Sara Morrison v BFF - thread 5

[SexRealistic]

https://genderblog.net/sara-morrison-v-belfast-film-festival/

I'm not sure we've seen evidence the judge is biased, and she knows she's going to be under scrutiny. She was clear in her wrapping up that she would be going through the evidence and all the referenced cases very carefully. The post-recusal application atmosphere has been very different from the first few days.

I am feeling pessimistic but what do I know. I just hope i am wrong.

@SexRealistic No one stands a chance do they. The actual Equality Commission who is support to advise balance of rights is mocking an ongoing legal case.

That's bloody shocking, but we shouldn't be surprised at the spiteful and incestuous goings on in this case.

Please dont speculate like this. Yes many women and girls do experience real violence and threats from men. This was discussed recently in the SP tribunal. But there has been no statement and there is no evidence that this EJ or the panel have been threatened with violence.

I apologise. Xx

From my notes today, the other bits that moved me to add notes or exclamation marks to the margin were:

Mood in court friendly. Judge asked for some clarification of legal points concerning how the 3rd July email (and whether that was used to generate complaints) would be added to the pleading if it were decided that an application were needed. But phrasing and tone was clarification, not challenge. She also asked SD to provide his sources for various authorities mentioned.

Following SD's objections yesterday to matters being relied on that weren't in the pleading, NC pointed out that the Higgs defence being made had not been raised before submissions. And that while the argument was that the problem was how SM manifested her beliefs, but the evidence present was all about the fact that she had manifested it- not the manner.

NC also pointed out that as SD says it's important to consider the mental process of the person who made the decision to investigate, it would have been helpful if he had presented any evidence of who that was.

NC's closing section about GI being a very new belief was a bit longer than NW captured. She pointed out several times that the panel would have experience of it's recent rise, and that had it been a longstanding belief it would have been coming to tribunals all the working lives of the panel rather than only since about 2019.

After lunch, when NC came back with 3 extra points rather than the 1 she'd previously warned about, the judge joked 'That's the problem with having another look at anything'.

The extra points were disagreeing with SD about the 'no last straw' argument for constructive dismissal. The other 2 were about damages: if 3rd July email was provocation then the labour relationship code of conduct called for aggravated damages; the delay in the investigation was mainly from the R's, not the C's actions. Called for 50% uplift.

Getting a bit long, so I'll do a separate post for the SD points.

Wow!!! In a good way :-)

SD began with apologies for the spelling and grammar errors in the submissions, and the fact the paragraphs were not numbered sequentially, because of the speed with which they'd been compiled. Judge said she assumed it was the short time and she hadn't planned to mention it.

He the briefly countered the damage points - injury to feelings is not a reason for aggravated damages, and the investigation delay was because it was complicated.

SD then moved on to contradicting the statements of his own witnesses, mentioning 'MC's words about guilt by association' several times, when MC had been at great pains to point out that he believed in no such thing (only the entirely different concept of 'dirty by association').

He misrepresented SMs speech, saying she'd called the named women's groups a 'racket' when she'd actually said that about the tendency of causes in general.

SD said MC was 'highly persuasive' in his assertion that he'd found the accusation he was looking to dismiss SM 'a jaw dropping moment'. My opinion is that saying multiple times that it was jaw dropping, then that 'my jaw literally dropped', then doing an exaggerated mime of what it looks like when his jaw drops,.is not 'highly persuasive' at all. 'Laughable' was more the word that came to my mind.

MD's verbal explanation of the email fiasco didn't quite match the written one, which doesn't make irrelevant mention of broken laptops and has a slightly more convincing timeline of why she might have sent the password to 1 address but told Think People to use the other.

Mr Owens (Think People) not being called might be a problem for some of the 'improper process' argument.

C's submission says MC's 25 June email was an act of harassment. SD says it wasn't harassment because the opinion that 'the phrase "standing up for the rights of women" is a far right phrase' is, SD claims "not political"!

SD said that NC was wrong to claim the criticism of women's groups had been dragged into the argument at the last minute. He said the complaint about criticism appeared in MDs interview notes and therefore pre-dated the tribunal case. However, NC pointed out that SM's grounds of claim were dated October 2023, the BFF's grounds of resistance January 2024, and MD's interview notes weren't in fact written until March 2024.

Drat. Too late to edit the stray apostrophe in "it's" above. Please blame autocorect and substitute the correct version.

I was too polite to mention! 😀

Actual footage of MC's 'jaw dropping' demonstration.

I’m feeling pessimistic about this one as well. The whole thing about Belfast being so small everyone knows everyone makes me concerned about the panel not wanting to rock the boat.

like you I hope I am wrong as I do believe that NC got very close to what actually happened with the BFF board.

Can you imaging Michelle's Congrats card?

Dear Sara

Congratulations on finding a new role at Genspect. Working with you was truly the hardest thing I have ever done and you caused immense pain to me and all your colleagues. I'm so glad you were finally able to find your password, after the 16 months I spent sending it to you. Warmest wishes for the future. Really burning wishes.

Prof Judge Michelle Devine PhD

https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/inquests/gender-critical-case-woman-seen-as-transphobic-so-bosses-provoked-complaints-to-oust-her-from-job-says-lawyer-as-tribunal-ends-5413047

https://archive.ph/m4ZAp

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2p87qwnwlo.amp

https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/judge-in-belfast-film-festival-tribunal-accused-of-bias/

Archive link again of the Times pieces

https://archive.ph/Gtjsn

https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/courts/gender-critical-case-belfast-film-festival-chiefs-deny-plot-to-oust-woman-from-job-over-political-views-adding-staff-tortured-by-all-sorts-of-headcases-during-dispute-5407913

https://archive.ph/OCRjW

Archive link

https://archive.ph/m4ZAp

@Justabaker - I’m not on Twitter - but could one of your wonderful team pick up press links from here?

NC's closing section about GI being a very new belief was a bit longer than NW captured. She pointed out several times that the panel would have experience of it's recent rise, and that had it been a longstanding belief it would have been coming to tribunals all the working lives of the panel rather than only since about 2019.

This is such an important point IMO.

Also, bloody autocorrect. You’d think the default would be its.

The submissions were great to read. It made me feel emotional. It listed out all the GC/ sex realist cases and it was like a long list of strong women who have paved the way and hopefully Sara’s name is added to the ledger.

She was right to say - sex realism has been the truth for millennia and in the last 10/20 years there has been shaming & silencing of women who dare to say sex is binary & immutable.

Gender ideology is a novel invention, and has been like a collective brain washing cult.

Thank you all - especially top sleuth@SexRealistic! I’m going to read this now and catch up. I have quite the delicate head today after a few or many drinks 😂 xxx

What a lovely photo that is. Hope your sore head feels better soon!