Paul Feinman, Gay Judicial Trailblazer and Extensive Island Indigenous, Dies at 61
Courtroom of Appeals Decide Paul Feinman, who just a 7 days earlier abruptly resigned as the 1st out LGBTQ member of New York State’s highest court docket, died on March 31. The Prolonged Island native started his legal job in the Appeals Bureau of the Authorized Assist Culture of Nassau County.
Feinman, 61 and a New York City resident, was appointed to the Court of Appeals by Governor Andrew Cuomo in June 2017. Less than 5 several years previously, Cuomo had named him as the to start with out homosexual man to serve on the state’s intermediate Appellate Division, with a seat on the Manhattan-based mostly To start with Judicial Section. In 2009, then-Governor David Paterson appointed Rosalyn Richter and Elizabeth A. Garry, both out lesbians, to the Appellate Division.
No cause of dying was declared, but the state’s main choose, Janet DiFiore, in saying Feinman’s demise, indicated that he experienced for some time suffered from an health issues that experienced “progressed,” but famous “his productiveness and the high-quality of his writings and contributions by no means endured.” Throughout hearings on his nomination to the Courtroom of Appeals in 2017, Feinman said he experienced been handled for leukemia in 2015 but experienced recovered following chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant.
Feinman introduced his retirement, efficient quickly, on March 23. Leading LGBTQ legal advocates and other folks in the legal world reacted with shocked dismay to the news of his death a week later.
In a tweet issued immediately just after information of Feinman’s death was declared, the LGBT Bar Affiliation of Increased New York wrote, “We are heartbroken to study that our friend, NY Court docket of Appeals Choose Paul Feinman has handed. Not only did Judge Feinman make historical past with his appointment to NY’s best court docket, he also broke down obstacles and inspired LGBTQ persons.”
Eric Lesh, that group’s govt director, tweeted, “This awful information. Judge Feinman was this sort of a fantastic and caring gentleman. The most effective there is. May possibly he Rest In Peace. He has transformed the life of so a lot of.”
Also on Twitter, the Richard C. Failla LGBTQ Fee, which promotes equal participation and accessibility during the state’s court docket process for LGBTQ men and women, wrote that it “is certainly devastated and heartbroken about the tragic news nowadays of our pricey mate Judge Paul Feinman’s untimely passing. We will be producing an annual award named following him to bear in mind his trailblazing legacy for the LGBTQ community.”
The Point out Bar Affiliation reacted, crafting, “Judge Feinman was a dazzling, professional, and proficient jurist who manufactured an incredible influence on the Court docket of Appeals and the regulation of our state. He was also a variety and light male who was beloved by quite a few.”
Out homosexual Manhattan State Senator Brad Hoylman, chair of the Judiciary Committee, tweeted, “I realized Decide Feinman for over 2 decades. He labored his way up from Civil Courtroom to became the initial homosexual male judge on NY’s optimum courtroom. His demise is a enormous decline for the LGBTQ neighborhood & anyone who cares about the good administration of justice.”
When Feinman introduced his retirement previous week, Kristen Browde, the co-chair of the Nationwide TransgenderBar Association and a past president of the LGBT Bar Affiliation, explained to legislation.com, “This is awful news on so lots of degrees,” noting that the Courtroom of Appeals’ jurisprudence had adjusted following he joined the bench and brought a deeper comprehension of LGBTQ troubles.
Feinman was initially elected to the New York City’s Civil Courtroom in 1996 and reelected in 2006. In 2007, he was elected to a condition Supreme Court judgeship. Formerly, he was a staff legal professional at the Lawful Assist Society and a courtroom lawyer for a Condition Supreme Court docket decide.
Feinman acquired his bachelor’s degree from Columbia University in 1981 and a J.D. diploma from the University of Minnesota Regulation University in 1985.
Feinman was a previous president of the Lesbian and Homosexual Regulation Association of Increased New York and also a member of the Jewish Legal professionals Guild and the New York Women’s Bar Association. He earlier also served as president of the Worldwide Affiliation of LGBT Judges.
When Feinman was named to the Appellate Division in 2012, he explained to Homosexual City Information, “I am grateful to the governor for offering me this option to serve the public of the Empire Point out in this new way.”
In naming him to the state’s best bench in 2017, Cuomo mentioned, “Justice Feinman will be an exceptional addition to New York’s highest court. He is a gifted jurist who has focused his profession to general public assistance and standing up for a fairer and more just New York.”
At that time, Matthew Skinner, then govt director of New York’s LGBT Bar Association and now head of the Failla LGBTQ Commission, claimed, “It’s just an completely great working day for the LGBT lawful local community in New York. It is a day that has been very long in coming… This does not assurance any outcomes, but we’re relieved to at last have a seat at the desk.”
The need for an LGBTQ jurist on the Court docket of Appeals was notably apparent in 2006, when that court docket ruled in opposition to equal marriage legal rights in a 4-2 conclusion. It would be 5 yrs ahead of marriage equality grew to become a fact in New York Condition.
In her assertion saying Feinman’s death, Chief Judge DiFiore described him as “a meticulous, disciplined, and humble jurist who weighed the authorized interests at stake in every circumstance with fantastic integrity in order to get there at the accurate and just consequence. His scholarly, perfectly-published viewpoints reflect a deep understanding of the legislation well balanced with a generous humanity and determination to justice… And no one could want for a hotter or more caring colleague than Paul Feinman. All over his occupation, Decide Feinman was a tireless and resolute winner of LGBTQ rights, a trailblazing pioneer for LGBTQ legal professionals and judges, and an exceptionally committed mentor who influenced countless judges, lawyers, and regulation learners.”
Paul Feinman is survived by his partner, Robert Ostergaard, and will be commemorated in a personal funeral company.
This tale initially appeared on GayCityNews.com.
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