Lesbian/Gay Law Notes - 2003 Case Table, final as of March 7, 2004

A.B. & S.B.W. v. S.E.W., 818 A.2d 1270 (NJ Sup.Ct., Apr. 1, 2003) (refusing to allow a lesbian co-
parent to reopen an adverse decision on her request for visitation).

A.W., J.W., and M.R., Minors, In re Adoption of, 796 N.E.2d 729 (Ill.App. 2 Dist., Sept. 4, 2003) 
(rejecting a lesbian mother's theory that she had standing, either in loco parentis or as a de facto parent, 
to seek visitation with the biological children of her former domestic partner.  However, the court did 
vacate the dismissal, obtained ex parte by the biological mother, of a co-parent adoption petition as 
violating procedural due process).

Acevedo v. Barnhart, 85 Soc.Sec.Rep.Serv. 654, 2003 WL 841089 (U.S. Dist.Ct., S.D.N.Y., Mar. 
6, 2003) (not officially published) (holding that there was substantial evidence to support the Social 
Security Administration's determination that an HIV+ man was not entitled to disability benefits, on the 
grounds that he was capable of working).

Adoption of Jaclyn; Adoption of Paul, 2003 WL 21768008 (Mass. Ct.Apps., July 31, 2003) 
(unpublished disposition) (upholding the Juvenile Court's decision dispensing with a mother's right to 
withhold consent for the adoption of her HIV+ children). 

Aldrich v. Dretke, 2003 WL 22843146 (5th Cir., Dec. 1, 2003) (not selected for publication in the 
Federal Reporter) (upholding a denial of a habeas corpus petition to a Texas man who was sentenced 
to death by the state courts in an anti-gay murder case).

Alexander, People v., 2003 WL 284155 (Cal.Ct.App.3rd Dist., Feb. 11, 2003) (not officially 
published) (overturning the trial court's HIV-testing requirement after finding that defendant's only 
alleged lewd acts were fondling the victim's vagina and digital penetration and holding no probable 
cause to believe that bodily fluid had been transferred).

Alexander v. Cortes, 2003 WL 21153437 (Cal.Ct.App., 1st Dist., May 20, 2003) (not officially 
published) (ruling that a woman who had raised her sister's child for several years and formed a 
parental-like bond with the child did not have standing to seek visitation as a "de facto parent").

Almendarez v. State of Texas, 2003 WL 1387208 (Tx.Ct.App., Mar. 20, 2003) (not officially 
published)(conviction for defendant after a blatantly homophobic juror swore that he could be bias and 
defense counsel didn't object).

Altman v. Minnesota Dept. of Corrections, 2003 WL 22076606 (D. Minn., Aug. 24, 2003) (not 
officially published) (denying a motion to dismiss by Connie Roerhrich, a Minnesota prison warden who 
is an individual defendant in a constitutional case brought by prison employees who were disciplined for 
their conduct during a mandatory training session titled "Gays and Lesbians in the Workplace").

Amanfi v. Ashcroft, 328 F3d 719 (3rd Cir., May 16) (reinforcing that the Immigration and Naturalization 
Act (INA) definition of "refugee" includes persons who are believed by their persecutors to be 
homosexual).

American Booksellers Foundation v. Dean, 342 F.3d 96 (2nd Cir., Aug. 27, 2003) (unanimous ruling 
that the state of Vermont should be enjoined from applying a statute criminalizing sexually oriented 
communications that are "harmful to minors" to the kind of internet speech engaged in by the plaintiffs in 
the case).

American Civil Liberties Union v. Ashcroft, 322 F3d 240 (U.S.Ct.App. 3rd Circ, Mar. 6, 2003) 
(holding for a coalition of plaintiffs, including gay-oriented Different Light Bookstores and gay-themed 
Planetout Corp, that once again the Child Online Protection Act chills access by adults to 
constitutionally protected material).

American Library Association, Inc., United States v., 123 S.Ct. 2297 (June 23, 2003) (rejecting a 
facial challenge to the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA), which requires libraries receiving 
federal financial assistance to install internet filtering software on their computer terminals to block out 
certain sexually-related material).

Appellant S395/2002 and Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, [2003] HCA 71 (Dec. 9, 
2003)(Ruling for the first time that coming out of the closet is a protected activity under international 
refugee law, Australia's High Court voted 4-3 to reverse the country's lower courts and order a hearing 
for a gay male couple from Bangladesh whose petition to stay in Australia as refugees had been denied 
by both the Australian Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) and the lower federal courts of that country).

Application for a Marriage License for Jacob B. Nash and Erin A. Barr, 2003-Ohio-7221, 2003 WL 
23097095 (December 31, 2003) (A divided Ohio Court of Appeals panel denied a marriage license to 
a transgendered man and his intended wife.  The majority opined that the existing marriage law does not 
contemplate such a marriage and only the legislature can make such a decision, while the dissent argued 
that as a matter of public policy such a marriage should be allowed).

Arts, Doe v., 823 A2d 855 (N.J.App.Div., June 2, 2003) (upholding a $300,000 jury verdict against a 
doctor who misinterpreted a patient's HIV test results, causing the patient wrongly to believe that he 
was infected and required medical treatment).

Baca v. City of New York, 2003 WL 21638211 (S.D.N.Y. July 11, 2003) (not officially published) 
(granting summary judgment against Edward Baca, "an HIV-positive homosexual man" who claimed 
discrimination based on sexual orientation by the city, a foster care agency under contract with the city, 
and several officers of the city and officers and employees of the agency with regard to their oversight of 
Baca's activities as a foster parent for three children).

Bair v. Shippensburg University, 280 F.Supp.2d 357 (M.D. Pa., Sept. 4, 2003) (ruling that the student 
code of conduct at Shippensburg University violates the 1st Amendment rights of students to exercise 
their freedom of speech).

Barbeau v. British Columbia (Attorney General), 2003 BCCA 251 (May 1, 2003) (unanimous ruling by 
a three-judge panel of the British Columbia Court of Appeal that same-sex couples have a constitutional 
right to marry).

Barnes v. City Cincinnati (U.S.Dist.Ct., S.D. Ohio, Feb 26, 2003) (found that the City unlawfully 
discriminated against a police officer who had "come out" as transgendered, obtained medical treatment 
for a sex reassignment and obtained a legal name change).

Barnes-Wallace v. Boy Scouts of America, 2003 WL 2184996 (S.D.Cal, July 31, 2003) (not officially 
published) (ruling that the BSA is a religious organization and that a $1-a-year lease by which the city of 
San Diego rented substantial parkland facilities to the Desert-Pacific Council (DPC) violates the 
Establishment Clause of the 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution). 

Barrett v. Coplan, 292 F.Supp.2d 281 (D. N.H., Nov. 20, 2003) (ruling that Lisa Barrett, a transsexual 
state prisoner who has been denied any treatment for her condition, may proceed with a federal lawsuit 
against prison officials, claiming a violation of her constitutional rights).

Baxley, US v., 2003 WL 23009857 (4th Cir., Dec. 24, 2003) (not selected for publication in the 
Federal Reporter) (rejecting Baxley's call for recalculation of his federal prison sentence for viatication 
fraud for having purchased four life insurance policies with total face value of $501,340 without 
disclosing on the applications that he was HIV+).

Benner v. Becton Dickinson & Co., 214 FRD 157, 2003 WL 1702014 (S.D.N.Y., Mar. 28, 2003) 
(rejecting plaintiff's attempt to make a nationwide class action out of a lawsuit involving products liability 
claims against manufacturer of injection devices, claiming that they presented an unreasonable danger of 
HIV transmission).

Bell v. Helmsley, NYLJ, 4/2/2003 (N.Y. Supreme Ct., N.Y. Co., Tolub, J.) (imposing a massive 
reduction in damages in response to a post-trial defense motion because the jury had rendered an 
internally inconsistent verdict).

