Simon Singh’s appeal day over the libel lawsuit brought against him by the British Chiropractic Association was today. All signs seemed to say it was a must-attend affair with some great quotables from the judge (I always take that as a good sign).

If you need to be brought up to speed, I’ve blathered on about it here, and in previous posts.

Probably the most promising statement to come out of the hearing as reported by Index On Censorship site:

England’s most senior judge today said he was “baffled” by the British Chiropractic Association’s (BCA) defamation suit against science writer Simon Singh.

So, when you are the prosecutor, and the judge says your client baffles him, it’s time to acknowledge your lawsuit is on pretty thin ice.

But wait, it gets better. The judge goes on to say:

He went on to criticise the BCA’s reluctance to publish evidence to back up claims that chiropractic treatments could treat childhood asthma and other ailments.

“I’m just baffled. If there is reliable evidence, why hasn’t someone published it?”

See, there IS no evidence. There are no studies that could pass any scientific muster. It’s all a damn hoax. That’s why the BCA had chiropractors pulling erroneous claims off of chiropractic websites at warp speed – they knew they had just been called out on their bullshit in the biggest way possible. Now the BCA is on an international stage under one hell of a hot spotlight.

The ruling has yet to be given, but all this leaves me in pretty high hopes we may be on the verge of not only reforming the UK’s horrendous libel laws, but a giant rock of pseudoscience may also get smashed in the process.

Win – win.