Foes of gay rights are calling on Cook
County Circuit Court Judge Sophia Hall to recuse herself from a case
challenging the constitutionality of the state's gay marriage ban
because she is openly gay.
More than two dozen gay and lesbian
couples who wish to marry in Illinois but are unable because state
law defines marriage as a heterosexual union filed the lawsuit
challenging the law in May. Nine couples are represented by the ACLU
of Illinois, while Lambda Legal is representing sixteen couples.
Illinois officials, including Cook
County state's attorney and the Illinois attorney general, have
refused to defend the law, saying they agree that the ban is
unconstitutional. Cook County Clerk David Orr, who is named in the
suit, applauded the legal challenges. Judge Hall allowed two
Illinois county clerks to defend the law.
Hall is a charter member of the
Alliance of Illinois Judges, which lists on its website that it
promotes and encourages “respect and unbiased treatment for
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) individuals as they
relate to the judiciary, the legal profession and the administration
of justice.” The Victory Fund, which supports openly gay elected
officials, also lists Hall as an “out official.”
Professor Rena Lindevaldsen, associate
dean at the Liberty University School of Law, said Hall represented a
conflict of interest.
“Judge Hall is presiding over a case
that seeks to fundamentally alter the meaning of marriage in
Illinois,” Lindevaldsen
said. “As a Charter Member of the Alliance of Illinois Judges,
which is an organization dedicated to LGBT causes, she has an obvious
conflict of interest. Pursuant to the Illinois Code of Judicial
Conduct, a judge must disqualify herself in any case where her
'impartiality might reasonably be questioned.' (Rule 63-Cannon 3).
If the tables were turned and she was a charter member of an
organization that had as its mission to overturn Roe v. Wade
and she was presiding over a case where the validity of Roe
was in question, there would be incredible outcry to have her removed
from the case. Given the significance of the case before her, Judge
Hall should take steps to avoid even the perception of a conflict of
interest, and recuse herself.”
Edwin C. Yohnka, director of
communications and public policy at ACLU of Illinois, disagreed in an
e-mail to On Top Magazine: “If the suggestion is that Judge
Hall cannot, based on mere assertion, decide this case fairly and
based upon the law, we simply disagree. Judge Hall has an excellent
reputation as a careful jurist.”