Benitez v. North Coast Women's Care Medical Group, Inc., 131 Cal. Rptr.2d 364 (Cal.Ct.App., 4th 
Dist.,  Mar. 4, 2003) (holding that federal law does not preempt state statutory and common law claims 
against a fertility clinic that allegedly refused to provide services to a female patient because of her 
sexual orientation).

Bianchi v. City of Philadelphia, 2003 WL 22490388 (3rd Cir., Nov. 4, 2003) (not officially published) 
(finding no abuses of discretion by the trial judge and letting stand a damages award totaling $1,237,500 
to Robert Bianchi, a former Philadelphia firefighter who claimed that the fire department's response to 
homophobic harassment against him was to retaliate against him when he complained and to effectively 
force him to quit his job).

Black & Decker Disability Plan v. Nord, 123 S.Ct. 1965 (U.S.Sup.Ct., May 27, 2003)(announcing 
that employees seeking disability benefits under employment-based disability plans subject to ERISA 
will not enjoy special deference for the views of their treating physicians as to whether they are disabled 
from working).

Black v. Kendig, 2003 WL 1477018 (D.D.C., Mar. 18, 2003) (not officially published) (ruling on 
pending motions regarding a case in which a transgendered prison inmate is suing prison officials about 
the failure to provide medical treatment for her gender dysphoria). 

Blanchflower v Blanchflower, 834 A.2d 1010 (N.H. Sup.Ct., Nov. 7, 2003) (ruling that the 
involvement of a wife in a "homosexual" relationship does not constitute "adultery" warranting the grant 
of a "fault-based" divorce under the New Hampshire divorce statutes, because "adultery" requires 
heterosexual coitus, and nothing else will suffice).

Boyd County High School Gay Straight Alliance v. Board of Education of Boyd County, 258 
F.Supp2d 667 (E.D.Ky., Apr. 18, 2003) (holding that the Gay Straight Alliance formed by the students 
of Boyd County High School is entitled to hold meetings at the school on the same basis as other 
student organizations pending a full trial on the merits of the case).

Booker v. Galen of Kentucky, Inc., 2003 WL 21828795 (Ky. Ct.Apps., Aug. 8, 2003) (Not 
Reported in S.W.3d) (ruling that a woman who suffered a needlestick injury while visiting in a hospital 
could not bring an action for emotional stress stemming from fear of contracting an infectious condition, 
where there was no evidence that the needle (which was discarded without being tested) was 
contaminated).

Boy Scouts of America v. Wyman, 335 F3d 80 (U.S.Ct.App., 2nd Cir., July 9, 2003) (upholding the 
state of Connecticut's decision to exclude the Boy Scouts of America and its local Connecticut Rivers 
Council from participating in the annual charitable fund-raising campaign that the state conducts for its 
employees).
 
Brack v. Shoney's Inc., 249 F.Supp2d 938 (US Dist Ct. W.D.Tenn., Mar. 12, 2003) (summary 
judgment for defendant and ruling that incidents pertaining to plaintiff's sexual orientation were not 
probative with respect to his claim of race discrimination).

Bradley v. N. Carolina Dept. Of Transportation, 286 F.Supp.2d 697 (W.D. N. Car., Oct. 7, 2003) 
(ruling that John Peter Bradley may pursue his constitutional claims against certain named government 
officials sued in their individual capacities, despite 11th Amendment immunity, since he was seeking 
prospective injunctive relief.  However, his claims for compensation would be barred by immunity).

Brooks v. Berg, 270 F.Supp.2d 302 (N.D.N.Y., July 15, 2003) (rejecting a contrary recommendation 
from a federal magistrate judge and ruling that a state prisoner at Clinton Correctional Facility in 
Dannemora is entitled to have medical attention for her claimed gender identity disorder (GID)).

Brown, State v., 2003 WL 21763502 (La.Ct.App., 4th Cir., July 23, 2003) (not officially published) 
(affirming a conviction for aggravated battery caring a sentence of ten years hard labor without benefit of 
probation, parole, or suspension of sentence and rejecting an argument by Dayshawn Brown that the 
"homosexual victim provoked the attack by taunting him and suggesting that they had a relationship").

Brown v Perez, Sioux City, Iowa, District Judge Jeffrey Neary, caused some consternation to local 
conservatives in November when he granted a divorce to Kimberly J. Brown and Jennifer S. Perez, a 
lesbian couple who had contracted a civil union in Vermont in 2002. Judge Neary responding to the 
unrest, which had prompted a group of state legislators to file a petition in the state Supreme Court to 
have the divorce vacated, revised his ruling and filed a new decree, conceding that he lacked jurisdiction 
to grant a divorce to a couple that was not legally married, but insisting that he could exercise the 
equitable powers of the court to dissolve a civil union). 

Bryant v. City of New York, 2003 WL 22861926 (S.D.N.Y., Dec. 2, 2003) (unpublished opinion) 
(granting summary judgment to the government defendants on claims by individuals who were arrested 
during a vigil held in New York City to mourn the death of Matthew Shepard and finding that the 
constitutional due process and equal protection claims asserted against the city for police actions during 
that vigil were without merit).

Bush, People v., 2003 WL 22271453 (Mich.Ct.App., Oct. 2, 2003) (unpublished opinion) (according 
to a per curiam ruling the trial court's refusal to allow the introduction of a man's HIV+ status in a 
criminal sexual conduct case in which he carried out anal intercourse on a 13-year-old girl would not 
justify reversing the guilty verdict rendered by the jury, since the court of appeals found that this 
evidence would not have been outcome determinative in light of the entire trial record). 

Byron C. Wells, In re, 815 A2d 771 (D.C.Ct.App., Jan. 30, 2003) (not officially published) (denied 
admission to an applicant to the D.C Bar because he was morally unfit to practice law based on his 
arrest and subsequent plea of guilty  to one count of misdemeanor battery in 1988 involving unwanted 
sexual advances with young male legal clients). 

Carmon v. Barnhart, 2003 WL 22769043 (3rd Cir., Nov. 24, 2003) (not selected for publication in the 
Federal Reporter) (reversing a decision by the district court and ordered the Social Security 
Administration to re-evaluate its decision to deny disability benefits to Antonio Carmon and HIV+ man).

Caudillo v. Lubbock Independent School District, 2003 WL 22670934 (N.D.Tex., Nov. 10, 2003) 
(not officially published) (ruling that public school officials enjoyed qualified immunity from a lawsuit 
brought by some recent graduates of Lubbock High School whose requests to post notices about 
meetings of a local gay-straight alliance were rebuffed by the school officials).
Center for Fair Public Policy v. City of Phoenix, 336 F.3d 1153 (9th Cir., July 28, 2003) (panel divided 
2-1 on the question whether an Arizona law requiring sexually-oriented businesses to close between 1 
and 8 am and on Sunday mornings is constitutional). 

Chen v. Ashcroft, 2003 WL 22718174 (9th Cir., Nov. 18, 2003) (unpublished disposition) (reversing 
the Immigration Appeals Board ruling that originally rejected plaintiff's asylum petition claim that he is 
being persecuted in China because he is gay even after being given an airport interview like other newly-
arrived asylum applicants by Immigration officials). 

Christian, People v., 2003 WL 178293 (Mich. App., Jan. 24, 2003) (unpublished opinion) (affirming 
prison sentence for defendant who was found guilty of assaulting, robbing and carjacking a gay man.).

Christy v. Detroit Osteopathic Hospital Corp, 2003 WL 1343070 (Mich.Ct.App., Mar. 11, 2003) 
(unpublished opinion)(holding plaintiff failed to present evidence of the relevant standard of care 
regarding blood collection and donation after her husband died after contracting HIV).

Citizens for Equal Protection, Inc. v. Bruning, 2003 WL 22571708 (D. Neb., Nov. 2003) (not officially 
published) (rejecting a motion to dismiss a challenge to part of an anti-gay state constitutional 
amendment that was enacted by Nebraska voters in a November 2000 referendum).
 
