. That's the rub really. I don't mind if folks take the piss out of me and I can laugh at myself along with them. It's part of our culture. So why shouldn't our comedians be able to take the piss out of Muslims for example? They're less than 3% of the population and in historical terms their religion and culture is a very recent arrival to our shores. So why should they be able to prevent the other 97% of long-standing UK citizens enjoying what is essentially the way we have always been? Here is an illustration of the point I am trying to make: The BBC have received complaints that they do not show enough ethnic minorities in their mainstream programming. For their part the BBC have pledged to show more episodes of "Crimewatch". Humour or Racism? You decide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lonan3 Posted November 16, 2007 Author Share Posted November 16, 2007 I don't mind if folks take the piss out of me.... Are you trying to claim that you have a choice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Voice of Reason Posted November 16, 2007 Share Posted November 16, 2007 Humour or Racism? You decide. Both Racist humour Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oogie boogie Posted November 16, 2007 Share Posted November 16, 2007 i think it's a matter of wrong time wrong place. He could've though of something else funny to say. But i don't think it's being racist at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Take Posted November 16, 2007 Share Posted November 16, 2007 Nope! Hence I don't need to hide behind a user name... So your real name is PK and you have no set gender - should be easy to spot you in the street then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P.K. Posted November 16, 2007 Share Posted November 16, 2007 Yep. If you ever come to Eaton Socon I'm the happy one with the smile... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La_Dolce_Vita Posted November 16, 2007 Share Posted November 16, 2007 Humour - not particulary funny comments whichever way you look at them Well, humour is subjective. For all you know the sheikh thought it was side-splittingly funny. That's the rub really. I don't mind if folks take the piss out of me and I can laugh at myself along with them. It's part of our culture. So why shouldn't our comedians be able to take the piss out of Muslims for example? They're less than 3% of the population and in historical terms their religion and culture is a very recent arrival to our shores. So why should they be able to prevent the other 97% of long-standing UK citizens enjoying what is essentially the way we have always been? Here is an illustration of the point I am trying to make: The BBC have received complaints that they do not show enough ethnic minorities in their mainstream programming. For their part the BBC have pledged to show more episodes of "Crimewatch". Humour or Racism? You decide. I watched a late-night programme about the most offensive jokes. Each section of the show was devoted to jokes that targeted people who are discriminated in society. The last section was on Muslims but the programme did not show any jokes. This was in marked contrast to the programme showing jokes about people with disabilities and black people. People are scared to make jokes about muslims. Racist - not sure. Pandering to prejudices and stereotypes definitely. Acting on prejudice relating to ethnic groups is simply racism. The excuse that laughter is often helpful in court is completely misses the reason why there is outrage: which is because the laughter was based upon racial stereotypes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Ayres Posted November 16, 2007 Share Posted November 16, 2007 It is entirely possible to inject some humour into a serious situation without relying on racial/cultural stereotypes. This judge used racist/culturalist humour to get a cheap laugh. Sack the twat. He is meant to be fairly intelligent and a guide to us to behave in a respectful manner. How if the Sheik had started his submission with "OK wiggy, let's see you get your head round this idea based on your knowledge of 16th century juris prudence" where would the laughter had been then? FFS, he is a judge and should judge and leave the gags to comedians. (Jo Brand excluded ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheesemonster2005 Posted November 16, 2007 Share Posted November 16, 2007 TIMES ARTICLEYesterday the Court of Appeal judges noted that Mr Justice Singer had said: — That the sheikh could choose “to depart on his flying carpet” to escape paying costs — That the sheikh should be available to attend hearings “at this relatively fast-free time of the year” — That he should be in court so that “every grain of sand is sifted” — And the sheikh’s evidence was “a bit gelatinous . . . like Turkish Delight”. It's not exactly racism but it's certainly not what is expected of a judge. It seems fair that he was suspended from the case as his comments clearly show that he isn't impartial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mission Posted November 16, 2007 Share Posted November 16, 2007 I have to admit I did LOL at the comments but really, they are inapropriate coming from a judge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mission Posted November 16, 2007 Share Posted November 16, 2007 Jihad to say that, didn't you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P.K. Posted November 16, 2007 Share Posted November 16, 2007 Good skills.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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