Judge not.
Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2014 9:23 am
A Sydney man has tried to have a female Supreme Court judge disqualify herself from hearing a matter because he suspected she was a "feminist with leftist leanings".
Serial litigant Tosson Mahmoud argued that his views about the undesirability of women in senior roles in society were well-known and might cause "women judges to retaliate against me for directly threatening their jobs, income, material benefit and their status".
Mr Mahmoud is fighting an attempt by NSW Attorney-General Brad Hazzard to stop him from bringing future legal proceedings without the consent of the court, under laws dealing with vexatious proceedings.
In a judgment last week, Justice Monika Schmidt said Mr Mahmoud asked her to step aside from hearing a preliminary matter on the basis that he "suspected that as a female judge, I was a feminist with leftist leanings, who would not give him a fair hearing".
Justice Schmidt rejected the application. She said Mr Mahmoud's application rested on several assumptions, including that a male judge "would not hold views of the kind he suspected female judges such as I held".
"Nothing which Mr Mahmoud advanced provided a proper basis for the conclusion that a fair-minded lay observer might reasonably apprehend that I might not bring an impartial mind to the resolution of his application," she said.
Justice Schmidt said that "as human beings all judges hold personal views on a wide range of matters" but were obliged by their oath of office to determine issues impartially.
The judge also rejected an application that she should disqualify herself on the basis of alleged racism and a conflict of interest.
Mr Hazzard is seeking an order in the Supreme Court prohibiting Mr Mahmoud from instituting any legal proceedings without the consent of the court. The hearing is set down for March 9 next year.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/female-judge- ... z3Fv9fPx4h