Collins v. New York City Employees Retirement System and the City of New York, 765 N.Y.S.2d 
767 (N.Y. Sup.Ct., Kings County, Oct. 14, 2003) (reversing a New York City Employees Retirement 
System (NYCERS) decision to deny an HIV+ emergency medical technician (EMT) an accidental 
disability retirement benefit after plaintiff argued that he contracted HIV in the line of duty).

Collins, State v., ___So.2d ___, 2003 WL 22304493 (3rd Cir., Oct. 8, 2003) (rejecting an argument 
that a defendant who pled guilty to selling cocaine received an excessive sentence due to failure of the 
trial judge to take into account adequately the effect of his HIV status).

Collins v. TRL, Inc., 263 F.Supp2d 913 (M.D.Pa., Mar. 19, 2003) (holding that the defendant 
employer was entitled to summary judgment on a male employee's Title VII claims of same-sex 
harassment and hostile environment sex discrimination finding inadequate allegations that the plaintiff had 
been singled out for harassment because of his sex).

Colorado, People of v. Hoskay, 2003 WL 22309230 (Colo.Ct.App., Oct. 9, 2003) (not officially 
published) (unanimously affirming the conviction of Stanton Hoskay for public indecency and for sexual 
assault upon a physically helpless male victim, rejecting arguments about fault in the jury selection 
process and alleged erroneous rulings by the trial judge).

Commonwealth v. Boone, 2003 WL 22087552 (Mass.App.Ct., Sept. 9, 2003) (unpublished 
disposition) (upholding the conviction and sentence, rejecting the argument that the doctor's testimony 
should have been rejected or that the trial judge had improperly premised the sentence on a finding that 
Boone, HIV+, had infected his 14-year-old cousin, after rapping him twice).

Community Healthcare Centerone, Inc. V. State, 852 So.2d 322 (Fla. App,  4th Dist., July 30, 2003) 
(ruling that changes to the state's Medicaid law enacted in 2000 now trumped the HIV confidentiality 
statute, to the extent that the Attorney General's office could subpoena Medicaid patient records 
without a court order as part of an investigation of Medicaid fraud). 

Contreras v. Ashcroft, 2003 WL 22176710 (U.S.Ct.App., 9th Cir., Sept. 8, 2003) (not selected for 
publication) (unanimously rejecting a challenge to an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals, 
denying a gay Mexican man's application for asylum and withholding of removal).

Coons-Anderson v. Anderson, 104 S.W.3d 630 (Tx.Ct.App., Mar. 13, 2003) (rejecting a Dallas 
lesbian co-parent's appeal for seeking visitation with the child she was raising with her former partner).

Cornell v. Hamilton, 791 N.E.2d 214 (Ind.Ct.App., July 8, 2003) (unanimously rejecting a claim by a 
state employee in that her state constitutional rights were violated when she was not given paid funeral 
leave to attend the funeral of her partner's father).

Correa v. Pasquarell, 2003 WL 22231297 (W.D. Tex., Sept. 19, 2003) (not officially published) 
(rejecting the government's attempt to throw out a lawsuit by an Israeli woman seeking permanent 
resident status in the US after her petition had been denied based on the Immigration Service's 
conclusion that she had entered into a sham marriage with a gay man in order to gain U.S. citizenship).

Cotton v. Alexian Brothers Bonaventure House, 2003 WL 21530342 (N.D. Ill., July 7, 2003) (not 
officially published) (finding that HOPWA does require written notice of reasons for eviction as well as 
some meaningful hearing process, which was not afforded here.  But held that group housing for PWA's 
under HOPWA is not subject to the regulatory authority of local landlord/tenant law, as the residents 
are not residential tenants as such).

Cotton v. Alexian Brothers Bonaventure House, 2003 WL 22078287 (N.D.Ill., Sept. 9, 2003) (not 
officially published) (rescinding an earlier ruling that two state laws were not violated when two residents 
were evicted from a long-term care residence for people with HIV).

Crain v. Prasifka, 97 S.W.3d 867 (Tex. App.- Corpus Christi, Jan. 30, 2003) (affirming the dismissal 
of a prisoner suit against prison officials for failure to proper follow grievance procedure).

Critchlow v. First Unum Life Ins. Co., 34 F.3d 130 (2nd Cir., Aug. 7, 2003) (affirming that the 
beneficiaries of a man who died when his practice of autoerotic asphyxiation went awry could not 
collect under the decedent's employment-related group life insurance policy, which covered accidental 
death but did not cover "intentionally inflicted injury").

Cuddi v. Gallery Gift Shoppes, 2003 WL 22700536 (Mass. Super. Ct., Oct. 2003) (not officially 
published) (ruling that the filing of an employment discrimination does not preclude asserting civil rights 
and torts claims arising from the same set of facts where plaintiff claimed he was constructively 
discharged as a result of anti-gay harassment by co-workers and executives of his employer).

Curry v. State of Mississippi, 2003 WL 21448839 (Miss.Ct.App., June 24, 2003) (unpublished ruling) 
(upholding the conviction of Michael Curry on a "fondling" charge, but remanded the case for re-
sentencing due to his HIV+ status).
 
D.K.R. and V.R.R., Marriage of, 2003 WL 1738917 (Wash.Ct.App., Mar. 31, 2003) (not officially 
published) (ruling that the trial court erred in awarding lifetime maintenance to an HIV+ woman as part 
of a divorce decree in a four-year marriage).

D'Agastino v. City of Warren, 2003 WL 22220530 (6th Cir., Sept. 24, 2003) (not officially published)  
(ruling that a judge had improperly decided a qualified immunity motion against the plaintiff in a case 
where an HIV+ man claimed that a police officer used excessive force to arrest him when there were 
disputed material facts and the plaintiff's allegations, if true, would establish a constitutional violation for 
which immunity would not be available).

Daka, Inc. V. McCrae, 2003 WL 23018830 (D.D.C., Dec. 24, 2003) (holding that awards of punitive 
damages must be proportional to the actual injury suffered by a plaintiff, the District of Columbia Court 
of Appeals vacated a punitive damages award of $4,812,500 in a same-sex harassment case and 
remanded for reconsideration of the punitive damages award upon finding that the company created a 
sexually hostile environment in which a female supervisor had harassed the female plaintiff).  

Damron v. Damron, 670 N.W.2d 871 (N.D. Sup. Ct., Nov. 13, 2003) (holding that a custodial 
parent's homosexual household is not grounds for modifying custody within two years of a prior custody 
order in the absence of evidence that such environment actually or potentially endangers the children's 
physical or emotional health or impairs their emotional development).

Davis v. Kania, 2003 WL 22132724 (Superior Ct., Hartford, Aug. 29, 2003) (unpublished opinion) 
(ruling that a gay man who was recognized in California as the legal parent of a child born under a 
surrogacy arrangement, should be treated as a legal parent in Connecticut for purposes of a custody 
dispute with the child's biological father).

Davis v. Liebson, 2003 Ohio 4965, 797 N.E.2d 139 (Ohio Ct.App., 1st Dist., Hamilton County, Sept. 
19, 2003) (ruling that the Court of Common Pleas judge erred in granting summary judgment to a 
defendant doctor who had ordered an HIV test of a patient without obtaining specific consent).

Dawson v. Bumble & Bumble, 246 F.Supp2d 301 (S.D.N.Y., Feb. 25, 2003) (granting summary 
judgment for the employer on a Title VII claim against a beauty salon brought by a lesbian hairdresser 
trainee who claims she was discharged and discriminated against because she failed to conform to 
gender stereotypes).

De'lonta v. Angelone, No. CA-99-642-7 (4th Cir., May 27, 2003) (unanimous ruling that a 
transgendered Virginia inmate may pursue her claim that her 8th Amendment rights were violated  by the 
application of a state policy forbidding hormone therapy for prisoners).

