In a pair of decisions issued on March 24, the New York Appellate Division, First Department, found that the New York City Education Department should not have discharged two female teachers who were alleged to have been engaging in sexual activity in a darkened, otherwise empty classroom one evening while a musical program was taking place elsewhere in the building. However, the court found that the teachers had engaged in conduct that merited punishment, and … <Read More>
Michigan Marriage Equality Ruling Repudiates Regnerus “Study” as “Unbelievable”
Senior U.S. District Judge Bernard A. Friedman ruled on March 21 that the Michigan Marriage Amendment and the statutes that implement it, which prohibit same-sex marriages in Michigan, violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Judge Friedman ordered the state to stop enforcing the ban. Friedman released his opinion shortly after business hours, so county clerk offices around the state were already closed for the weekend and marriage licenses could not be immediately … <Read More>
Federal Judge Refuses to Stay Her Tennessee Marriage Recognition Order as New Marriage Equality Drama Plays Out in Oregon
In a gutsy move, U.S. District Judge Aleta A. Trauger has rejected a request by Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam to stay her order requiring the state to recognize the out-of-state same-sex marriages of three Tennessee couples while Haslam appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. Trauger issued a short opinion explaining why on March 20.
Trauger had issued her order in Tanco v. Haslam on March 14, finding that the plaintiffs … <Read More>
$1.6 Million Damage Award Upheld in New York City Human Rights Religion/Sexual Orientation Case
The N.Y. Appellate Division, 1st Department, in Manhattan upheld an award of $1.6 million damages on a jury verdict rendered under the New York City Human Rights Law to Mirella Salemi, on her discrimination claim against Gloria’s Tribeca, Inc. and its owner, Edward Globokar. Salemi v. Gloria’s Tribeca Inc., 2014 WL 1057328, 2015 N.Y. Slip Op. 01838 (March 20, 2014).
Salemi, identified in various media sources but not in the court’s opinion as a lesbian, … <Read More>
Massachusetts Appeals Court Affirms Jury’s Rejection of Gay Man’s Tort Claims Against Former Partner
The Appeals Court of Massachusetts upheld a jury verdict against a gay man who sought to hold his ex-partner liable in tort for intentional infliction of emotional distress and battery based on various incidents that occurred during their relationship. The case is M.L. v. S.N., 2014 Mass. App. Unpub. LEXIS 354 (March 19, 2014).
M.L. and S.N. were engaged in a “serious romantic relationship” from 1998 until 2008. Evidently, M.L. was a really hot looking … <Read More>
Victory Put on Hold, and More Holds Looming in Marriage Equality Struggle
The way to achieve marriage equality right away is to persuade a state legislature and governor or to secure a final order from the highest appellate court of a state holding that same-sex couples are entitled to marry. Last year we saw this scenario unfold in several states, including most spectacularly in Hawaii and Illinois and New Jersey and New Mexico.
The way to achieve marriage equality eventually, perhaps, is to win a ruling from … <Read More>
March Musical Diary, Part II – Ending Spring Break with a Bang!!
New York Law School’s Spring Break period this year was March 8-16. I ended it with a real bang, attending concerts on five consecutive days (overlapping the beginning of classes): Thursday, March 13 – Vienna Philharmonic led by Andris Nelsons at Carnegie Hall; Friday, March 21 – Les Delices, Five Boroughs Music Festival, at the King Manor Museum in Jamaica, Queens; Saturday, March 14; Saturday, March 15 – New York Philharmonic led by Alan Gilbert … <Read More>
Tennessee Federal Judge Orders State to Recognize Three Same-Sex Marriages
U.S. District Judge Aleta A. Trauger signed an order in Tanco v. Haslam, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 33463, on March 14 directing the state of Tennessee to recognize the same-sex marriages of three couples while their lawsuit is being considered by the court. Granting a motion for preliminary relief filed by the couples’ attorneys, Abby Rubenfeld of Nashville and the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Judge Trauger concluded that it was likely that the plaintiffs … <Read More>
Philomena – The Film
Visiting my Mom in Houston this past weekend. Usually that involves taking her out to see a movie, which she loves to do, after a Chinese lunch. True to form, we had a Leonard family Chinese lunch with all the Houston relatives, and then across the street to the movie theater to see “Philomena,” just the sort of film my Mom would enjoy. And me, too!
Judi Dench and Steve Coogan are fantastically good in … <Read More>
A Concert Diary for the First Half of March 2014 – Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, Peoples’s Symphony Concerts, Houston Symphony
The first two weeks of March have been quite busy, and again I’ve fallen behind in posting about my concert-going experiences. So here is a quick catch-up.
I had a double-header on Saturday, March 1, attending the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Prince Igor in the afternoon, and a piano recital by Alexandre Tharaud at Peoples’ Symphony Concerts in the evening.
The Met’s new production of Prince Igor, produced an designed by Dmitri Tcherniakov, takes a … <Read More>