Donna Hitchens

Last updated
Donna Hitchens
Born (1947-11-10) November 10, 1947 (age 77)
NationalityAmerican
Education University of California, Berkeley Law
Occupation(s)Superior Court Judge, San Francisco County
Spouse
Nancy Davis
​
(m. 2008)​
InstitutionsNational Center for Lesbian Rights
San Francisco Superior Court, where Hitchens served for 20 years. San Francisco Superior Court of California IMG 20180409 120732.jpg
San Francisco Superior Court, where Hitchens served for 20 years.

Donna Hitchens (born November 10, 1947 [1] ) is the first openly-gay elected female judge in the United States, and the founder of the National Center for Lesbian Rights. [2] Through her work, she has campaigned openly for LGBT+ rights with a particular focus on lesbian rights, LGBT+ legal aid, and homosexual custody cases. [3] [4]

Contents

Hitchens was elected as a judge for the Superior Court in 1991, [5] and has since worked in civil, criminal, juvenile and family courtrooms. [1] During the 1991 San Francisco election campaigns, Hitchens worked alongside three other public defenders to unseat four superior court judges, receiving praise for being an openly gay woman during the campaign. [5] Hitchens retired as a judge in 2010 after serving for 20 years, although continued to preside part-time over the children's courts in San Francisco. [6] Hitchens has been nominated for a number of awards, including the 2001 Benjamin Aranda Access to Justice Award for improving legal access for low-income individuals and the 2002 Judicial Officer of the Year Award from the State Bar of California. [7]

Formation of the National Center for Lesbian Rights

In 1977, after graduating from Berkley School of Law, Hitchens, alongside other members of Equal Rights Advocates, received a grant from the Berkley Law Foundation to begin the Lesbian Rights Project. [8] Hitchens aimed to use her legal expertise and personal experiences to support the legal rights of lesbians. Later, in 1988, the project became independent and was renamed the National Center for Lesbian Rights, which works today as a non-profit law firm aiming to provide free legal assistance to LGBT+ clients in the United States. [4]

Personal life

Hitchens was the first in her family to complete high school, before moving on to her legal career. [7] Hitchens met her wife, Nancy Davis, whilst working with the Equal Rights Advocates. Hitchens and Davis married in 2008. [6]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 December 30, Pam Smith |; AM, 2003 at 12:00. "Judicial Profile: Donna Hitchens". Law.com. Retrieved 2021-06-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ↑ "Donna Hitchens papers". oac.cdlib.org. Retrieved 2021-06-09.
  3. ↑ JD, Donna Hitchens (1980-04-07). "Social Attitudes, Legal Standards, and Personal Trauma in Child Custody Cases". Journal of Homosexuality. 5 (1–2): 89–96. doi:10.1300/J082v05n01_08. ISSN   0091-8369. PMID   553949.
  4. 1 2 "Donna Hitchens M.A., J.D. '77 Never Dreamed of Law, Yet Changed the System". Cal Alumni Association. 2020-07-17. Retrieved 2021-06-09.
  5. 1 2 Corcoran, Katherine (1991-03-12). "OPENLY GAY CANDIDATES WINNING MORE ELECTIONS". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2021-06-09.
  6. 1 2 Egelko, Bob (2011-01-15). "Donna Hitchens ready to cut back on workload". SFGATE. Retrieved 2021-06-09.
  7. 1 2 "Judge Donna J. Hitchens for San Francisco Superior Court in California". Trellis. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
  8. ↑ World, Special to People’s (2017-05-15). "This week in history: The National Center for Lesbian Rights is born". People's World. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
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