A Law School Dean Turns A Judge's Sexist Snafu Into A Teachable Moment
A judge tells a woman lawyer that he thinks she would look good in leather. Oy.
Isn’t it nice when appellate courts hear oral argument at law schools? It’s great for bench-bar relations for the judges to leave their marble palace and spend some time with the legal community. It’s great for law students to see what real-world litigation looks like without having to leave campus. It’s generally a win-win situation for all involved.
But a recent calendar at a New York law school didn’t go so smoothly. The legal profession has a sexism problem, but there’s no need for judges to demonstrate it by directing sleazy quips at women lawyers arguing before them….
(Please note the UPDATE, featuring the identity of the judge in question.)
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Last Thursday, October 9, the New York Appellate Division (Second Department) held an oral argument session at Pace Law School. The court explained that it was holding the session at Pace as part of its “continuing effort to better serve its constituents.”
Alas, the constituents probably didn’t feel well-served by what went down, as described by one of our readers:
In case no. 5 on this list [Tagliaferri v. Petti], involving a motorcycle accident, a woman arguing the case said something to the effect that she had never ridden a motorcycle before. One of the judges (male) joked that he thought she would look good in leather.
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Oy. Sexism much? Yes, we know that some judges are dirty old men, but again, demonstration really isn’t necessary. It’s hard for women lawyers to feel equal within the profession when the judges they’re appearing before make comments like this to their faces.[1]
On the “bright” side, the judge who made the comment quickly realized its blatant inappropriateness. When the argument was over, he and his colleagues called the attorney to apologize. The judges also met that afternoon with Pace Law School’s dean, David Yassky, and apologized to him (on behalf of the Pace Law community) as well.
To his credit, Dean Yassky — whose name New Yorkers might recognize from seeing it countless times inside taxis — turned this debacle into a teachable moment. He sent around a school-wide email containing the following discussion (after general praise for the argument session):
[O]ne unfortunate episode deserves comment. During one of the arguments, one of the judges remarked upon the appearance of the attorney arguing before him. The remark was plainly inappropriate, as the judge realized. After the session was over, the entire panel of judges called the attorney to apologize, and they apologized to me (on behalf of the Pace Law community) as well.
This, too, offers an opportunity for learning. We are not yet at a point where remarks like that never occur. It still happens that judges or other officials say things that can make women feel unwelcome in a courtroom or other professional settings. That is worth knowing. It is also worth knowing that such behavior is not acceptable, and indeed is generally not accepted – as the subsequent apologies demonstrate. These issues are important, and bear continued attention. I’ve asked Dean [for Students Angela] D’Agostino to organize a panel discussion on gender equality in the practice of law, and I hope you will make time to attend.
You can read Dean Yassky’s email in full on the next page.
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Many of you are probably wondering, “Who was the judge?” Unfortunately, our source was not present for the argument and did not know the identity of the judge in question. We tried to dig around on our own, but all we could learn was that the judge who made the remark comes from Westchester. That did not help much, because the three male judges on the panel — Justices Mark C. Dillon, Thomas B. Dickerson, and Jeffrey A. Cohen — all come from Westchester. (The fourth judge was Colleen Duffy.)
If you know the identity of the judge, please email us or text us (646-820-8477), and we will update this story promptly. The innocent judges deserve to have their names cleared. Thanks.
UPDATE (10/15/2014, 3:45 p.m.): We have learned that Justice Tom Dickerson made the comments at issue here. We have reached out to Justice Dickerson for comment but have not yet heard back.
[1] We occasionally comment on the attractiveness of individual lawyers and judges (usually the men rather than the women), but there’s a world of difference between a humorous or satirical blog post and a public oral argument.
