Legal Commentary

Bankruptcy Bar Rallies Behind Cross-Dressing Judge

By Jeralyn

When Massachussetts federal bankruptcy judge Robert Somma tendered his resignation after being arrested for D.U.I while wearing women's clothing, members of both sides of the bankruptcy bar, those representing creditors as well as debtors, embarked on a letter writing campaign to the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, asking it to reject the resignation.

"Recent events do not in any manner diminish Judge Somma's ability to fulfill his duties and to remain as a highly respected member of the bench with the overwhelming support of the community of bankruptcy practitioners," said the letter, which Moore helped write. More than 200 bankruptcy lawyers signed the letter, one of several sent to the court by Somma's supporters in the legal community after he submitted his resignation.

On Tuesday, Somma wrote in a letter to the editor of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly that the outpouring of support had caused him to reconsider his resignation, which he said he submitted following a "media frenzy."

The times, they are a changing.

The letter-writing campaign illustrates how perspectives have changed about behavior such as cross-dressing. Twenty years ago, several lawyers acknowledged, it was highly unlikely that the legal community would have rallied around a judge who was arrested under circumstances like those in the Somma case

Full post as published by TalkLeft on April 04, 2008 (boomark / email).