The lawsuit brought by Wilson Hospital Secondary School against Enoch Burke has come to a close for the day.
The court will have to decide whether the school correctly implemented the disciplinary proceedings against the secondary teacher and whether she was justly suspended, reports RTE.
Mark Connaughton, senior counsel at the school, told the court this afternoon that at the heart of the case was the request for a new name for a student and the use of neutral language.
He said the school did not take this lawsuit lightly.
The case will also continue tomorrow. It is unclear whether Mr Burke or his family will return to court, RTE reports.
Mr. Burke and his family left the courthouse four days before the school began to outline their case after Judge Alex Owens ordered them not to be admitted to the courtroom after lunch.
The case was due to start this morning but was delayed as Mr Burke repeatedly raised issues with him over the disclosure of the documents and refused to accept the court’s decision on the matter, RTE reports.
The judge finally ruled that Mr. Burke was authorized to watch the proceedings remotely and that he could return to court when he was ready to behave and comply with court orders.
This afternoon, Mr. Burke was outside the courtroom for a short time as guards prevented him from entering the courtroom.
Judge Owens said he could return if he agreed to follow court directions and orders, reports RTE.
Mr. Burke had repeatedly accused the school’s lawyers of tampering with documents and lying and asked the judge to rule in his favor.
After some discussion, the school’s senior adviser, Alex White, said tomorrow the school would address any issues raised by Mr Burke and deal with further issues if they put them in writing.
Judge Owens has alternately threatened to despise Mr. Burke and tried to find a solution to the problem of disclosing the documents.
He asked the school’s attorneys to open his case to Mr. Burke, saying he appeared to be completely ineffective as a judge and that Mr. Burke would not give him notice, reports RTE.
Mr Connaughton said Mr Burke’s behavior was disrespectful.
Mr Burke was suspended from his job teaching German and history at the school last August after publicly requesting a new name to be used for a student and the use of the pronouns ‘they’.
An injunction has been granted by the High Court to Mr Burke who continues to attend school despite his suspension, reports RTE.
He was jailed for 108 days before Christmas for defying the curfew.
In late January, he was handed a daily fine of €700 for contempt of court, reports RTE.
The High Court ruled that he had to pay around €24,000 of that fine by 23 March and that, if he didn’t, the school could take action to enforce the payment.
It is unclear whether any payments have been made so far.
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