Press Release

(San Francisco, Tuesday, June 21, 2005) — In a rare reconsideration of a three-judge panel decision, a full panel of eleven judges of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals will rehear oral arguments in a sex discrimination case against Harrah's Casino. Darlene Jespersen, an exemplary employee of 20 years, was fired because she declined to conform to rigid sex stereotypes in Harrah’s mandatory makeup code.

(LOS ANGELES, August 3, 1999) -- In a case highlighting the need to clarify California's employment protections for lesbian and gay workers, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund said Tuesday that it will seek to reinstate a discrimination suit on behalf of a lesbian journalist fired because of anti-gay bias.

(New York, July 5, 2005) Lambda Legal Executive Director Kevin Cathcart made the following statement concerning the resignation of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor this past Friday, July 1, 2005:

(CHICAGO, July 21, 1999) -- An Illinois appeals court, strongly affirming the right of lesbian and gay families to adopt, has formalized its rebuke of a rogue circuit court judge whose bias interfered with adoptions by two lesbian couples, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund said Wednesday.

(New York, July 20, 2005) — Lambda Legal Executive Director Kevin Cathcart made the following statement concerning the nomination of Judge John G. Roberts.

“In nominating Judge John G. Roberts to replace Justice O’Connor on the Supreme Court President Bush has just about guaranteed that divisiveness will continue to reign in the judicial nomination process. Some have suggested that Judge Roberts is well-liked, but with all due respect, we need to know if he will stand up for the rights of all Americans not whether some people think he’s a nice guy.”

(NEW YORK, June 24, 1999) -- In an important step towards overturning one of the remaining state laws banning most sexual intimacy for lesbian and gay couples, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday that a lawsuit against the state sodomy law can proceed, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund said.

Lambda is bringing the case on behalf of seven lesbian and gay Arkansans, arguing that the law violates the right to privacy and unfairly criminalizes oral and anal sex for lesbians and gay men.

(Jackson, MS, July 20, 2005) — Lambda Legal today filed a brief in the Chancery Court of Jackson County on behalf of a Mississippi mother who has been barred from allowing her children to have contact with their aunt because she has HIV.

Lambda Legal represents Keri Rowell, who was granted an extension of the temporary custody of her three children contingent upon their being denied physical contact with their aunt, Tanya Wilkins, because she has HIV. Rowell wishes to live with her sister but is unable to do so as a result of the restriction.

(ATLANTA, June 24, 1999) -- A Florida appeals court has ruled that a lesbian mother who raised a child with her former partner but lacks a biological or adoptive tie to the child does not have the right to seek visitation or custody now that the couple has split up, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund said Thursday.

A three-judge panel of the Fourth District Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach on Wednesday refused even to give Penny Kazmierazak the opportunity to present evidence about the maternal bonds between her and her daughter Zoey, now six years old.

(Los Angeles, July 25, 2005) Lambda Legal Western Regional Office Director, Katherine Gabel, made the following statement concerning the proposed amendment to the California Constitution made public today by Attorney General Lockyer: