Judicial culture still ters gay and lbian lawyers, say rearchers | Law | The Guardian

Contents:

• PL FEMAN, FIRST OPENLY GAY JUDGE ON N.Y. HIGH COURT, DI AT 61
• BRA'S FIRST OPENLY GAY JUDGE BE MASTER OF THE ROLLS
• EXPLAED: WHY GOVERNMENT IS OPPOSG A GAY ADVOTE TO BEE A HIGH COURT JUDGE
• WHY INDIA’S FIRST OPENLY GAY ADVOTE SRABH KIRPAL HAS NOT YET BEEN APPOTED HC JUDGE
• JUDICIAL CULTURE STILL TERS GAY AND LBIAN LAWYERS, SAY REARCHERS
• WHERE ARE THE GAY JUDG?
• CANNATARO COULD MAKE HISTORY AS FIRST OPENLY GAY CHIEF JUDGE WHILE ENSURG CONTUY ON HIGH COURT
• SUPREME COURT NDIDATE WOULD BE FIRST OPENLY GAY JUDGE R.I.

PL FEMAN, FIRST OPENLY GAY JUDGE ON N.Y. HIGH COURT, DI AT 61

Feman, the first openly gay jurist to serve on New York State’s hight urt, the Court of Appeals, died on Wednday at a Manhattan hospal. “Certaly my entire reer has been about promotg equal accs and equal jtice for all, ” Judge Feman rpond, alludg to his own experience as a gay man, “and I hope I add to the diversy of perspectiv that the urt nsirs.

He was sworn on June 21, 2017, durg Gay Pri a statement after the ath, Governor Cuomo lled the judge a “iend and role mol to untls L. He beme so taken by French culture that he would take his niec and nephews to Paris on their 16th worked as a legal tern Upper Manhattan as a Columbia unrgrad, he attend the Universy of Mnota Law School on a full scholarship and helped found an associatn of gay stunts there.

More about Sam RobertsA versn of this article appears prt on, Sectn A, Page 19 of the New York edn wh the headle: Pl Feman, 61, Trailblazg Gay Appellate Judge. Sir Terence Etherton, Bra’s first openly gay senr judge, has been appoted master of the rolls, makg him head of the civil judiciary England and 64-year-old lawyer’s promotn was nfirmed by an announcement om Downg Street on Thursday morng. Srabh Kirpal, a senr attorney who is openly a gay, is still wag to be appoted judge of the Delhi high urt.

BRA'S FIRST OPENLY GAY JUDGE BE MASTER OF THE ROLLS

PTISunil Mehra and Navtej Sgh Johar, now well-known petners the historic se which the Supreme Court (SC) stck down Sec 377, which crimalized homosexualy, were reprented by him and a team of lawyers.

The remendatn that the Collegium of this Court approv the name of Srabh Kirpal on November 11, 2021, appears to have two objectns: Kirpal's partner is a Swiss and he is an timate relatnship and open about his sexual law mister stated a letter dated April 1, 2021, that even though homosexualy has been ma illegal India, same-sex marriage is still not regnizsd by eher dified statutory law or undified personal law. The Center also nclud that the possibily of Kirpal's bias and prejudice nnot be led out bee of his "attachment" to the gay rights movement, acrdg to the Live Law reports.

The Supreme Court Collegium has reerated s November 2021 remendatn to appot senr advote Srabh Kirpal, an openly gay person, as a judge of the Delhi High Court. India crimalised homosexualy on 6 September 2018.

EXPLAED: WHY GOVERNMENT IS OPPOSG A GAY ADVOTE TO BEE A HIGH COURT JUDGE

No, if you ask, senr advote Srabh Kirpal, an openly gay person, whose appotment as judge of the Delhi high urt ntu to be layed. Kirpal is an openly gay senr advote who has been practisg for more than two s.

