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CALIFORNIA
T
hanks to a unanimous ruling by the Fourth
District C ourt of Appeal, prospective
Golden State jurors no longer can be excluded
because of their sexual orientation. In addition,
lawyers may not ask prospective jurors about
their sexual orientation.
The Feb. I ruling extends to gay men and
lesbians the same protections from discrimina
tion already in effect for race and gender, Plan-
etOut reported Feb. 2.
The case concerned the 1997 conviction of
Cano Garcia for burglary. During that trial the
prosecution rejected two women who were
known to be members of a lesbian organization.
The prosecution used pre-emptory dismissals,
for which no explanation is required.
A t the time, defense attorneys questioned
whether the rejec
tions were based
on sexual orienta
tion.
Orange
C ounty Superior
Court Judge Corey
Cram in rejected
the defense chal
lenge and stated
The California
that gay men and
attorney general's
lesbians do not
share a common office argued in favor
“social or psycho
of excluding lesbians
logical outlook”
and gay men from
that could qualify
them as a “cogniz
jury service because
able” group.
of their sexual
The California
attorney general’s
orientation.
office argued in
favor of excluding lesbians and gay men from
jury service because of their sexual orientation.
Writing the appeals court decision, Justice
William Bedsworth stated: “The purpose of a
jury is to guard against the exercise of arbitrary
power— to make available the common-sense
judgment of the community as a hedge against
the overzealous or mistaken prosecutor [accord
ing to a U.S. Supreme C ourt opinion].
This...vehicle is not provided if the jury pool is
made up of only special segments of the popu
lace or if large, distinctive groups are excluded.”
The ruling continues: “It cannot seriously he
argued in the era of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ that
homosexuals do not have a common perspec
tive— a common social or psychological outlook
on human events— based upon their member
ship in that community. They share a history of
persecution comparable to that blacks and
women share...having spent their lives in a sex
ual minority either exposed to or fearful of per
secution. That perspective deserves representa
tion... [and gay men and lesbians] deserve to
hear their share of the burdens and benefits of
citizenship, including jury service.”
The state has not yet decided whether to
appeal the ruling to the California Supreme
Court.
T
he San Francisco Board of Supervisors
passed an ordinance in January that would
provide identification cards to qualified medical
marijuana users. The vote was lO-l.
T he measure now goes to Mayor Willie
Brown for his consideration, according to a Jan.
31 Associated Press story.
If approved by Brown, the plan would allow
cardholders to o btain high-grade marijuana
from dispensaries w ithout fear of arrest.
Deputy C ity A ttorney Marc Slavin said the
card would display a serial number but, for pur
poses of confidentiality, would not include a
name or photo.
“W hat the card does is to certify that the
holder fits the requirements of the California
medical marijuana statute,” said Slavin.
Voters passed th at statute in 1996. It allows
possession, cultivation and use of marijuana for
medicinal purposes.
If the ordinance becomes law, San Francisco
will become the third municipality in the state
to use such a program, after Areata and Mendo
cino County.
he G ay-Straight A lliance at El Modena
High School will be allowed to meet on
school grounds while its case proceeds to trial.
O n Feb. 4, U.S. District Judge David O.
C arter issued a preliminary injunction ordering
the Orange U nified School District to permit
the meetings.
Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund
and People for the A m erican Way are providing
legal representation for the club. According to
those organizations, C arter’s ruling cited the
high incidence of anti-gay crimes and the dis
proportionate rate o f suicide among lesbian and
gay teen-agers.
In his ruling, C arter wrote: “This injunction
therefore is no t just about the student pursuit of
ideas and tolerance for diverse viewpoints. As
any concerned parent would understand, this
case may involve the protection of life itself.”
Currently, 38 other student clubs meet on
school grounds.
More th an 50
students have
expressed
an
interest
in
joining
the
Gay-Straight
Alliance.
T he Orange
Unified School
Board applied for a stay of the ruling pending an
appeal. It is thought th e board might consider
banning all noncurricular clubs in order to pre
vent the G ay-Straight A lliance from meeting.
T he case is scheduled to go to trial this summer.
T
CONNECTICUT
espite opposition from Gov. John Row
land’s adm inistration, an arbitrator ruled
Feb. 1 that the state must offer health and pen
sion benefits to th e partners and children of gay
and lesbian state employees.
T h e ruling excludes unmarried heterosexual
couples because they have the option of marry
ing.
T he governor’s office opposed the move as
too pricey and vulnerable to fraud, reports Plan-
etO ut. T he arbitrator termed the estimated cost
“miniscule” in comparison to both the states
personnel budget and the overall budget.
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