Noach Dear, anti-gay judge in New York City
In most parts ot the U.S.A., the religious right wing seems to be dominated by evangelical Christians. But here in New York City, it seems to be dominated by ultra-conservative Catholics and ultra-Orthodox Jews.
And one of its leaders is now a judge.
As one NYC blogger, Bouldin, wrote back on 20 October 2007:
Imagine, if you will, the following scenario. You are in the Jim Crow South. You are in a courtroom as a party to a lawsuit. You are black. Your judge has actively campaigned for segregation.
How certain are you that you will get justice from the bench?
Fast forward to the very near future, in January 2008, when this exact scenario will play out in Brooklyn, one of the constituent parts of the shining global metropolis that is New York City. Except that, in keeping with the most current prejudices, you need to be gay or lesbian to face this disquieting perspective, should you wind up in the courtroom of one Noach Dear, who recently prevailed in a primary battle for a civil court seat.
Dear, of course, led the opposition to New York City's gay rights bill; was the only member of the Brooklyn City Council delegation to vote against the 1998 domestic partnership bill; and, in an abortive Congressional run as a republican against Anthony Weiner, had the latter's speeches in favor of LGBT equality taped and then replayed to Orthodox audiences.
He is indeed now a judge (see recent news stories mentioning Noach Dear in the New York Daily News) even though the New York City Bar Association deemed him to be unqualified. (See City Bar Association: Robert Johnson, Noach Dear Unfit to Serve by Azi Paybarah, New York Observer October 29, 2007.)
For more background on Noach Dear, see:
And one of its leaders is now a judge.
As one NYC blogger, Bouldin, wrote back on 20 October 2007:
Imagine, if you will, the following scenario. You are in the Jim Crow South. You are in a courtroom as a party to a lawsuit. You are black. Your judge has actively campaigned for segregation.
How certain are you that you will get justice from the bench?
Fast forward to the very near future, in January 2008, when this exact scenario will play out in Brooklyn, one of the constituent parts of the shining global metropolis that is New York City. Except that, in keeping with the most current prejudices, you need to be gay or lesbian to face this disquieting perspective, should you wind up in the courtroom of one Noach Dear, who recently prevailed in a primary battle for a civil court seat.
Dear, of course, led the opposition to New York City's gay rights bill; was the only member of the Brooklyn City Council delegation to vote against the 1998 domestic partnership bill; and, in an abortive Congressional run as a republican against Anthony Weiner, had the latter's speeches in favor of LGBT equality taped and then replayed to Orthodox audiences.
He is indeed now a judge (see recent news stories mentioning Noach Dear in the New York Daily News) even though the New York City Bar Association deemed him to be unqualified. (See City Bar Association: Robert Johnson, Noach Dear Unfit to Serve by Azi Paybarah, New York Observer October 29, 2007.)
For more background on Noach Dear, see:
- Noach Dear: Master of Overlapping Interests by Martin Gottlieb, New York Times, May 22, 1991
- Keeping Dear Close-Causes and Consequences by John DeSio, City Hall News, September 14, 2007
- Gotham Gazette's Law Links (includes various articles about Noach Dear)
- Brooklyn Court System as Political Garbage Dump, blog post by mole333 on Daily Gotham, 17 October 2007