The First Transgender Trial Judge in the United States?
by Jordan Rubenstein June 18, 2010 07:47 AM (PT)
http://gayrights.change.org/blog/view/the_first_transgender_trial_judge_in_the_united_statesOur judges determine how to interpret the law, ultimately determining what's legal and illegal. It's important for a judge to be unbiased and to separate their personal feelings from their interpretations of the law. While some feel this is justification for having primarily white male judges, there is no real reason why judges shouldn't span a wide group of people, representing the diverse population in the United States.
A transgender woman may make history as the first transgender trial court judge in the United States. Victoria Kolakowski is running for superior court judge in Alameda County, California. She's up against former district attorney John Creighton in a runoff election scheduled for November 2. In an election held in California earlier this month, Kolakowski beat Creighton by 13 percentage points (45-32), but didn't win a majority of the vote, necessitating the runoff. If she wins on November 2, she also would be the first LGBT superior court judge and the first openly LGBT person elected in Alameda County.
