We first heard about this months ago — back in September, from another speaker at the Lavender Law conference. We didn’t mention it at the time, though, since we’re not that comfortable outing people.
But now that the cat has been let out of the bag — or closet, as the case may be — by the mainstream media, let’s… go there. From the San Francisco Chronicle:
The biggest open secret in the landmark trial over same-sex marriage being heard in San Francisco is that the federal judge who will decide the case, Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, is himself gay.
Many gay politicians in San Francisco and lawyers who have had dealings with Walker say the 65-year-old jurist, appointed to the bench by President George H.W. Bush in 1989, has never taken pains to disguise — or advertise — his orientation.
Shocking? Not exactly. Judge Walker is a professionally successful white male, with great job security and a six-figure income, who’s in his sixties — and has never been married. A confirmed bachelor, if you will. Who lives in San Francisco. Umm, yeah.
(On the other hand, we hear His Honor’s favorite drink is a Maker’s Mark Manhattan — a fairly butch beverage, despite the maraschino cherry. We’ll stick with our cosmos, thank you very much.)
So this brings us to the question that Ashby Jones posed over at the WSJ Law Blog earlier today: If Judge Walker is gay, what should we make of that fact?
The Chronicle tried to get underneath his robe, to find out what Judge Walker bangs his gavel to. But His Honor did not cooperate:
Walker has declined to talk about anything involving the Prop. 8 case outside court, and he wouldn’t comment to us when we asked about his orientation and whether it was relevant to the lawsuit.
Many San Francisco gays still hold Walker in contempt for a case he took when he was a private attorney, when he represented the U.S. Olympic Committee in a successful bid to keep San Francisco’s Gay Olympics from infringing on its name.
“Life is full of irony,” the judge replied when we reminded him about that episode.
Alanis Morissette concurs. And that sure sounds like an admission by Judge Walker that he’s a friend of Dorothy, doesn’t it? He’s not exactly denying it. When the Chronicle asked him if he had “any concerns about being characterized as gay,” the judge answered with “no comment.”
We reached out to law professor Arthur Leonard, an expert on the federal courts and LGBT rights, for some insight into the situation. Professor Leonard seemed to view Judge Walker’s potential proclivities as a non-issue.
“[E]verybody whose opinion was canvassed by the Chronicle agreed that Judge Walker’s sexual orientation was essentially irrelevant to his being the judge on this case,” said Professor Leonard. “He’s respected as a very professional, impartial judge.”
Very true. We’ve heard nothing about Judge Walker as a jurist that would call into question his impartiality in this case. We’ve also heard many positive comments about his intellect — note his probing, smart questions during the Prop 8 trial — and his work ethic. For example, Judge Walker often works on the weekends (unlike many other federal judges, who take advantage of life tenure to slack off a bit).
In other words, just because Judge Walker likes to s some d might be gay in no way precludes him from ruling impartially in a gay marriage case. In fact, wondering whether a gay judge might be biased in a gay marriage case is arguably reflective of bias.
“[T]here is a tendency to think that only members of minorities are ‘biased’ about cases involving their issues,” said Professor Leonard. “It’s the majority-centric way of seeing things, that assumes that straight white males are, of course, neutral, while everybody else has a point of view. But everybody has a point of view on most issues, and the job for the judge is to separate out his or her personal views from his or her professional role and to strive to take an ‘objective’ approach to deciding the legal issues in the case.”
An ATL commenter on Morning Docket, where we previously linked to the Chronicle article, made a similar point: “I would have just as much of an issue if a heterosexual judge were hearing the Proposition 8 trial… and that is to say, none at all.”
But there is certainly room for disagreement here. Some other possible perspectives:
- Judge Walker, if he is in fact gay, will be predisposed to strike down Proposition 8’s ban on same-sex marriage. His ruling, tainted by bias, will be illegitimate.
- Judge Walker, if he is in fact gay, will “overcompensate” for his sexual orientation and uphold Prop 8. (Note his prior work, back when he was in private practice at Pillsbury Madison & Sutro (now Pillsbury Winthrop), against the Gay Olympics.)
- Even if his orientation won’t affect his ruling, it does create a perception issue. From an ATL commenter: “The judge is gay? That’s a lose-lose situation for the gay marriage people. If he rules it unconstitutional, opponents will say it’s a biased outcome. If he rules it constitutional, opponents will say ‘even a gay judge doesn’t think your position is valid.’”