Dembry, People v, 2003 WL 22965069 (Colo.App. Dec. 18, 2003) (unpublished opinion) (affirming 
the conviction after jury trial of Anthony Dembry, an HIV+ man, of sexual assault of a child by one in a 
position of trust, sexual assault on a child as a crime of violence, and reckless endangerment and 
rejected Dembry's argument that an anti-gay juror should have been removed from the panel, or that 
the minor's past sexual history should have been presented to the jury).  

Devlin v. Teachers' Insurance and Annuity Assoc. of America, 2003 WL 1738969, (S.D.N.Y., Apr. 2, 
2003) (not officially published) (held that no vicarious liability exists for off site same-sex harassment of 
gay employees).

Dick v. Phone Directories Company, Inc., 265 F.Supp.2d 1274 (D. Utah, June 4, 2003) (finding that 
the raucous and vulgar workplace conduct described by the plaintiff was revolting, but did not violate 
the Title VII).

Diener v. Reed, 2003 WL 22326515 (3d Cir., decided Sept. 13, filed Oct. 10, 2003) (not officially 
published) (affirming the district court's decision in full and ruling that two park regulations were 
unconstitutional because they allowed too much discretion to park officials, who might use that 
discretion to bar speech on the basis of content of a small group of anti-gay hecklers who repeatedly 
showed up at pro-gay gatherings in Harrisburg, Pa., to noisily harangue people about the Bible's 
unfavorable view of homosexuality).

Di Giovanni v. Chevron Corporation Long-Term Disability Plan Organization, 2003 WL 22416416 
(U.S.Dist.Ct., N.D. Cal., Oct. 20, 2003) (not officially published) (San Francisco PWA Antonio Di 
Giovanni won a motion for summary judgment on his claim that Chevron's employee disability plan had 
violated his rights under ERISA by cutting off his long-term disability benefits without following the 
procedures set out in its own plan documents).   

Doe v. City of Lafayette, Indiana, 334 F3d606 (U.S.Ct.App., 7th Cir., June 27, 2003) (voting 2-1 that 
the city had violated the First Amendment rights of the John Doe plaintiff by banning him from all city 
parks at any time under threat of arrest for trespass).

Doe v Hall, 579 S.E.2d 838 (Ga. Ct.App., Mar. 19, 2003) (unanimously ruling that a man who is suing 
his health care provider and insurance company on a claim that the improperly failed to protect the 
confidentiality of his HIV status is not required to file suit using his own name as plaintiff).

Doe v. State of Nebraska, 345 F.3d 593 (8th Cir., Oct. 7, 2003) (ruling that in a case concerning 
alleged HIV-related discrimination in foster and adoptive programs in Nebraska, the court rejected an 
argument that state agencies would enjoy sovereign immunity as per the Supreme Court's recent 
decision under the ADA).

Doe v. Pryor, 344 F.3d 1282 (11th Cir., Sept. 11, 2003) (unanimously ruling that a pending challenging 
to the constitutionality of the Alabama sodomy law was correctly dismissed by the district court for lack 
of standing prior to the Supreme Court's decision in Lawrence v. Texas, 123 S.Ct. 2472 (2003).

Doe v. United States, 280 F.Supp.2d 459 (M.D.N.C., Aug. 27, 2003) (rejecting a suit brought by the 
family of a young woman who contracted AIDS during a blood transfusion. Finding for the defendant 
United States, the court held that the statute of limitations barred the claims, and that the plaintiffs had 
also failed to show that the defendants had not satisfied the applicable standard of care, or that there 
had been a lack of informed consent).

Doe v. U.S. Postal Service, 317 F.3d 339 (D.C. Cir., Feb. 7, 2003) (granting summary judgment to 
defendant after plaintiff failed to raise a genuine issue of facts regarding whether a Postal Service 
employee had improperly disclosed plaintiff's HIV status, retrieved from his medical records).

Downing v. Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama, 321 F3d 1017 (11th Cir., Feb. 13, 2003) 
(sovereign immunity will not shield a state university from a Title VII same-sex harassment claim brought 
by a male former employee).

Drummer v. San Francisco Housing Authority, 2003 WL 22391173 (Cal. Ct. App., 1st Dist., Oct. 21, 
2003) (not officially published)  (approving a $75,000 damages award against the San Francisco 
Housing Authority based on sexual harassment of a female employee by a female supervisor in a ruling 
that illustrates important differences between federal and California law governing workplace sexual 
harassment).

Eaton v. Continental General Insurance Company, 2003 WL 857330 (6th Cir., Mar. 4, 2003) (not 
officially published)(ruling that an insurer was not liable under a theory of negligence per se for failing to 
inform an applicant for disability insurance of a positive result of an HIV test, despite applicants request 
to be notified).

EEOC v. RSG Forest Products, Inc., No. 02-CV-1334-JE (D. Ore., settlement approved, May 27, 
2003) (announcing the settlement of a same-sex harassment lawsuit that had been filed on behalf of five 
male employees against RSG Forest Products, Inc., of Oregon, in the U.S. District Court). 

EGALE Canada Inc. v. Canada (Attorney General), 2003 BCCA 251, 13 B.C.L.R.(4th) 1, 2003 
Carswell BC 1006, (May 1, 2003) (a three-judge panel of the British Columbia Court of Appeal 
granted a unanimous declaration that "the common law bar against same-sex marriage is of no force or 
effect because it violates rights ... guaranteed by s. 15 ... and does not constitute a reasonable and 
demonstrably justified limit on those rights ... within the meaning of s. 1," and reformulated the common 
law definition of marriage to mean "the lawful union of two persons to the exclusion of all others.").
El Pueblo de Puerto Rico v. Martinez, 2003 TSPR 52, 2003 WL 1861577 (P.R.Sup.Ct., Apr. 8, 
2003) (ruling that Law 54, a law concerning domestic violence, was not intended by the legislature to 
include same-sex couples within the term "intimate consensual relation").

Engleman, People v., 2003 WL 22681558 (Mich. Ct.Apps., Nov. 13, 2003) (unpublished per curiam 
opinion) (affirming the conviction of Diane Engleman, a lesbian, for assaulting a corrections officer while 
incarcerated in a state penitentiary).

FAIR v. Department of Defense (N.J. Dist Ct., Sept. 19, 2003) (A group of law schools associated in 
the Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights (FAIR), the Society of American Law Teachers 
(SALT), two law student groups (from Boston College and Rutgers University) and some individual 
students, joined together to file suit against the U.S. Department of Defense, seeking an injunction 
against enforcement of the Solomon Amendment, a provision of U.S. law that was enacted to coerce 
institutions of higher education into allowing military recruiters on their campuses by authorizing 
withholding or cancellation of federal financial assistance to any institution that excludes such recruiters. 
The Solomon Amendment places an unconstitutional condition on the receipt of federal higher education 
funds, in violation of academic freedom protected by the 1st Amendment).

Felix v. New York City Transit Authority, 324 F.3d 102 (2nd Cir., March 31, 2003) (holding that in 
order for the ADA to require an employer to accommodate an employee's physical impairment, the 
major life activity affected by the impairment must be logically related to the requested accommodation 
and in this case the inability to sleep resulting in post traumatic stress disorder stemming from a work 
incident did not have a logical relationship in the court's view to the plaintiff's requested 
accommodation).

Fernbach v. Cash, NYLJ, 4/17/2003 (N.Y. App.Div, 1st Dept.)(invoking Braschi 74 N.Y.2d 201 
(1989), a unanimous appellate panel  ruled per curiam that adultery would not necessarily stand in the 
way of a tenant succession claim).

Flores v. Morgan Hill Unified School District, 324 F.3d 1130 (9th Cir., Apr. 8, 2003) (ruling that 
school officials who deliberately ignore harassment targeting students because of their real or perceived 
sexual orientation are not entitled to qualified immunity).

Focus on the Family v. Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority, 344 F.3d 1263 (11th Cir., Sept. 9, 2003) 
(ruling that Focus on the Family, a group that claims that "homosexuality" is a preventable condition, can 
sue the Pinellas County, Florida, Suncoast Transit Authority over a decision by a county contractor, 
Eller Media, Inc., against putting Focus ads on the Authority's bus-stop shelters early in 2000).