Related Articl He was part of a team of lawyers that reprented Sunil Mehra and Navtej Sgh Johar, the now well-known petners the historic se which the Supreme Court (SC) stck down the lonial-era Sec 377, which crimalised homosexualy. In a letter dated 1 April 2021, the law mister stated that though homosexualy stands -crimalised India, nohels same-sex marriage remas bereft of regnn eher dified statutory law or undified personal law India. The Centre also apprehend that given Kirpal’s “attachment” to the e of gay rights, the possibily of Kirpal’s bias and prejudice nnot be led out, Live Law reports.

Also read: Homosexualy vs same-sex marriag: India’s one step forward, two steps backwards. “I don’t thk the ernment necsarily wants to appot an openly gay person to the bench, ” he told the news channel. The judiciary is failg to reflect the UK's gay and lbian muny, experts say, as rearch suggts is serly unr-reprented on the bench.

WHY INDIA’S FIRST OPENLY GAY ADVOTE SRABH KIRPAL HAS NOT YET BEEN APPOTED HC JUDGE

Rearch by the lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) law work Interlaw has found that judicial culture, the perceptn of hostily to gay judg and the isolated nature of the job are terrg gay and lbian lawyers om applyg for reers as study also suggts that gay and lbian lawyers fear that their private liv may be subject to addnal scty if they were to bee judg.

Although Nberger's report referred to creasg sexual diversy the judiciary, the Judicial Appotments Commissn (JAC) ‑ the official body rponsible for appotg judg ‑ has still not llected any data on the number of gay and lbian judg.

JUDICIAL CULTURE STILL TERS GAY AND LBIAN LAWYERS, SAY REARCHERS

In the 1970s, the then lord chancellor, Lord Hailsham, formally exclud gay and lbian lawyers om enterg the judiciary, by allowg only married people to be appoted to the practice was only end 1991, when the then lord chancellor, Lord Mackay, allowed unmarried people to bee judg. However, there are still few openly gay judg. Court of appeal judge Sir Terence Etherton, high urt and ternatnal crimal urt judge Sir Adrian Fulford and circu judge Jeremy Richardson are among the few judg England and Wal known to be gay.

"We have no ia how many gay and lbian judg there actually are, " said Daniel Wterfeldt, partner at law firm Simmons & Simmons and founr of Interlaw. It's clearly a mark on the profsn that so few gay and lbian judg feel able to be visible. Out of the 340 judg who s on state supreme urts, only 10 intify as gay or lbian.

WHERE ARE THE GAY JUDG?

This lack of diversy is a sign of eply entrenched racism, sexism and homophobia. “The Uned Stat is more diverse than ever, yet our natn’s urts are pafully homogeno, ” said Eric Lh, director of Lambda Legal’s Fair Courts Project and the thor of the report.

The 2015 US Supreme Court lg that legalized gay marriage was a cultural and legal landmark but not the end of the fight for equal rights.

CANNATARO COULD MAKE HISTORY AS FIRST OPENLY GAY CHIEF JUDGE WHILE ENSURG CONTUY ON HIGH COURT

Still, a more diverse judiciary uld provi better odds for LGBTQ people fightg homophobic employers or simply tryg to change their genr inty on a driver’s license. Ga Raimondo to nomate the first openly gay high urt jtice — and the first openly gay judge the state, perd.

Roberts, a partner wh the Boston firm Prosker Rose LLC, is a member of the Rho Island Bar Associatn’s Lbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgenr Legal Issu are only 11 openly gay, lbian or bisexual Supreme Court jtic 10 stat natnwi, acrdg to Ethan Rice, senr attorney for the Fair Courts Project at Lambda Legal.

SUPREME COURT NDIDATE WOULD BE FIRST OPENLY GAY JUDGE R.I.

Massachetts, Connecticut, Vermont and New York have all seated a gay, lbian or bisexual jtice on their high urts. Different voic and perspectiv equal richer, more thoughtful cisns and discsns, Rice men are “vastly” overreprented on bench natnally, though Rice theorized that through the years some judg haven’t been fortable g out as gay.