- Judge Walker’s orientation really doesn’t matter, since nobody thinks this case will be settled at the trial level anyway — it’s going up to the Ninth Circuit, and possibly up to the U.S. Supreme Court.
(That last point may be something of an overstatement. Even if the case ends up being resolved by a higher court, it will be resolved based on a trial record that was crafted by Judge Walker.)
These are just a few possible positions to take on the issue. What do you think? Take our poll, and discuss in the comments.
P.S. As far as we know, Judge Deborah Batts (S.D.N.Y.) is the only openly gay federal judge. Feel free to let us know about other gay federal judges, closeted or not, by email (subject line: “Gay Judge”).
UPDATE: There could be a second openly gay judge on the bench in the near future. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has recommended that President Obama nominate Daniel Alter, an openly gay man, to the Southern District of New York.
Judge Being Gay a Nonissue During Prop. 8 Trial [San Francisco Chronicle]
Prop. 8 Judge is Reportedly Gay: What to Make of That? [WSJ Law Blog]
gay first
The tie is a dead giveaway.
Only if the case isn’t appealed.
SERISOUSLY? Couldn’t post an article about gay people without throwing in a stereotype about gay men and femininity?
Way to be.
4 – You know that Lat is gay, right?
The Gay Olympics case is a non-issue since, from the scant description given by the Chronicle, it seems like a cut & dry trademark dispute, nothing affecting the substantive civil rights of gays.
uhmm also “likes to s some d”???? jackass.
Since a straight judge would be biased too, I think we need someone with both tool kits to rule on this case.
7 – Click on the link. It’s a Facebook group.
Jesus, the strikethrough is egregious and adds absolutely nothing to the story.
Bad Lat, no, bad dog.
Two points:
One, now that he’s been revealed as a government employee who’s gay, doesn’t he have to resign under the don’t-ask/don’t-tell policy for all Federal employees? Or does he have to go to some kind of a hearing?
Two, are you sure he’s not just a loser? I know plenty of lawyers in their fifties and sixties who are extremely wealthy and “lifelong bachelors” because they’e more afraid of talking to women than they are of rabid alligators.
I LIKE TO S SOME D.
11 – Not, that’s for the military. This is the judiciary.
Art Leonard FTW – great guy
CHECK YOU SEXUALITY
Justice Thomas is black but nobody thinks his jurisprudence improperly favors blacks. Judge Walker is the Chief Judge of the Northern District and has been for years and is widely respected. There is no strong reason to believe that he will be tainted in any particular case.
i worked on the ninth cir, and i can tell you that whenever we got Walker opinions, we were very happy – they were typically v. v. thorough, well written, well-reasoned, even on matters like social security. i can think of no better jurist.
but honestly, i think the last perspective – that whatever he does will ultimately be irrelevant in light of appeal -is spot on.
16, that’s exactly the point.
Most black judges tend to favor black plaintiffs in employment discrimination suits. Thomas doesn’t, and he’s ridiculed as an “Uncle Tom.”
Most female judges tend to favor female plaintiffs in employment discrimination suits.
Most gay judges tend to favor gay plaintiffs in marriage cases. (Well, we can find out how far this one goes.)
Lat, what the fuck with the strikethrough? That is completely disrespectful.
This is more newsworthy than the fact that Orrick’s partner class is the smallest in 20 years?
the strikethrough is not only crass, but misleading — not every gay man likes to.
11, yes, we’re sure. this is not a new story among bay area gay lawyers.
batts is the only affirmedly gay A3 federal judge. there are magistrates, CITs, etc.
18,
So if I follow your logic, white judges tend to favor white plaintiffs?
Wow, has someone non-white ever received a fair trial then? You should publish your results.
Oh my, David Lat, how far you’ve fallen. You went from clerking for the 9th circuit and working at Wachtell Lipton to being the lawyers’ version of Perez Hilton.
(Interestingly enough, it seems this judge is a fellow gay Republican.)
No reason to question his Jurisprudence? Prop 8 supporters were forced to turn over private, internal documents and emails, while Walker has refused to demand the same from opponents of the measure. In fact, Walker has refused to even rule on a motion to compel the discovery of this information, even though he has already closed testimony in the case. This judge has already been reversed by the 9th Circuit AND the Supreme Court during this course of this case. Now I know that judges get reversed all the time but his attempt to televise the trial was inane.
