SECTION & AFFILIATE NEWS
Justice Art Scotland (Ret.) Receives Fourth Annual SacLEGAL Founders Award
Steve Muni is a Deputy Attorney General with the Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse. He can be contacted at Steven.Muni@doj.ca.gov. Gerry Latasa is an associate with Black & Rose, LLP and can be contacted at glatasa@blackandrose.com.
by Steve Muni and Gerry Latasa
To
the sincere applause of the attendees, retired Third District Court of Appeal Presiding Justice Arthur G. Scotland received the fourth annual Founders Award from SacLEGAL, at a reception held on November 10, 2016. SacLEGAL is Sacramento’s LGBT minority bar association, and Justice Scotland has been a SacLEGAL supporter since its inception. Prior to the presentation of the Founders Award, Matt Reed of Sacramento City Councilman Steve Hansen’s office, presented Justice Scotland with a Proclamation from the City of Sacramento, honoring him for his service to Sacramento and to LGBT equal rights. In accepting the Founders Award, Justice Scotland spoke passionately about the need for continued vigilance, especially as it relates to members of the transgender community, who are often stigmatized and discriminated against. He also recounted a tale of a lesbian woman who wanted custody of her child. “What did it matter she was a lesbian,” Scotland exclaimed. This
16
SACRAMENTO LAWYER | January/February 2017 | www.sacbar.org
SacLEGAL Co-Chairs Gerry Latasa and Steve Muni with Justice Art Scotland and Sue Scotland
is indicative of the judicial philosophy Justice Scotland brought to the bench and his support of SacLEGAL. Third District Presiding Justice Vance Raye and Justices Elena Duarte, Ronald Robie, and William Murray, U.S. District Judge Morrison England, and Sacramento County Superior Court Presiding Judge Kevin Culhane joined members of SacLEGAL and other allied attorneys to honor Justice Scotland for his work.