Appeals courts judgement on Catholic Church's appeal

She won't get 150 thousand dollars, but the court of appeals today ruled that Maria Roches must still get 60 thousand dollars from the Catholic School Management after it fired her for getting pregnant out of wedlock, when she was teaching in a Catholic school. The court upheld the judgement of the chief justice when he found that she had been discriminated against, but found that his award of 150 thousand dollars was too great to stand. At 150, it was five times more than the largest award ever given in Belize, and more than most similar judgements in the Caribbean. Still the case was so clear cut in the court's eye that it brought the award to 60 thousand, still twice the past record, which was given to George Herbert. While a Privy Council appeal can still be mounted, that appears unlikely, and it is now between the Catholic School Management and its education partner, the state, to see who will pay the bill.