Jerry Springer the Opera challenge is refused leave to appeal

On February 28 the House of Lords refused to hear the appeal from the High Court's decision in the case of Stephen Green v The City of Westminster Magistrates Court. The House decided that the case had not raised an arguable point of law of general public importance which ought to be considered by the House at this time.

At the beginning of 2007, Stephen Green, director of Christian Voice, sought to bring a private prosecution against the producer and the broadcaster of 'Jerry Springer - The Opera'. Mr Green argued that the depiction of God as a frail old man and Christ as an abusive and foul mouthed homosexual amounted to blasphemy and that the production and broadcasting of the play was therefore a criminal offence. The District Judge at the Magistrates Court refused to find that blasphemy had occurred. Mr Green applied for judicial review of this decision and in November 2007, the case was heard at the High Court. Once again, the case was dismissed. The reasons given for dismissal included the lack of any evidence that the production had endangered society as a whole by endangering the peace or depraving public morality. The judgment also said that the production was attacking the Jerry Springer chat show rather than Christianity.