Font v. Funeraria San Francisco, 260 F.Supp2d 394 (D.P.R., Mar. 27, 2003) (ruling that a local 
funeral home had no liability under the public accommodations provisions of the ADA for alleged 
discriminatory treatment in connection with the funeral of a person who died from AIDS).

Ford v. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Interim Field Office Director for Detention 
and Removal for the Philadelphia District,  294 F.Supp.2d 655 (M.D.Pa., Dec. 5, 2003) (Devon 
Orville Ford's neighbors in Jamaica found him having gay sex in May 1991. After the neighbors 
attacked Ford, killed his lover, and burned down his house, Ford obtained a British passport and fled 
Jamaica for the United States. District Court Judge Rambo remanded Ford's case, seeking withholding 
of removal, for an individualized examination by the Board of Immigration Appeals, thereby giving Ford 
a narrow hope of remaining in the U.S).
 
Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights, Inc. v. Rumsfeld, 291 F.Supp.2d 269 (Nov. 5, 2003) 
(federal court ruling that individual law schools, professors, students, student organizations, and even an 
umbrella organization of law schools whose members are "kept secret," all have legal standing to 
challenge the constitutionality of the amendment).

Franchise Tax Board of California v. Hyatt, 123 S.Ct. 1683 (U.S.SupCt., Apr. 23, 2003) (raised the 
question whether the Nevada court was required by the FFC to dismiss a suit filed against a California 
tax agency, on the ground that a California statute granted total immunity to the tax agency from the 
kinds of claims covered in the suit. A unanimous court held that a state may protect its legitimate policy 
interests and those of its citizens by refusing to apply the contradictory statute of another state).

Gajda v. Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority, 2003 WL 22939123 (SDNY, 
Dec. 12, 2003) (not officially published) (dismissing claims of HIV-related discrimination brought by 
plaintiff after he applied for leave under FMLA).

Galatowitsch v. New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project, 766 N.Y.S.2d 206 
(N.Y.App.Div., 1st Dept., Nov. 6, 2003) (upholding the dismissal of a negligence claim that had been 
brought against the N.Y.C. Gay & Lesbian Anti-Violence Project, Inc., and some of its employees, by 
two gay men who claimed that they had been injured by the negligence of AVP employees, who had 
counseled an AVP client to contact the police about his claims that the two men had assaulted him).

Gibbs v. Martin, 2003 WL 21909780 (E.D. Mich., July 29, 2003) (not officially published) (ruling that 
the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) does not violate federal laws banning disability 
discrimination by keeping those HIV+ male inmates who have engaged in sex in prison, isolated in 
administrative segregation). 

Giebeler v. M&B Associates, 343 F.3d 1143 (9th Cir., Sept. 15, 2003) (holding that when a person is 
disabled as a result of HIV infection and, as a result, is unable to work and has limited income from his 
disability benefits, in seeking to rent a new apartment, it is a reasonable accommodation to require a 
landlord to alter its rental policies and allow a relative of the disabled person to co-sign the lease in 
order to satisfy the landlord's minimum credit and income requirements).

Gioia v. Lynch, 760 N.Y.S.2d 351 (N.Y.App.Div., 2nd Dept., June 2, 2003)(holding that tenant 
succession regulations under which same-sex domestic partners are protected from eviction were 
invalidly promulgated). 

Gonzales, State of Ohio v., 796 N.E.2d 12 (Ohio Ct.Apps., Aug. 22, 2003) (upholding the imposition 
of a 16-year sentence on Nader Gonzalez, who is HIV+, for having sex with a girlfriend without 
disclosing his HIV status, rejecting Gonzalez's argument that the statute is unconstitutionally vague and 
that errors by the trial court would justify setting aside his conviction).

Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, 798 N.E.2d 941 (Mass. Sup.Ct., Nov. 18, 2003) (ruling 
that same-sex couples cannot be denied equal access to the civil institution of marriage. Although the 
court stayed its decision for 180 days "to permit the Legislature to take such action as it may deem 
appropriate in light of this opinion," the language of the decision suggests that anything less than civil 
marriage would likely not pass constitutional muster).

Gordon, People v., 2003 WL 22476210 (Cal. Ct.App., 4th Dist., Nov. 3, 2003) (not officially 
published) (upholding three consecutive 25 year to life sentences for Kent Gordon, convicted of 
participating in a shooting spree with overtones of homophobia).

Granger v Riley, Kosciusko Superior Court , Sioux City Journal, Dec. 6, Des Moines Register, Dec. 
12, 2003) (plaintiff is asking the court's assistance in dividing up assets seeking the assistance of the 
court in dissolving her civil union (contracted in Vermont) with defendant).

Grant v. Becton Dickinson & Co., 2003-Ohio-2826, 2003 WL 21267787 (Ohio Ct.App., 10th Dist., 
June 3, 2002) (not officially published) (reversing a trial court decision to certify a class action against 
the defendant, a manufacturer of hollow-bore medical devices which have been implicated in a wide 
range of needle-stick injuries in which health care workers claim to have been exposed to HIV and 
other blood-borne pathogens).

Gratz v. Bollinger, 123 S.Ct. 2411, 2003 WL 21434002 (Sup.Ct., June 23, 2003)(voting to strike 
down the University of Michigan's affirmative action program for undergraduate admissions).

Gray, State v., 2003 WL 402811 (Tenn.Ct.Crim.App., Feb. 21, 2003) (not officially published) 
(affirming the imposition of a jail sentence on a HIV+ man who was arrested by police officers while in 
possession of a crack pipe).

Greggs v. Andrews University, 2003 WL 1680619 (Mich.Ct.App., Mar. 27, 2003) (not officially 
published) (affirming defendant's motion for summary judgment after plaintiff failed to prove defamation 
and emotional distress claims against the University after they dismissed him for his alleged participation 
in a sexual assault on an fellow male student).

Griffith, Matter of Robert A., 2003 WL 22882799 (Dec. 9, 2003) (imposing a one-year suspension 
from practice on Griffith, an attorney who had concealed the HIV+ status of his client's deceased from 
opposing counsel and the court in a proceeding to determine damages stemming from the decedents 
demise while in the custody of law enforcement officers).

Gross v. AIDS Research Alliance, 2003 WL 22508153 (N.D. Ill., Nov. 3, 2003) (not officially 
published) (granting a motion to dismiss for defendant and finding that a critic of the AIDS Research 
Alliance, an agency that was participating in studies of new medications, had failed to frame his 
complaint with sufficient specificity to state a claim under the federal False Claims Act).

Grutter v. Bollinger, 123 S.Ct. 2325, (Sup.Ct., June 23, 203) (holding by a vote of 5-4 that the 
University of Michigan Law School could take race into account in making admissions decisions). 

Guess v. Sharp Mfg. Co. of America, 114 S.W.3d 480 (Tenn., Aug. 27, 2003) (unanimously ruling that 
an employee who suffered post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of being splashed by a co-worker's 
blood was not entitled to compensation under the state's Workers Compensation Law, reversing a 
decision by the Shelby County Chancery). 

Guido, Matter of, 2003 WL 2241153, 2003 N.Y. Slip Op. 23821, NYLJ, Dec. 1, p. 18 (Oct. 24) 
(granting legal change of name to a plaintiff pursuing gender reassignment).

Hamm v. Weyauwega Milk Products, Inc., 332 F3d 1058 (7th Cir., Jun.13, 2003) (The case law as it 
has evolved holds . . . that although Title VII does not protect homosexuals from discrimination on the 
basis of their sexual orientation, it protects heterosexuals who are victims of "sex stereotyping" or 
"gender stereotyping"). 

Hansen v. Ann Arbor Public Schools, 293 F.Supp.2d 780 (E.D.Mich., Dec. 5, 2003) (A Michigan 
federal court has ruled that a public school violated the constitutional rights of one of its high school 
students when it prohibited the student from making an anti-lesbian/gay speech during the school's 
"2002 Diversity Week" and when it invited only pro-lesbian/gay clergy to speak on a panel concerning 
homosexuality and religion).
 
