Of Gay Judges and Pink Glass Ceilings

Excellent news!

Sir Terence Etherton, pictured, will be the first openly gay judge to be sworn in as Lord Justice of Appeal when his appointment is confirmed later this month.

It's a very important development for an area of civil society marked by both significant homophobia and an even greater expectation of homophobia. He's not notably the first gay judge, but the Court of Appeal has only 36 members, and is the second highest court in the land, making this quite important. As the article goes on to show, it puts him in line to become the first out gay law lord.

This was nice too:

One of the most interesting things about him is that he was the first High Court judge to announce — in The Times in February 2006 — his entry into a civil partnership.

A real, non-self-hating progressive. We can only hope that our horribly unrepresentative criminal justice system will be influenced by an ever more diverse judiciary.