State Bar & Bar Associations
May 30, 2001
San Diego Group Honors Lawyer's Pro Bono Work
Also at Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton, partner Robert S. Gerber has received the Co-President Award from the Tom Homann Law Association, a gay, lesbian and transgender legal organization in San Diego.
Gerber was recognized for his successful representation of Geovanni Hernandez-Monteil in an asylum case before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Hernandez-Montiel v. INS, 98-70582 (9th Cir., Aug. 24, 2000).
"I was obviously very pleased and honored to receive it," Gerber says. "The case has lasting importance for members of the gay community and most significance for Geovanni, who is very grateful that he won't have to return to Mexico and face the kind of persecution that he faced as a teen-ager."
At 14, Hernandez-Montiel was sexually assaulted twice by Mexican police because of his effeminate appearance. He immigrated to the United States and sought asylum to escape the torment and discrimination.
The three-judge panel ruled that Hernandez-Montiel was entitled to political asylum in this country because of the torment he faced as a gay male. It was the first time that a federal court had approved asylum for a person persecuted on the basis of sexual orientation.
The 9th Circuit overruled rulings by an immigration judge and an immigration appeals board that sexual orientation does not justify asylum.
Gerber, who chairs the firm's San Diego intellectual property practice, donated more than 250 hours to the case.
Staff Writer
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