Harris Denied Seat on New Jersey Supreme Court
May 31st, the New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee rejected the nomination of Bruce Harris to serve on the New Jersey Supreme Court. Had his confirmation been confirmed, Harris, Mayor of Chatham Borough, “would have been the first openly gay and third African-American justice on the state Supreme Court.” New Jersy Star Ledger 6/1/12
Thorne-Begland Confirmation Falls Short In Virginia
The nomination of gay Prosecutor Tracy Thorne-Begland, a former fighter pilot and Navy officer, fell short of the necessary number of votes for confirmation to become Virginia’s first openly gay judge. He “failed to garner the majority of the 100-member House of Delegates that was required to secure the judgeship. Lawmakers…voted 33 to 31 to support him, with 10 abstentions.” The nomination “had broad bipartisan support from the Courts of Justice Committee, which is charged with vetting judicial appointments, and many lawmakers assumed his appointment would be approved.” The New York Times – 5-16-12
Article Highlights Discrimination Against LGBT Jurors
Journalist Andy Birkey explores flagrant discrimination against prospective jurors on the basis of their perceived sexual orientation or gender identification in a recent article that appeared in the Colorado Independent. The examination goes as far back as the trial of Dan White for the murder of San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone and considers various responses to the efforts at exclusion. Colorado Independent, 5-1-12
Fitzgerald Confirmed for U.S. District Court
On March 15, 2012, the United States Senate confirmed the nomination of Michael W. Fitzgerald to serve on the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
In its email announcement of the confirmation, the National LGBT Bar Association noted, “Mr. Fitzgerald joins Judges J. Paul Oetken and Alison Nathan as the third openly gay Article III federal judge nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the Senate. In addition, Deborah Batts, an openly gay woman, has served as a Federal District Judge for the Southern District of New York since 1994.”
In a separate account, the following information regarding Fitzgerald is provided:
“A defense attorney and former federal prosecutor, Fitzgerald went to Harvard University for his undergraduate degree. He graduated from the University of California at Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, in 1985.
“Fitzgerald has been a partner in the firm of Corbin, Fitzgerald & Athey since 1998, specializing in commercial litigation, internal investigations and white-collar criminal representation. The Los Angeles native currently serves on the board of directors of the Los Angeles chapter of the Federal Bar Association. He also belongs to the American Bar Association’s White-Collar Crime Committee and the Association of Business Trial Lawyers.” CourtHouseNews – 3/16/2012
Editor’s note: In an October 14, 2011 post at this site, we inadvertently headlined that Fitzgerald had been confirmed rather than nominated, as the accompanying article correctly stated. We apologize for the premature celebration.
Student Writing Competition Inaugurated
For the first time, the International Association of LGBT Judges (IALGJ) and the National LGBT Bar Association are sponsoring a writing competition open to law students who will be attending the 2012 Lavender Law Conference & Career Fair.
Students may choose to write about one of these topics:
- Diversity on the Bench
- Judicial Ethics Around LGBT Issues
The IALGJ and the National LGBT Bar Association will award a $1,500 prize for the best entry, as well as two $250 honorable mentions. The winner and honorable mention recipients will also receive complimentary registration to the 2012 Lavender Law Conference & Career Fair in Washington, D.C.
This is an exciting opportunity for law students who wish to pursue a career as a member of the United States judiciary.
Timeline for the competition:
- May 20, 2012: Writing submissions due by 5:00 pm ET
- May 27, 2012: Judges will review all writing submissions
- June 22, 2012: Judges will select a winner and two honorable mentions
- August 23-25, 2012: The winner and two honorable mentions will be recognized during the 2012 Lavender Law Conference & Career Fair
Please send submissions to nominations@LGBTbar.org with the subject line “Judges Writing Competition” by May 20, 2012.
If you have any questions regarding the writing competition or 2012 Lavender Law, please direct them to info@LGBTbar.org.
Bruce Harris Nominated To New Jersey Supreme Court
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has nominated Bruce Harris, elected mayor of Chatham Borough in November, to serve on the New Jersey Supreme Court.
Harris “graduated magna cum laude from Amherst College, and with honors from Boston University Graduate School of Management. He earned a law degree from Yale. In addition to serving as mayor of Chatham, he most recently worked at the law firm of Greenberg Traurig and previously at Riker, Danzi, Scherer, Hyland and Perretti.
“Steve Goldstein, the chief executive of Garden State Equality, a gay rights organization, said he was stunned when Christie called to tell him about the imminent nomination of Harris, 60, a graduate of Yale Law School.
“As I told the governor right then and there, you could have picked me up off the floor,” Goldstein said.
Beth Robinson Joins Vermont Supreme Court
On November 28, 2011, Beth Robinson joined the Vermont Supreme Court as the Court’s newest Associate Justice. Enjoy photos of the event on the Huffington Post and Burlington Free Press sites.
According to Governor Peter Shumlin’s official blog, Robinson practiced law for 18 years at Langrock Sperry & Wool in Middlebury and Burlington, with a civil practice that included workers’ compensation, family law, employment law, negligence and injury cases. She served as co-counsel in the case of Baker v. Vermont, the landmark case that led to Vermont’s passage of a first-in-the-nation civil union law, and led the successful quest for full marriage equality for same-sex couples in Vermont.
She is a 1986 graduate of Dartmouth College and 1989 graduate of the University of Chicago Law School.
