Posted on 07/20/2012 4:20:26 PM PDT by scottjewell
Cook County judge is member of homosexual judges group, advocated for “gay” cause; pro-family attorneys say she should recuse herself from case
CHICAGO—Cook County Circuit Court Judge Sophia Hall – who will rule on combined pro-homosexual lawsuits challenging Illinois’ existing law defining marriage as one-man, one-woman — is an open lesbian and pro-homosexuality advocate, according to information widely available online but which has gone unreported by the media.
Judge Hall’s homosexuality is not a secret, or an ”open secret” –as it was with Vaughn Walker, the California judge who last year issued a decision overturning that state’s Proposition 8 marriage amendment only to subsequently reveal his “gay” identity. In contrast, Hall is a “charter member” of a homosexual judges organization in Chicago, the Alliance of Illinois Judges, which marches in Chicago’s annual “gay pride” parade. Last year, the AIJ sponsored — along with the “gay” activist organizations Lambda Legal and Equality Illinois – a public outdoor ceremony attended by city officials celebrating Illinois’ new “civil unions” law; AIJ judges officiated the “civil unions” for homosexual couples.
In a perusal of recent media reports on the Chicago “gay marriage” lawsuit, Judge Hall’s lesbianism and membership in a homosexual judges group that advocates for “gay rights” went unreported. Thus their implications for the case have not been publicly scrutinized, even by leading Illinois conservatives. Meanwhile, two pro-family attorneys contacted by AFTAH said Hall should recuse herself from the homosexual “marriage” case due to her personal conflict-of-interest. The pro-homosexual-”marriage” lawsuits were brought jointly by the ACLU and Lambda Legal, a homosexual legal group.
Judge Hall herself has openly advocated for pro-homosexual causes, saying in a 2010 speech that she has “focused on efforts to combat the injustice of racism, gender bias, bias against gays and lesbians, and other stereotypes that belittle those who are stereotyped.”
The graphic below is a modified version of what appears in the July 2007 newsletter of a the Lesbian and Gay Bar Association Chicago (LAGBAC) — which hosted a reception honoring Judge Hall and 13 other openly homosexual judges in Cook County:
The same edition of the LAGBAC newsletter announced two $4,000 scholarships to law students interning at Lambda Legal, one of which was “doing a myriad of assignments surrounding the Iowa same-sex marriage case.” Two years later, on April 3, 2009, homosexual “marriage” was legalized by the Iowa high court in a 7-0 decision.
Calls for Recusal
News of Judge Hall’s membership in and association with Chicago homosexual advocacy groups brought calls for her to recuse herself from the case that could bring legal homosexaul “marriage” to Cook County (if not all of Illinois, although her decision will almost certainly be appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court). Said Professor Rena Lindevaldsen, Associate Dean of the Liberty University School of Law:
Judge Hall is presiding over a case that seeks to fundamentally alter the meaning of marriage in Illinois. As a Charter Member of the Alliance of Illinois Judges, which is an organization dedicated to LGBT causes, she has an obvious conflict of interest. Pursuant to the Illinois Code of Judicial Conduct, a judge must disqualify herself in any case where her “impartiality might reasonably be questioned.” (Rule 63-Cannon 3). If the tables were turned and she was a charter member of an organization that had as its mission to overturn Roe v. Wade and she was presiding over a case where the validity of Roe was in question, there would be incredible outcry to have her removed from the case. Given the significance of the case before her, Judge Hall should take steps to avoid even the perception of a conflict of interest, and recuse herself.”
Lindevaldsen told AFTAH that in more than 10 years closing following “same-sex marriage” (SSM) litigation, this is the first time she has heard of a an openly homosexual judge deciding an SSM case.
Scott Lively, an attorney and founder of Defend the Family International, and leading pro-family advocate on the homosexual issue, said:
Judicial recusal to prevent the appearance of bias is an essential component of our legal system. It’s authority depends on public confidence in its impartiality. Can anyone reasonably expect an open lesbian and member of a “gay rights” advocacy group to be impartial on the issue of “gay marriage”? If this judge has any respect at all for our judicial system, she must recuse herself.
Following are among the grounds for judicial disqualification in Illinois (emphasis added):
C. Disqualification.
(1) A judge shall disqualify himself or herself in a proceeding in which the judge’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned, including but not limited to instances where:
…
(d) the judge knows that he or she, individually or as a fiduciary, or the judge’s spouse, parent or child wherever residing, or any other member of the judge’s family residing in the judge’s household, has an economic interest in the subject matter in controversy or in a party to the proceeding, or has any other more than de minimis interest that could be substantially affected by the proceeding; or…
(e) the judge or the judge’s spouse, or a person within the third degree of relationship to either of them, or the spouse of such a person;…
(iii) is known by the judge to have a more than de minimis interest that could be substantially affected by the proceeding. [READ MORE @ AFTAH LINK]
“There will come a time when people will go mad, and when they see someone who is not mad they will say, ‘You are mad; you are not like us.’”
—St. Anthony of the Desert
Very apt quote.
Homosexuals, Marxists, and Muslims infect every level of our society.
Yes. The truth of this era is contained in those ancient and holy words.
Truth. For sure...but the question is, when will there be an adequate push-back from the other side? This has been going on for decades now. When will the tide turn?
Not until the country collapses. As it is, when the majority of people hear news of obvious cultural rot, they either shrug it off or--more often, it seems--check it out to see if it will feel good to them. When the natural consequences hit too close to home, the government picks up the tab. But we've hit the tipping point. It can't last much longer.
I agree - it cannot.
Yes. I recall - this time, the cat is already out of the bag, thanks to Peter LeBarbara’s sleuthing.
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