Necessarily logically embedded in the call for judicial diversity is a recognition of the fact that the law is a human instrument and that judges bring to it their own values and experiences.
And, in fact, the call for judicial diversity is more than that: it is a recognition that judges have biases and they are likely to be the biases of, for example, their colour or social class or lived experience.
If those with authority and privilege believe they encounter those judicial biases they have, I believe, a moral obligation to speak them, fearlessly, and without regard for the effect of doing so on themselves. That is what the responsible exercise of privilege looks like.
We speak criticism, freely and rightly, of judges whose conduct reveals biases against other structurally disadvantaged classes. There is no logical reason why we should not speak criticism of judges whose conduct reveals biases against trans men and women. Indeed, we should.
The criticism we speak can in turn be interrogated and challenged or criticised. But the notion there is some bar on criticising judges is one that embeds privilege, defies logic, perpetuates injustice - and is also just contrary to basic fact.
Most of my critics know this, of course, and in a discussion about other characteristics protected by the Equality Act would agree with it. But sometimes it is just too tempting to try and dress up your prejudice in high moral clothing.
(Tweeted with reference to my criticisms of the Divisional Court in Bell and Judge Lieven in AB in this discussion with @graceelavery. I would encourage you to read this if you have even a passing interest in the Bell decision grace.substack.com/p/the-division…).

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Jo Maugham

Jo Maugham Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @JolyonMaugham

2 Apr
Characteristically - when it comes to trans issues - intellectually dishonest reporting by the BBC. bbc.com/news/health-56…
What the NICE review found was that the quality of evidence of positive effects from puberty blockers in the studies it examined was "very low certainty".
However, this is what the BBC's lede reports: it rephrases NICE's observation about the *quality* of the evidence supporting the treatment in the studies it examined into a criticism of the treatment.
Read 7 tweets
31 Mar
Get involved with Gendered Intelligence and other trans-led organisations! THREAD

(GI) #TDOV
Our GIANTS project is all about empowering gender diverse people to advocate for their inclusion and creating community-led spaces. We're recruiting for a new cohort of members just now! genderedintelligence.co.uk/projects/GIANTS (GI) #TDOV
Our trans youth work service is the largest in the UK + has dedicated groups for trans young people of colour + transfem people. Separated by age, if you’re a young trans person who wants to join a youth group, don’t be a stranger! (GI) Email: youthwork@genderedintelligence.co.uk
Read 4 tweets
31 Mar
Hi everyone! Cara again from Gendered Intelligence @Genderintell here.

We’re working to remedy some of the bigger struggles facing trans right in the UK right now, especially around access to healthcare...#TDOV
Working with other experts we’ll be intervening in the Bell v Tavistock appeal in June! We have to hear the voices of young trans people in legal cases which affect them – they’re too important to ignore. goodlawproject.org/update/tavisto… (GI)
We’ve heard from our users about the effects on them of this case and we know cases like this make trans people feel downtrodden and ignored. Whatever happens now and in the future, we have your backs and we will never stop! (GI)
Read 5 tweets
31 Mar
Trans people don’t exist in a vacuum – we create communities of people with diverse needs and experiences. Let’s delve a bit deeper into the intersecting aspects of trans identities… #TDOV2021 (GI)
Trans people are likelier to face hardship or discrimination if they are working class, disabled, or a person of colour.

'Trans' is a class issue, a race issue, a disability issue - we're all individuals with intersecting facets of self. (GI)
We must unpick thinking trans people have separable needs & desires from others. We're in every community across UK and need the same removal of systemic barriers as all other marginalised people – we’re frequently doubly or triply affected e.g. disabled Black trans women. (GI)
Read 5 tweets
31 Mar
Hi everyone! This is Cara from Gendered Intelligence (@genderintel)- we're taking over Jo's account today on #TDOV2021! We'll be posting some things about trans people in the UK and what you can do to help! (GI)
Gendered Intelligence is the biggest trans-led organisation working across the UK. Since 2008 we’ve supported trans people (particularly trans youth) across all parts of their life. Our main aim is to increase understandings of gender diversity & visibility of trans people! (GI)
We are a trans-led and trans-involving grassroots organisation with a wealth of lived experience, community connections of many kinds, and a depth and breadth of trans community knowledge that is second to none. We believe everyone can be intelligent about gender! @Genderintell
Read 8 tweets
30 Mar
Do you remember when Boris Johnson told Parliament: "All the details are on the record" and added "The contracts are there on the record for everybody to see"? bbc.co.uk/news/uk-562819…
Yesterday Government published (yet another) of the contracts that Boris Johnson had claimed didn't exist: a £102.6m contract to Pharmaceuticals Direct Limited: contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/22f31ba…. (We believe there is more to come from Pharmaceuticals Direct Limited - so watch this space).
The contract is for 20m FFP3 facemasks. They have tried to redact the unit price but they haven't done a very good job so you can see we paid a per unit price of £5.13 (and we picked up the shipping all the way from Jinua City).
Read 7 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!