Harden v. Zinnemann, 2003 WL 21802259 (Cal. Ct.App., 3rd Dist., Aug. 6, 2003) (not officially 
published) (unanimous upholding a decision by the state's Department of Real Estate to deny a realtor's 
license to Fred Harden, who had been ordered to register as a sex offender after two convictions for 
"lewd conduct in a public place" based on his soliciting sex from male undercover police officers in 
public restrooms).

Harding, United States v., 273 F.Supp2d 411 (S.D.N.Y., July 7, 2003) (rejecting a demand by the 
defendant that prospective jurors for his trial on charges of possessing child pornography be required to 
complete a questionnaire eliciting their attitudes concerning homosexuality and child pornography).

Harrington v. Northwest Airlines, Inc., 2003 WL 22016032 (Minn. Ct.Apps., Aug. 26, 2003) (not 
officially published) (affirming summary judgment that allowed a jury to consider Michael Harrington's 
claim that he was shunned by homophobic flight attendants on a Northwest Airlines flight from Los 
Angeles to Memphis would be "purely speculative").

Healy, Commonwealth of Massachusetts v., 783 N.E.2d 428 (Ma., Feb. 13, 2003) (rejecting the 3rd 
motion for a new trial by a gay man convicted of murder).

Helen M. Garinger, Matter of, 2003 WL 21223845, 2003 N.Y. Slip Op. 14474 (N.Y.App.Div., 2nd 
Dept., May 27, 2003)(reversing an order by Westchester County Supreme Court Justice Louis Barone 
that the Jane Doe appellant's HIV and hepatitis test results be released to the respondent).

Henrietta D. v. Bloomberg, 331 F.3d 261 (2nd Cir., June 9, 2003) (unanimously affirming the 2001 
decision (reported at 119 F. Supp. 2d 181 (E.D.N.Y.), which found that New York City residents with 
HIV/AIDS were being denied their federal rights by the city due to blatant inadequacies in city benefits 
programs).

Henry, State v., 783 N.E.2d 609 (Ohio Ct.App., 7th Dist., Apr. 23, 2003)(unanimously rejecting the 
petition for review where the court of appeals refused to reverse a criminal conviction of a man who 
was arrested for masturbating in a public restroom while a hidden video surveillance camera was 
running).

Hensala v. Dep't of Air Force, 343 F.3d 951 (9th Cir., Sept. 12, 2003) (reversing in part the decision 
of U.S. District Judge William H. Alsup (N.D. Cal.), a majority of the divided appellate panel 
concluded that Hensala, a former US Air Force gay psychiatrist, should have the opportunity to prove 
that the military applies its recoupment policy against former service members discriminatorily on the 
basis of sexual orientation, in violation of the 1st Amendment free speech and federal Equal Protection).

Hill v. Columbia Tristar Television, Inc., 2003 WL 1958881 (Cal.Ct.App., Apr. 28, 2003) (not 
officially published)  (affirmed summary judgment against plaintiff, a former stage manager at CBS, on 
his discrimination claim based on "perceived sexual orientation" but revived plaintiff's claims of 
defamation and negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress).

Hispanic AIDS Forum v. Estate of Joseph Bruno, N.Y.L.J., Nov. 19, p.20 col.1 (N.Y.County 
Supreme Ct., Part 36) (rejecting the landlord's motion to dismiss the case, finding that HAF had alleged 
facts sufficient to present a case of discrimination on the basis of sex and gender against a landlord that 
refused to renew its office space due to alleged bias against transgendered clients of the agency).

Hitchcock Plaza, Inc. v. Clark, 2003 N.Y. Slip Op. 51524, 2003 WL 23109709 (N.Y.City Civ. Ct., 
Dec. 19, 2003) (not officially published) (dismissing a case for judicial sanctions and referring it to the 
court administrator for further action regarding actions of an individual who, as a witness in a pending 
case allegedly spat upon the opposing party's attorney and proceeded to call her a lesbian).

Hosseinipour v. State Medical Board of Ohio, 2003-Ohio-2392, 2003 WL 21061314 (Ohio Ct. 
Claims, May 5, 2003) (not officially published) (rejecting an HIV+ doctor's claim that the state medical 
board violated his rights under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and the analogous state 
statute when the appeal of the termination of his medical license was denied).

Hughley v. Pickaway Correctional Institution, 2003 WL 21995467 (Ohio Court of Claims, Aug. 13, 
2003) (not officially published) (holding that a forced "drug holiday" when an HIV+ prisoner is 
transferred between facilities does not create a compensable injury).

Humphrey v. Appellate Division of the Superior Court, 2003 WL 1930321 (April 24, 2003) (not 
officially published) (founding that it was appropriate to order HIV testing of a man charge with child 
molestation and sexual battery).

Hunt v. Ortiz, 2003 WL 22963114 (10th Cir., Dec. 2003) (not selected for publication in the Federal 
Reporter) (ruling that the federal district court in Colorado had correctly dismissed all of state prisoner 
William Hunt's claims arising out of the prison's response to his refusal to submit to HIV testing).  

I.H., Guardianship of, 834 A.2d 922, 2003 ME 130 (Me. Nov. 4, 2003) (unanimously holding that the 
futility of trying to notify an anonymous sperm donor makes notification unnecessary under the Maine 
Probate Code and awarding co-guardianship of a child to the partner of the biological mother; the 
extent of the guardianship is subject to any restrictions that the court deems in the best interest of the 
child).

Iancu v. Immigration and Naturalization Service, 2003 WL 21421639 (U.S.Ct.App., 6th Cir., June 17, 
2003) (not officially published) (affirming a deportation order that had been approved by the Board of 
Immigration Appeals, rejecting a plea from a gay Rumanian national who claims he would suffer 
persecution if forced to return to his country).  

Iduoze v. McDonald's Corporation, 2003 WL 34110498 (N.D. Ga. June 16, 2003) (not officially 
published) (ruling that even if an employee was discharged by McDonald's because they believed she 
was HIV+, the ADA would not be violated if the person responsible for the discharge decisions did not 
regard the individual as being disqualified from a "class or broad range of jobs").

Iowa, State of v. Bailey, 671 N.W.2d 532 (Iowa Ct.App., Sept. 24, 2003) (upheld the murder, 
robbery and theft convictions of Bobby Ray Bailey, who claimed he was acting in self-defense when he 
inflicted mortal wounds on an 82-year-old elderly man, Alfred Comito, who Bailey claims promised to 
pay him $100 to let Comito perform fellatio on Bailey).

Ishmael v. Immigration and Naturalization Service, 2003 WL 1790895 (D. Mass., April 1, 2003) (not 
officially published) (holding that the court was without jurisdiction to countermand a deportation order 
of an HIV+ detainee).

Jackson, State v., 860 S.2d 134 (4th Cir., Oct. 28, 2003) (holding that the HIV+ status of a repeat 
felony offender was not a factor to be considered in applying the state's Habitual Offender Law).

Jaffe v. Pallotta Teamworks, 276 F.Supp.2d 102 (D.C. Dist. Ct., Aug. 8, 2003) (ruling that a wrongful 
death action brought by the daughter and estate of Eve Jaffe, who died while participating an AIDS ride 
in June 2000, could not be brought because Jaffe had signed a complete waiver of liability for 
negligence with respect to Pallotta Teamworks and other defendants in the case).

Jean Doe, Matter of v. Bell, NYLJ, 1/16/2003, p.21, col.4 (N.Y. Sup.Ct., N.Y. Co.) (ruling that a 17-
year-old biological male is entitled to dress as a girl while living in a NYC foster care facility for boys).

Jeffrey L. v Superior Court, 2003 WL 257555 (Cal.Ct.App., Feb. 7, 2003) (unpublished opinion) 
(finding no error with the lower court's decision to proceed with a child welfare hearing despite the 
absence of the child's HIV+ father based on it determination that he had not provided medical evidence 
to support his request for a continuance due to illness.).