The fate of this show-trial was set before it ever began.
Might want to call a therapist David.
I took a massive dump today. It was epic. I think nearly every blood vessel on my face and eyelids burst during the process.
Before wiping, I decided to stand up and look in marvel at my creation. To my surprise, the length was merely pedestrian – no more than 8 or 9 inches. The diameter, however, was unbelievable. It was as if I has passed a can of frozen orange juice. I took pictures to document the event.
I now feel qualified to discuss anything Prop 8 related.
Your tacky word-balloon is just that. Disrespectful, tacky, childish. Rachael Lamkin
In general, judges are unbiased and will not favor a plaintiff just because they both are of the same gender/race/sexuality. However, this is not some simple trademarks or employment discrimination case. I sincerely doubt that a gay federal judge is going to rule in favor of a proposition that (arguably) denies basic civil rights to members of the gay community.
Clearly, we need Affirmative Walrus’ take on this.
If only Paula Poundstone had pursued a legal career. This would be her chance to shine.
28,
Yup. and Clarence Thomas cannot be impartial on habeus cases with black defendants. Your logic is illuminating.
Lat is a poof.
31-
Of course Clarence Thomas can be impartial on habeas cases for black defendants, because those cases have general applicability. If there were a case about whether black defendants should be treated differently because they are black, then I think that he would be reluctant to rule that such a law is ok.
However, this case is about the constitutionality of a law that specifically excludes a group of people. Given that Walker is a member of that group of people, I think he may be more reluctant than a heterosexual judge to declare that such a law is valid.
-28
No discussion of Prop 8 is complete without self-hating Republican closet case Matt Drudge weighing in on the subject.
I clerked in N.D. Cal. and met Judge Walker a few times, but I’ll admit I had no idea. I was pretty good friends with his clerks, and they never said anything.
He has sent a lot of his clerks on to Supreme Court clerkships. Anyone have the statistics available?
Lat, what is wrong with you? This is the most inappropriately juvenile post I’ve seen on what is a generally asinine blog.
walker was outed by the mayor during the olympics thing. so how is his sexuality an “open secret”?
Lat, how often do partake in hot beef injections?
All you fuckers are losers.
SEC ENFORCEMENT SECURE!
It appears the homosexual movement is attempting to override the will of the people by getting one of the “family” to decide their case. In my legal opinion, Mr. Walker should recuse himself from this case, resign his judgeship and seek counseling for his sexual disorder. He is mentally imbalanced and thus has no business practicing law.
No doubt the homosexual-run media will largely ignore this story. Good thing we have men like Mr. Lat who aren’t afraid to “tell it like it is.” It’s this kind of grassroots activism that will help to destroy the gay-Communist-liberal agenda once and for all!
Dear ATL readers,
I’m putting you all on notice, that I am not a homosexual. It is my boyfriend that is the gay one.
xoxo David Lat
41
I lol’d
S my (bf) d, Lat. Comment is totally inappropriate.
“On the other hand, we hear His Honor’s favorite drink is a Maker’s Mark Manhattan — a fairly butch beverage, despite the maraschino cherry. We’ll stick with our cosmos, thank you very much.”
Lat’s a bottom? Quelle surprise.
“On the other hand, we hear His Honor’s favorite drink is a Maker’s Mark Manhattan — a fairly butch beverage, despite the maraschino cherry. We’ll stick with our cosmos, thank you very much.”
Lat’s a bottom? Quelle surprise.
Leave it to Lat to find the most trite angle on the issue.
Ask yourself one question: Can straight white male judges possibly be challenged in any case where straight white males are alleged to have discriminated against anyone else, on the basis of their straight white maleness? Seriously, what kind of moron lawyer would think that would fly? Would Lat have posted this if the judge were just outed as a Mormon?
Lat, pretty vulgar. Way to take it to the line and then prance over. The premise, that he will rule for gays because he is gay, is not interesting; and the post fails to rise above a litany of stereotypes backing a naked insinuation.
Anyway, aren’t you late for a dance crew practice? Or a pageant?
Seriously, Lat. You run this while denying the Lat Signal the rightful place it deserves? Shame.
“likes to s some d”? Come on, that is in poor taste and disrespectful of a great federal judge.
