News
Judges and Judiciary
Feb. 19, 2002
Judge Strived to Make Courts Friendlier for Gays, Lesbians
LOS ANGELES - Judge Jerold A. Krieger, one of the first openly gay judges on the Los Angeles Superior Court and a pioneer for gay rights in the legal world, has died.
Jerold A. Krieger 1943-2002
Krieger, who had been on leave from his assignment in San Fernando, died of cancer at his North Hollywood home on Thursday. He was 58.
Known as "Jerry" by friends and colleagues, Krieger brought common sense, a superior intellect and desire for true equality to his work, friends and colleagues said.
As part of his commitment to equality, friends said, he courageously chose to be open about his homosexuality in his professional life and strove to make the courts a more friendly place for gays and lesbians.
"It was inspiring that he made a personal choice to lead with honesty in his professional life," Tracy Moore, western regional director of the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, said of Krieger's decision to be openly gay.
Krieger was a founding member of Lawyers for Human Rights, the city's gay and lesbian bar association, and Beth Chayim Chadashim, a Los Angeles synagogue with a predominantly gay and lesbian congregation.
Krieger's partner of 22 years, Jon Smith, said Friday that Krieger was very proud of the work he had done with the Judicial Council's Advisory Committee on Access and Fairness involving gay and lesbian rights. Among other things, Krieger advocated for changes in voir dire so that questions did not assume jurors were heterosexual. Instead of being asked about husbands and wives, they would be asked about partners, Smith said.
Smith said Krieger's attitude about sexuality was that heterosexuals don't hide their orientation, so why should he. Smith said he would visit Krieger at court and would even bring their dogs.
"It was important for him to show people he had a happy ... and stable home life," Smith said.
But despite the fact that he was gay, his sexuality didn't color his work in the courtroom, friends said.
"He didn't plaster gay rights signs around his courtroom," said longtime friend and lawyer Diane M. Goodman of Goodman & Metz in Encino.
Goodman described Krieger as a thoughtful judge who was outgoing without being brash.
"He had a great demeanor on the bench," she said. "He was very easygoing."
Dean Hansell, a co-managing partner at LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & McRae, said that Krieger had the ability to "look at the big picture" when he saw a case and that he helped lawyers to see it that way too.
"He had this wonderful skill that way, of kind of cutting through the formal procedural aspects of a case," Hansell said.
While being gay was very important to Krieger, it wasn't the focus of his judicial life, Hansell said.
"He focused on being the best judge he could be," he said.
A Los Angeles native, Krieger graduated from Hamilton High School and the University of California, Riverside, earning a bachelor's degree in political science. He earned his law degree from the UCLA School of Law in 1968.
Krieger spent the first eight years of his legal career as a California deputy attorney general and later went into private practice.
A lover of politics and a staunch Democrat, Krieger worked in 1977 to help elect Michael Roos to an Assembly seat in the Silver Lake district. With backing from Roos, Krieger was appointed by former Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. on the last day of Brown's term in office in 1983.
In addition to Smith, Krieger is survived by his brother, Michael Krieger, and a sister, Rene Garrick.
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Erin Carroll
Daily Journal Staff Writer
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