An actor who was dropped from a play, for posting allegedly homophobic comments online, has brought a case alleging discrimination on the grounds of religion.
In a preliminary ruling, the trial judge has determined that evidence by a theologian of ‘Christian doctrine in relation to homosexuality’ would not be of assistance in determining the case.
A report by a theatre critic was also ruled inadmissible, as the judge was not satisfied that the critic had relevant expertise: “His report is full of opinion, but reads like an opinion or comment piece of journalism, rather than an expert report to a court or tribunal.”
The judge continued:
“An expert does not merely state his own opinion but informs the court or tribunal of the full range of reasonable expert opinion (from his expert knowledge of the field) and the position of his own opinion within that range. The court is not obliged to accept any expert opinion and this requirement enables the court or tribunal to perform the exercise of forming its own judgment.”
See here for a news report of the case.