This whole line of posting is INAPPROPRIATE. This is America. Judges can shtump whomever they want (provided they are not parties in a pending litigation and/or under 18 or otherwise unable to provide consent).
In fact, i would venture to say that the freedom to choose the person or persons in whom and from whom i accept or give the big rooster … the raging lizard, is the central freedom unfolding in this country’s storied history. Jefferson lived by it. Hamilton wouldn’t have had to shoot the Veep if he was getting his rocks off. And poor Washington would have given GREAT oral without any teeth.
Look, this is getting off track. But, in conclusion, and to paraphrase the she-male on youtube: LEAVE JUDGE WALKER ALONE!! LEAVE HIM ALLOOONNNNEEE.
This posting is out of order.
Now whether the judge may have a bias (for or against) a matter before him is a legitimate question. However, Lat’s editorializing with the strike through, and the thought bubble is something that, if I didn’t know any better, I would expect from Perez Hilton.
ATL has jumped the shark.
MOAR GAY!
I don’t give a flip about gay rights and prop 8s, but this guy is obviously queer. You can see it in his eyes – they emanate the telltale “gay sparkle”. ‘Tis the sign of the soddomite.
Lots of folks upset. Guess they didn’t notice this is a blog/ legal tabloid.
Why harp on the fact that he is white, when the salient point is that he’s gay? This blog gets worse and worse. Seriously considering abandoning it entirely.
If a straight person wrote this column, they’d be thoroughly lambasted for the crass style.
Double standard much?
24 – the Prop 8 proponents resisted turning over internal campaign communications based largely on the NAACP v. Alabama line of cases, which are at best tangentially analogous to the issue. The Ninth Circuit upheld much of CJ Walker’s order and confirmed that the Prop 8 proponents had to turn over all but the “core group” communications about campaign messaging. To call a judge’s ruling biased when there is little or no relevant case law and much of the ruling is later upheld is a bit nuts. And as far as not ordering reciprocal discovery before the close of trial: the Prop 8 proponents didn’t even file a motion to compel until just a few days before the end of the trial. You can hardly blame CJ Walker for not ordering it when they didn’t ask him to order it. Finally, do a little digging on the Gay Olympics case. Lambda and the ACLU and NCLR all opposed Walker’s first nomination to bench (by that friend of dorothy Ronald Reagan), which nomination was later withdrawn. He was later renominated by that other flaming liberal George H.W. Bush, and confirmed. I could be wrong, but a lot of that opposition was not just the case itself, but–at least as I heard the story–afterward, Walker put a costs lien on the home of the Gay Olympics’ executive director while the guy was dying of AIDS.
CHECK YOU S SOME D
Can you confirm if there are any openly heterosexual federal judges and please list all of their names for me. thanks
56 – That’s nothing new. African-American comedians can get away with jokes about the African-American community that no white comedian could tell.
“UPDATE: There could be a second openly gay judge on the bench in the near future. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has recommended that President Obama nominate Daniel Alter, an openly gay man, to the Southern District of New York.”
http://schumer.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=322146
two things –
1) 55- Good riddance to you and the other idiots who feel compelled to comment “this blog gets worse and worse every day” or “atl sucks”, yet still read it. Find your legal tabloid elsewhere.
2) 56/60 – Naturally, members of a certain group, particularly a minority group subject to discrimination, is given a pass to make jokes about members of their group. It’s a double standard, but by established social norms, not an unfair one. I can make fun of my own family, but better believe I won’t let anyone else do so.
21: “batts is the only affirmedly gay A3 federal judge.”
On what do you base this preposterous statement?
Thelton Henderson is a colleague of Walker’s on the federal bench in San Francisco. Henderson is also Openly Black. In 1997, he struck down Prop. 209, the voter-passed initiative banning affirmative action. You think his impartiality wasn’t questioned?? (The Ninth Circuit reversed Henderson, reinstating Prop. 209.)
Thelton Henderson is a colleague of Walker’s on the federal bench in San Francisco. Henderson is also Openly Black. In 1997, he struck down Prop. 209, the voter-passed initiative banning affirmative action. You think his impartiality wasn’t questioned?? (The Ninth Circuit reversed Henderson, reinstating Prop. 209.)
That’s Anderson Cooper, right?
By itself it shoudln’t matter, but after these shenanigans with the cameras in the courtroom, yeah, it does.
Can you say, “conflict of interest?”