From left to right: Judge Hunt, Judge Olson, and Judge Gayles |
Last Wednesday, prosecutors, public defenders, private lawyers,
and law clerks packed into the media room of the U.S. Attorney’s Office to listen
to District Judge Darrin Gayles, Magistrate Judge Patrick Hunt, and Bankruptcy
Judge John Olson—gay men—talk about their experiences becoming and serving as
federal judges. The panel discussion Road
to the Bench, produced jointly by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the
Federal Public Defender’s Office, was, U.S. Attorney Wifredo Ferrer said in his
opening remarks, “historic” (not, he said, to laughs, to show that the two
offices could successfully work together). It was historic, he said, in light
of this year’s legal and social progress. AUSA Karen Gilbert, who moderated, agreed, saying that she never thought she’d see in her
lifetime three out federal judges discuss their experiences in a panel
discussion.
Each judge began by discussing his journey to the bench. For
Judge Gayles, a former AUSA, the first time he could be Darrin Gayles “without
reservation” was when Governor Bush appointed him to serve as a state-court
judge. It was “liberating to a great extent,” he said. “I can be who I am and
it will not hold me back professionally.” As a judge, he said he has “felt
responsible” to be out and open, and to serve as an example.
Judge Hunt’s experience was different because becoming a magistrate
judge “wasn’t in the public,” Judge Hunt, a former AFPD, said. For Judge Hunt, who
has two gay older brothers, being gay was the “most natural thing in the
world.” The “bottom line,” he concluded about his process of becoming a judge,
is that “no one cared and it didn’t make a difference. Here I am.”
Judge Olson didn’t start in public service. Judge Olson, who was
once married to a woman and has two children, practiced law for many years as a
bankruptcy lawyer. “Only after I was on the bench did I come to grips with my
reality,” Judge Olson said. So he asked himself, “How do I live my life now in
a way that’s faithful to myself and others?” To do that, Judge Olson came out
“as noisily as I could”: by sending out a “frank” Christmas letter designed to
take advantage of the bankruptcy bar’s “really effective gossip network,” he
said, to laughs. “I outed myself as effectively as I could.”
The judges felt that they have largely been accepted and treated
equally. No one has questioned Judge Hunt’s impartiality. Judge Olson said he
“never felt anything but good things from his colleagues.” When, as a new district
judge, Judge Gayles and his partner traveled to the Supreme Court to meet the
justices, Justice Scalia said to his partner, “Nice to meet you. Welcome to the
Supreme Court.”
The discussion—which lasted over an hour—was informative,
inspirational, and, at times, really funny (Judge Olson and Gilbert joked about
the pressure to have “fabulous” chambers; Gilbert said that Ferrer, because he’s
a great dancer, is sometimes mistaken as being gay). But the judges recalled a difficult not-to-distant past, and said that many challenges lie ahead. Judge Hunt recalled
when he was an AFPD having to explain to judges the difference between HIV and
AIDS, and how that affected when defendants must be sentenced. It is
“absolutely frightening” what is happening in other parts of the world, Judge
Olson said, where being gay is “a dangerous thing.” Suicide is a serious
problem among young gay people, he continued, and it may be worse for
transgender youth. “We as a society have to do more to help,” he said.
But the judges were overwhelmingly positive about the future. “Our
being in these positions makes it easier for those coming after us,” Judge
Gayles said. Judge Hunt is “very optimistic. Now we can name names, whether it
is an African American president or a gay judge. To actually be able to name
names is important.” To Judge Olson, “being aggressively out helps solidify
change. To make it a normal part of life.”
Special thanks to AUSA Robert Watson for suggesting that the
Blog cover this fantastic event.
"Keep calm and support LGBT" |
3 comments:
Congrats on formally joining the blog Brian!!!
Thanks for the reporting of this inspirational panel discussion. Us members of the state bar had no knowledge of this get together. Thanks again.
Cute little cupcakes. The feds get all the nice perks!
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