Maya’s Original ET Judge- not the appeals judge

[LargeSquareRock]

This is a fairly indulgent post so please bear with me.

We all know that the Forstater appeal absolutely trounced the original employment tribunal judge’s findings. Being an appeal, it has now become the law of the land, and has been used in multiple instances to help protect GC beliefs and women ever since. The attempted venue cancellations of Joanna Cherry, Julie Bindel and now Filia spring to mind. Plus heaps of other instances.

My question is to those in the know about the back room workings of courts. Would the original employment tribunal judge who found that Maya’s beliefs were not worthy of respect in a democratic society feel like right idiot now? How much repetitional damage does having one of your judgements absolutely trounced on appeal cause? Do junior clerks snigger behind your back? Do other ET judges go out to lunch and gossip and roll their eyes at how you were completely Stonewalled? Would he ever be allowed to sit on a GC case again? I presume he would have had to have read the appeal judgement so can see how his original judgement was torn to smithereens.

Im just having some magical thinking, imagining appeals Judge Taylor meeting him at a Christmas party and going mate, what the hell were you thinking!?

Being overturned by a higher court is certainly very very very bad for your promotion prospects.

J Tayler was promoted soon after. (Forstater case ruling was late 2019, he had a substantial promotion with effect from Summer 2020.)

https://www.judiciary.uk/appointments-and-retirements/senior-circuit-judge-of-the-employment-appeal-tribunal-appointment-james-tayler/

But before the appeal. Guess he got lucky. Not so good for women that he is now taking his bigoted approach to women’s rights on the appeal circuit.

I suspect he has a pretty good record of being upheld on his other decisions then. Even the best judges get it wrong, sometimes. But yes, I think the ethos of a judge is not to be overturned and when they are, it’s pretty bad for them, professionally.

He sneaked that promotion in quickly, didn't he!

Well that’s disappointing. Maybe the easiest way to get rid of him was to promote him. Plus I had my judges mixed up- thought J Taylor was the sensible appeals judge but he was the original one.