Three LGBTQ legal professionals, including the country's first transgender trial court judge, will receive the American Bar Association's prestigious Stonewall Award, the organization announced. The awards will be presented during the ABA's Midyear meeting in Phoenix on February 1.
The ABA's Stonewall Award is given by its Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. Named after the New York City Stonewall Inn police raid and riot of June 28, 1969, which was a turning point in the gay rights movement, the award recognizes lawyers who have advanced lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals in the legal profession and successfully championed LGBTQ legal causes.
Alameda County Superior Court Judge Victoria Kolakowski is one of the recipients. Kolakowski, the wife of Bay Area Reporter news editor Cynthia Laird, made history in November 2010 when she was elected to her judicial seat. Since then, there have been only a handful of transgender trial court judges, including Andi Mudryk, who was appointed to the Sacramento County Superior Court by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2022.
Phyllis Frye, a transgender woman, was appointed by lesbian former Houston mayor Annise Parker to a municipal judgeship in 2010, just weeks before Kolakowski was elected, but she did not hear trials. Frye retired in 2023 and previously received an ABA Stonewall Award.
The other Stonewall Award honorees are Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge D. Zeke Zeidler, who in 2004 became the first gay man elected to the Southern California court, and Kristen Galles, a Title IX civil rights attorney based in Virginia, according to separate news releases from the ABA.
Prior to serving on the Alameda County bench, Kolakowski in 2006 was the first transgender administrative law judge when she served in that position for various state agencies.
Kolakowski is a former president of the International Association of LGBTQ+ Judges. A global advocate on LGBTQ and transgender legal issues, she is also a leading educator for the judiciary and the legal community on transgender issues, the release stated.
Currently, she is an adjunct professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law. She teaches the class "Equality and Religious Freedom" on the intersection of religious freedom and equality rights, the release noted.
Kolakowski has a B.A. from New College of Florida, an M.S. from Tulane University and the University of New Orleans, a J.D. from Louisiana State University, and a Master of Divinity from Pacific School of Religion.
"I am deeply honored to receive this important recognition," Kolakowski stated in a Facebook message. "A little over 35 years ago, I was denied the opportunity to take the Louisiana bar exam because I am transgender. I didn't give up then, and I never will. I challenged that decision and I won. That is the spirit of Stonewall.
"I love being a judge, a legal educator, and a role model for future generations of transgender professionals," she added.
Zeidler is also a former president of the International Association of LGBTQ+ Judges. Prior to becoming a judge, Zeidler was appointed as a juvenile court referee in 1998, where he was full time in the Edelman Children's Court and earlier was senior staff attorney for Dependency Court Legal services, where he represented more than 2,000 children and other parties in Juvenile Dependency Court, the release stated. He continues to focus on juvenile issues.
Zeidler has a B.A. from California State University, Northridge and a J.D. from Loyola Law School.
"I'm very honored to be recognized by the ABA's SOGI commission," Zeidler stated in an email. "It is overwhelming to join the ranks of so many past recipients who are personal heroes of mine: Abby Rubenfeld, Kevin Cathcart, Evan Wolfson, Kate Kendell, Phyllis Frye, Shannon Minter, and my dear friend, Jenny Pizer; advocates who have been trailblazers in advancing LGBTQ+ rights.
"I am also in awe of the judicial officers and elected officials who have been past recipients," he added. "As an openly gay student leader, attorney, and elected official, I have always viewed my seat at the table as just being the placeholder for all of us. As a judge, I have always felt a duty to team with others to address access to justice issues, and can only hope that we have been able to make some lasting impact."
Galles, who identifies as a lesbian, has represented students in Title IX equal protection or gender equity and sexual harassment cases against school and state athletic associations since 1996, the release stated. She has litigated and supported groundbreaking cases and efforts for equity throughout her career. From influencing Title IX case precedent to arguing or writing briefs on Title IX, Galles is now a mentor for other lawyers on their Title IX cases, the release noted.
Having served in varying roles in the ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice and the Labor and Employment, Litigation and Business Law sections, Galles has worked on legal issues that relate to women, LGBT+, and Title IX amicus briefs, the release stated. She also developed and conducted Title IX continuing legal education programs and assisted with developing and promoting ABA policy. Most notably, she co-wrote the ABA's Supreme Court amicus brief in Jackson v. Birmingham, Alabama Board of Education and wrote the ABA's official commentary on the final report issued by the U.S. Department of Education's 2002-2003 Title IX Commission.
Galles has a B.A. from Creighton University and J.D. from Washington University School of Law.
"I am thrilled and surprised by the Stonewall Award news," Galles wrote in an email. "It is wonderful to be recognized by people I like and respect as much as the people from the SOGI Commission (and the civil rights and social justice section who nominated me). I also am surprised and humbled to be included among so many exceptional current and past awardees."
Galles added that she has long worked with the ABA's SOGI commission and its civil rights and social justice section "for a long time to promote equality under the law and to advocate for ABA policy on many issues, including LGBT rights. We have come a very long way over the past 30+ years."
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