Asking Judges to Decide Who's Bisexual Is Messy

There’s something very awkward about a panel of judges ruling on someone’s sexual orientation. But that still happens in immigration asylum cases -- and Wednesday, a divided appeals court rejected a Jamaican’s claim that he should not be sent home because he was bisexual and subject to harm there. The applicant found an unusual defender in Judge Richard Posner, whose dissenting opinion was characteristically acerbic, entertaining and problematic: He cited Wikipedia entries, dancehall lyrics and a YouTube video, and suggested that, as a bisexual, the applicant might be targeted by gay Jamaicans on his return to the island.

The case arose after Ray Fuller, a 51-year-old Jamaican, was ordered removed by federal immigration authorities. Fuller immigrated to the U.S. in 1999 on a fiance visa. He and his wife divorced in 2002; in 2004, he pleaded guilty to attempted sexual assault. He originally got a suspended sentence, but he violated the terms of his probation and got four years in prison.