New York Courts Seek Comment on Proposal to Amend Non-discrimination Rules

The New York State Administrative Board of the Courts is seeking public comment on a proposal to amend various rules of the Unified Court System to prohibit discrimination based on "gender identity" and "gender expression."

The proposal seeks to amend the following rules:

• Attorney Rules of Professional Conduct (22 NYCRR Part 1200);
• Rules of Judicial Conduct (22 NYCRR Part 100);
• UCS Code of Ethics for Nonjudicial Employees (22 NYCRR Part 50);
• Rules of the Chief Judge, Career Service (22 NYCRR Part 25).

The Request for Public Comment includes the relevant rules, as well as a memorandum by the Chief Administrative Judge of the New York State Courts, Hon. Lawrence Marks, which claims that the current non-discrimination policies are "not inclusive of all the members of the LGBTQ communities," and "[e]xtending these provisions to include 'gender identity' and 'gender expression' will aid in the public efforts to institutionalize the Judiciary's commitment to eradicating discrimination and bias against all persons regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression."

Persons wishing to comment on the proposed amendments should e-mail their submissions here or write to:

John W. McConnell, Esq., Counsel
Office of Court Administration
25 Beaver Street, 11th Fl.
New York, New York 10004.

Comments must be received no later than Feb. 2, 2018.