'Irrelevant and Sexist': Appellate Judges Confront Courtroom Sexism in Legal Brief
In a reply brief, defendants referred to the trial judge as "an attractive, hard-working, brilliant, young, politically well-connected judge on a fast track for the California Supreme Court or Federal Bench."
November 26, 2019 at 06:18 PM
3 minute read
Three appellate court judges decided to turn their opinion in a defamation lawsuit into a "teachable moment" for an attorney who complimented the appearance of the female trial judge in the case.
In the opening paragraph of an appellate reply, the defendant, Keith Chow, and his lawyer Jan Stanley Mason referred to now-Associate Justice Gail Ruderman Feuer, who was a Los Angeles Superior Court judge at the time, as "an attractive, hard-working, brilliant, young, politically well-connected judge on a fast track for the California Supreme Court or Federal Bench."
The California Court of Appeal judges said in an opinion Nov. 22 that they would be remiss to not address the comments—not in an effort to embarrass but to instruct.
"Calling a woman judge—now an associate justice of this court—'attractive,' as Chow does twice at the outset of his reply brief, is inappropriate because it is both irrelevant and sexist," wrote Associate Justice Brian Currey of the Second District Court of Appeal, with Associate Justices Thomas Willhite Jr. and Audrey Collins concurring. "This is true whether intended as a compliment or not. Such comments would not likely have been made about a male judge."
Mason, of the Law Offices of Jan Stanley Mason in Pasadena, California, did not respond to requests for comment at the time of publication. During oral arguments, Mason said the language was intended as a compliment, according to the opinion. Despite the intention, the comment "reflects gender bias and disrespect for the judicial system," Currey wrote.
The decision also points to an Association of Business Trial Lawyers article written by Second District Justice Lee Smalley Edmon and Judge Samantha Jessner of Los Angeles County Superior Court, which noted "despite the record numbers of women graduating from law school and entering the legal profession in recent decades, as well as the increase in women judges and women in leadership positions—not to mention the [#MeToo] movement—women in the legal profession continue to encounter" discrimination.
The justices explained that objectifying or harassing a member of the profession based on gender, race, sexual preference or gender identity is uncivil and demeans the court.
"We review judgments and judicial rulings, not physical or other supposed personal characteristics of superior court judges," they wrote.
Cynthia Briganti brought the underlying defamation suit against Chow after he posted a Facebook comment calling her a convicted criminal who had stolen the identities of thousands of people. The justices affirmed the trial court's order granting Chow's motion to strike Briganti's claim of intentional interference with prospective economic advantage, but not her defamation claim. Briganti's counsel, Michael Khouri and Behzad Vahidi of the Khouri Law Firm in Dallas, did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication.
In their role as judicial officers, the justices said it was their responsibility to reduce all forms of incivility and provided a bit of a warning to future offenders.
"One method is by calling gendered incivility out for what it is and insisting it not be repeated," they wrote. "In a more extreme case, we would be obliged to report the offending lawyer to the California State Bar."
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllWilson Sonsini Knocks Out Claims Against Inhibrx Biosciences in Trade Secrets Verdict
Keker Secures Defense Win for EDA Software Company Real Intent in Synopsys Copyright Infringement Case
Trending Stories
- 1Wilson Sonsini Knocks Out Claims Against Inhibrx Biosciences in Trade Secrets Verdict
- 2Pass Rate on California's July 2024 Bar Exam Ticks Up to 53.8%
- 3TEST TEST
- 4High Court Asked To Review DOJ's 'Illusory Promise,' Religious Charter School, Meta Class Action
- 5'Rampant Piracy': US Record Labels File Copyright Suit Against French Distributor Believe
- 6$5.5M Miami Verdict: Meet the Lawyers Behind the Slip-and-Fall Suit
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250