Long Answer Option #1

Critical Perspectives

Scenario: In a sex discrimination case, Judge Carrie Lark receives conflicting testimonies from the plaintiff (Amelia) and defendant (Joe). Amelia, a young mother of two, alleges that her boss (Joe) regularly held events at a "gentlemen's club" (a place where women perform exotic dances for the clientele) immediately following work where her male colleagues could receive extra feedback, informal training, and so on to help them succeed at work. Joe maintains that nothing he did was explicitly sexist, noting that Amelia should have found childcare and accompanied her male colleagues to the "gentlemen's club" if she wanted.

Ruling in Amelia's favour, Judge Lark ended her decision with this statement: "True impartiality requires challenging things that are seen as 'neutral' and 'objective.' As a woman in a historically male profession, I know what exclusion feels like. I am not saying this woman's boss sought to exclude her, but I am saying that men have been known to miss how their actions can exclude women in the workplace in ways that appear at first to be neutral or objective." Joe's legal counsel immediately appealed Judge Lark's decision, claiming that it showcased "reasonable apprehension of bias." Amelia's legal counsel, however, argued that Judge Lark's reasons represent a valid critical perspective on law in general and equality in particular, while the defendant's argument is based in anti-feminist backlash.

Question to answer: Is the position espoused by Amelia's legal counsel supported by what you have learned in this class? If so, how so? If not, how not?

Although your answer still needs to argue a coherent overall position, it can be an "in-between" position (e.g., "it ismostly supported by material in this class, except for..." or "it ismostly not supported by material in this class, with the exception of..."). To justify your position, be sure to use what you have learned about how critical perspectives have been used by judges and/or what forms of backlash exist. While not necessary, you might also want to use what you learned about equality rights in Canadian law.