J.M., In re 575 S.E.2d 441 (Ga., Jan 13, 2003) (ruling that the state's fornication law was 
unconstitutional and reversing the delinquency adjudication of a 16-year-old boy who was found to 
have had consensual sex with his 16-year-old girlfriend).

Johnson v. American National Red Cross, 578 S.E.2d 106 (Ga., Feb. 24, 2003) (unanimously ruling 
that a woman who received a letter after her blood transfusion that apologized for having supplied blood 
that did not meet its standards because the donor had lived in an HIV-ravaged part of Africa was not 
entitled to sue for negligence or infliction of emotional distress, because she had not actually been 
exposed to HIV).

Johnson v. State of Indiana, 785 N.E.2d 1134 (Ind, App. Apr. 2, 2003)(affirmed plaintiff's convictions 
and sentences on two counts of Failure of Carriers of Dangerous Communicable Diseases to Warn 
Persons at Risk as Class D felonies after plaintiff infected numerous women).

Jones v. Sheraton Operating Corp., 2003 WL 21146779 (E.D. La., May 15, 2003) (not officially 
published) (reacting to a possible attempt by a hotel-operator defendant to disparage a plaintiff by virtue 
of his sexual orientation, defendant's reference to "x-rated homosexual pornographic videotapes" found 
in the plaintiff's room to be "uninformative in assessing whether Plaintiff's injuries exceeded $75,000," a 
point in contention in this diversity case).

Kansas, State of v. Rowe, 59 P.3d 1061 (Kan.Ct.App., Dec. 6, 2002) (unpublished opinion) (rejecting 
an appeal of a same-sex sodomy conviction.).

Kantaras v. Kantaras, Marriage of, 29 Fam.L.Rep. 1195, (Fla., Pasco Co. Cir.Ct., Mar. 4, 2003) (not 
officially published) (finding that plaintiff, born genetically female, is a man for purposes of Florida 
marriage law, is the legal father of the two children born to his wife Linda, and should be awarded 
primary custody of the children).

Karner v. Austria (July 24, 2003) (European Court of Human Rights found (effectively by 7 votes to 0 
on the merits) sexual orientation discrimination violating Article 14 (nondiscrimination) together with 
Article 8 (respect for home) of the European Convention on Human Rights, where a same-sex partner 
was denied a right extended to an unmarried different-sex partner regarding tenant succession.) (The 
opinion can be found on the Court's website.)

Karraker v. Rent-a-Center, Inc., 239 F.Supp2d 828 (C.D.Ill., Jan. 8, 2003)(reversing a magistrate's 
decision and allowing an ADA claim & a limited privacy action claim against defendant who required a 
management test for all seeking positions with defendant that inquired about sexual preferences and 
orientation, religious beliefs and practices, and medical conditions).

Kavy v. New Britain Board of Education, 2003 WL 721565 (Conn. Super.Ct., Jan. 22, 2003) (not 
officially published) (holding that the school board is not liable for failing to stop malicious actions of a 
jealous lesbian employee but may be liable for acts of personnel manager and school principal).

Kay v. Independence Blue Cross, 2003 WL 21197289 (E.D. Pa., May 2003) (not reported in 
F.Supp.2d) (finding plaintiff, a gay analyst, had been subjected to improper gender stereotyping by co-
workers and determined that the company had not violated the federal ban on sex discrimination in the 
workplace because it took reasonable action in response to his complaints and the harassment was not 
sufficiently serious or pervasive to violate federal law, even though it proved severe enough to cause 
plaintiff to leave his job).

Keep, People v., 2003 WL 21995221 (Mich. Ct. Apps., Aug. 21, 2003) (unpublished opinion) (ruling 
that a murder victim's alleged sexual proposition of the defendant did not provide sufficient mitigation to 
reduce the offense from second degree homicide to manslaughter).

King v. Super Service, Inc., 2003 WL 21500008 (U.S.Ct.App., 6th Cir., June 26, 2003) (not officially 
published) (having made the mistake of filing a same-sex harassment claim in federal court, Lonnie King 
reaped the consequences of an unsuccessful appeal from a summary judgment finding that King was 
harassed by two co-workers because they perceived him as gay).

Kinzie v. Dallas County Hospital District, 239 F.Supp2d 618 (N.D.Tex., Jan. 3, 2003) (holding that 
defendant did not violate plaintiff's constitutional rights of Due Process even though plaintiff wasn't told 
he acquired HIV-infection from a transfusion at the hospital 11 years earlier).

Knight v. Davis, No. 03AS05284 (Sacramento Super.Ct., Dec. 18, 2003) (concluding that a group of 
Republican state legislators were unlikely to prevail on the merits of their claim that California's recently-
enacted domestic partnership law was a violation of Proposition 22, Sacramento Superior Court Judge 
Thomas M. Cecil denied the plaintiffs' motion for preliminary injunction against the operation of the 
statute).

Koballa, State of Ohio v.,  2003-Ohio-3535, 2003 WL 21513041 (Ohio Ct.App., 8th Dist., July 3, 
2003) (not reported in N.E.2d) (upholding a conviction for felonious assault and a seven year prison 
term for defendant after a gay sex-date set on a chat-line turned bloody).

Langan v. St Vincent's Hospital of New York, 765 N.Y.S.2d 411 (NY Sup.Ct, Nassau Co.) 
(recognizing that a civil union outside of Vermont may hold weight after a NY court held that plaintiff 
may sue for the wrongful death of his late partner).

Lara v. State of Texas, 2003 WL 22413650 (Texas Ct.App., Oct. 23, 2003) (not officially published) 
(upholding a jury verdict of second degree murder against Cesar Lara in the 1995 death of Bobby 
Alba, who worked as a door man at the Old Plantation (known locally as O.P.), a downtown El Paso 
gay bar).

Laureano v. Pataki, 2003 WL 841067 (U.S.Dist.Ct., S.D.N.Y., Mar. 2, 2003) (not officially 
published) (rejecting a claim by an HIV+ state prisoner at Sing Sing that his housing conditions 
amounted to an 8th amendment violation).

Lawrence v. Texas, 123 S.Ct. 2472 (U.S.Sup.Ct., June 26, 2003) (holding that state laws criminalizing 
consensual, private non-commercial sex between adults violate the individuals' liberty interests under the 
Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment).

Lee-Crespo v. Schering-Plough del Caribe, Inc., 2003 WL 23095261 (U.S. Ct. App., 1st Cir., Dec. 
31, 2003) (affirming summary judgment for the employer in a same-sex harassment case brought by a 
former salesperson who claimed that her female supervisor had mistreated her in various ways and that 
the company had retaliated against her for complaining).  

Lee P.S. v. Lisa L., 2003 N.Y.Slip Op. 10431 (N.Y. App., 2nd Dept., Jan. 21, 2003) (reiterated that 
under N.Y. law a lesbian co-parent who is not the adoptive parent of her former domestic partner's 
biological child does not have standing to seek visitation with the child).

Lewis v. Harris, 2003 WL 23191114 (N.J.Super.Ct., Nov. 5, 2003) (granting summary judgment for 
the state on a claim that same-sex couples are entitled to get marriage licenses, but noting the exclusion 
of same-sex partners from marriage does not violate the New Jersey constitution's guarantees of due 
process and equal protection). (Dec 15th NJ State Assembly approved a proposed domestic 
partnership bill that would establish a state registry for same-sex partners.)

Limon v. Kansas, 41 P.3d 303 (Kan. App., 2002) (text not published) (On June 27, 2003 Sup Ct 
granted certiorari, vacating the original judgment against Matthew Limon, an 18-year-old who received 
a 17-year prison sentence for performing consensual oral sex with a fellow male resident of a school for 
developmentally disabled youth in Miami County, Kansas).

