New York Recommends First Openly Gay Man For Federal Court Appointment

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has recommended Daniel Alter to President Obama to serve as judge for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Although his appointment is subject to Senate confirmation, presidents traditionally abide by the recommendations made by the senior senator from the state where there’s a vacancy, which in the case of New York is Schumer.

While Alter would be the first openly gay male to serve on the federal bench, he wouldn’t be the first openly LGBT person. In 1994, President Clinton nominated Deborah Batts, an out lesbian, to serve as federal judge for the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York, where she currently sits.

In a statement, Schumer said he recommended Alter because he’s “a brilliant attorney who possesses the knowledge, balanced views and temperament required of a federal judge.”

“His outstanding leadership skills, his commitment to justice, and his extensive experience make him an exceptional choice for a position on the federal bench,” Schumer said. “I’m proud to nominate Daniel Alter. Period. But I am equally proud to nominate him because he is a history-maker who will be the first openly gay male judge in American history.”

A graduate of Columbia College and Yale Law School, Alter clerked for several judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

For six years, Alter was an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, where he specialized in first amendment matters and became an expert on terrorism issues. He worked on al Qaeda cases and was on the prosecution team for the trials for the African embassy bombings of 1998.

Alter has also been an advocate for civil rights. As national director of the civil rights division of the Anti-Defamation League, Alter handled work on hate crimes both within the United States and abroad.

Schumer called Alter “a lawyer whose views have been tempered by a broad range of experiences” and “a candidate who would enhance the diversity of the federal bench.”

“I have often said that I strive to appoint those with three qualities: excellence, moderation and diversity, and Mr. Alter fits that prescription to a ‘T,’” Schumer said.

Seats on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York have often been a springboard for judges to move onto higher positions. Before she was confirmed last year to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor held a federal judgship in the Southern District from 1992 to 1998.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported this week that Judge Vaughn Walker of the U.S. District Court for Northern District of California is gay, although Walker wouldn’t comment on the allegations. Walker is presiding over Perry v. Schwarzenegger, a federal case that will determine the constitutionality of the ban on same-sex marriage in California.