Members of a new commission tasked with addressing LGBTQ issues in state courts have underlined their mission by naming the panel after a Manhattan judge who was a forceful advocate of the gay and lesbian community at a dark time in its history.

The late Judge Richard C. Failla was the first openly gay person admitted to the New York City Criminal Court when he was named by Mayor Edward Koch in 1985. He became the first openly gay person elected to the state Supreme Court in 1988.

On receiving an award in 1986, Failla urged gays and lesbians to support with their donations only organizations that were supportive of the community. And he spoke of privately rebuking two fellow judges who had thoughtlessly used homophobic terns.