New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has ushered in a major milestone for transgender people, appointing one of the first openly trans men to serve as a judge in U.S. history.
Seth Marnin, one of 15 appointees the governor’s office announced Wednesday, currently serves at Columbia University as the Director of Training & Education, Equal Opportunity & Affirmative Action. But if he is officially confirmed by the heavily Democratic state senate, Marnin will become a judge of the New York Court of Claims, which handles litigation against the state and its related entities. Marnin’s confirmation will mark the first time an out trans man has held any judge’s office in the U.S, according to the Governor's office.
“It was not so long ago that a trans person becoming a judge was unimaginable,” Marnin wrote in a statement to Gay City News on Wednesday. “I hope my nomination and service inspires young trans people and that I can serve as a role model.”
Marnin is the founder of the legal nonprofit Workplace Strategies and once worked as a litigation attorney handling discrimination cases, according to an official biography provided in Hochul’s statement. Marnin also previously served as the Vice President of Civil Rights at the Anti-Defamation League, where he reportedly clashed with the organization’s more conservative leadership over issues like anti-Black violence at the hands of police.
“Our outrage and grief appeared selective,” Marnin wrote in an internal email in 2016 objecting to the ADL’s public handling of the murders of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. “I do not believe — I do not want to believe — that this is true. But that is how it appeared and that is unacceptable.”
Though Marnin would be the first trans man to hold the title of judge in the U.S., he is not the first trans person to claim that honor. Victoria Kolakowski is believed to be the country’s first trans trial judge, elected to office in California in November 2010; she was followed swiftly by Phyllis Frye, who was appointed to the Houston, TX, municipal court system later that month. Both still hold office today.
During his confirmation hearing Thursday, Marnin remarked on the significance of a judicial system comprising a variety of perspectives. “I believe that building a diverse bench that reflects the lives and experiences of litigants instills confidence in the fairness of our judiciary system,” Marnin said.
Get the best of what’s queer. Sign up for Them’s weekly newsletter here.