Lin v. Ashcroft, 2003 WL 22697283 (3rd Cir., Nov. 13, 2003) (Unpublished disposition) (rejecting 
plaintiff's asylum petition claim that he is being persecuted in China because he is gay even after being 
given an airport interview like other newly-arrived asylum applicants by Immigration officials).
Linn v. State of Arkansas, 2003 WL 22853847 (Ark. Ct.App., Dec. 3, 2003) (not officially published) 
(upholding a second-degree battery conviction and resulting 15 year prison sentence in the case of 
Kevin Jeremy Linn, who while an inmate at the Pulaski County Jail bit a deputy sheriff in the struggle 
that ensued when Linn tried to grab the deputy's keys while was being returned to his cell after his 
scheduled break).  

Lomascolo v. Otto Oldsmobile-Cadillac, Inc., 253 F.Supp.2d 354 (N.D.N.Y., Mar. 17, 2003) 
(holding that some letters signed by boss's daughter may be used to impeach her deposition testimony 
but may not be used as substantive evidence that plaintiff was subjected to a hostile work environment 
where he allegedly suffered name-calling such that he was "gay" and "effeminate").

Loren v. Levy, 2003 WL 1702004 (S.D.N.Y., Mar. 31, 2003) (not officially published) (granting 
summary judgment to the NYC Board of Education, the NYS Department of Education and various 
officials of each in a lawsuit for allegedly denying an HIV+ applicant participation in the NYC Teaching 
Fellows Program).

Lozoya v. Sanchez, 66 P.3d 948 (N.M. 2003) (unmarried cohabitant may assert claim for loss of 
consortium where cohabitant had a close familial relationship with the victim).

Lydon, People v., 2003 WL 550318 (Cal. App., 2nd Dist., Feb. 27, 2003) (not officially 
published)(finding defendant guilty on numerous counts after he, and a male companion, were picked-up 
hitchhiking and hog-tied the man who picked them up, stole his ATM card, stabbed him numerous times 
and stole his car).

M.M.G.C., H.H.C., and K.E.A.C., In re Adoption of, 785 N.E.2d 267 (Ind.Ct. App., Mar. 18, 2003) 
(ruling that the lesbian domestic partner of an adoptive parent can petition to become the second 
adoptive parent of her partner's children). 

Mack v. City of Detriot, 2002 WL 31874853 (Mi.Ct App., Dec. 20, 2002) (ruling that the city of 
Detriot did not have legislative authority to create a charter provision on discrimination providing a cause 
of action against the city by its employees).

Manlove v. United States, 2003 WL 1860554 (W.D.Mo., Mar. 26, 2003) (not officially published) 
(Plaintiff, a female heterosexual postal employee, suffered summary judgment on all grounds after 
alleging the under Title VII she was denied a promotion based on sexual orientation implying that the 
other woman who got the promotion is a lesbian).

Mann v. Lima, 290 F.Supp.2d 190 (D.R.I., Oct. 10, 2003) (the court, however, implicitly or explicitly 
motivated by the concern that Title VII not become a "mere" code of workplace civility, denies the 
female plaintiff relief and describes the summary judgment process for the female defendant as a 
"game," and describes the pleadings, elements, and rulings in baseball terminology).

Marcicky v. Renico, 2003 WL 22272142 (E.D.Mich., Sept. 30, 2003) (not officially published) 
(rejecting a habeas corpus petition the court on found that defense counsel's failure to voir dire 
perspective jurors about their sexual orientation did not constitute ineffective assistance of counsel in a 
case where the victims were gay and appeared to have been targeted as such by the defendants).

Martinez v. Immigration and Naturalization Service, 2003 WL 21750801 (9th Cir., July 25, 2003) (not 
officially published) (instructing the Board of Immigration Appeals to reconsider its decision denying the 
asylum petition of Saul Gregorio Martinez, a gay native of Guatemala). 

Martinez v. Personnel Board of the City of Loma Linda, 2003 WL 429505 (Cal.Ct.App., 4th Dist., 
Feb. 24, 2003) (not officially published)(affirmed a ruling that the defendant violated the due process 
rights of a municipal worker whose employment was terminated in a proceeding where he was not 
afforded the opportunity to review all the evidence against him).

Martinez, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico v., (Sup.Ct., P.R., Apr. 20, 2003) (ruling 4-3 that the local 
domestic violence statute does not apply to same-sex couples).

Mason v. Harter, 2003 WL 1508020 (9th Circ., Mar. 24, 2003) (unpublished opinion)(holding 
summary judgment for defendants after plaintiff alleged that homosexuality is a mental illness and tried to 
sue for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress because defendant called plaintiff a 
bigot.).

Massachusetts, Commonwealth of v. Richotte, 796 N.E.2d 890 (Mass.Ct.App., Oct. 8, 2003) 
(affirming the conviction of Michael G. Richotte, a gay man, on charges of assault and battery against 
Michael Taylor, described as his "male companion").  

Massey v. Banning Unified School District, 256 F.Supp2d 1090 (C.D.Cal., Mar. 28, 2003) (rejecting 
a school boards attempt to dismiss a claim of a lesbian middle school girl who was prevented from 
attending a physical education class solely because of her sexual orientation).

McFall, People v., 2003 WL 178807 (Mich. App., Jan. 24, 2003) (unpublished opinion) (affirming 
prison sentence for defendant who was found guilty of assaulting, robbing and carjacking a gay man).

McLaughlin v. Board of Education of the Pulaski County Special School District, 2003 WL 21182283 
(E.D.Ark., W.Div., Apr. 22, 2003) (not officially published) (ordering defendant to clarify its future 
conduct towards a gay student whose ability to be openly gay at school was been suppressed by school 
officials). 

Melzer v. Board of Education, 336 F.3d 185 (2nd Cir., July 16, 2003) (affirming the termination of a 
New York City High School teacher based upon his affiliation with the North American Man/Boy Love 
Association (NAMBLA).

MGM Grand Hotel v. Rene, 123 S.Ct. 1573 (US Sup.Ct., Mar. 24, 2003) (denying cert on whether 
and under what circumstances Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 can protect lesbian and gay 
employees from hostile environment sexual harassment).

In re Miller, 824 A2d 1207 (Pa. Super, May 14, 2003) (reversing and granting a petition after finding 
that the lower court abused its discretion in denying a lesbian's application to change her last name to 
the surname of her life companion).

Miller v. Weaver, 66 P.3d 592 (Utah Sup.Ct., Apr. 4, 2003) (holding that plaintiffs, the Nebo School 
District, had no justiciable claim against a high school teacher simple because she publicly discussed her 
sexual orientation which plaintiff's alleged violated statutes and the Utah Constitution).

Misty Gorman. Petitioner, and Sherry Gump, Respondent, In re Marriage of, No. 02-D-292, (Family 
Ct, Marion County, Dec. 19, 2002) (believed to be the first dissolution of a Vermont Civil Union 
outside of Vermont).

Mitchell v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 587 S.E.2d 727 (Va.Ct.App., Oct. 28, 2003) (unanimously 
affirming the forcible sodomy conviction of John Ian Mitchell in an opinion by Judge Nelson T. 
Overton).

Montgomery v. Cockrell, 2003 WL 23118957 (N.D.Tex., Dec. 30, 2003) (not officially published) 
(rejecting a claim by an HIV+ Texas state prisoner that he was constitutionally entitled to a hardship 
parole so that he could move from prison to a nursing home where he could get "better" HIV-related 
treatment).

Morrison v. Sadler, No. 49D13-0211-PL-001946 (Ind.Super.Ct., Marion County, filed May 7, 2003) 
(granting the state's motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by same-sex couples seeking the right to marry).

Murphy v. State of Arkansas, 117 S.W.3d 627 (Ark. Ct.App., Sept. 10, 2003) (unanimously affirming 
a ten-year prison sentences for a gay male couple on charges that they sexually assaulted a 16-year-old 
teenage boy who was spending the night with them).

Neal, People v., 1 Cal.Rptr.3d 650 (Ca., July 14, 2003) (unanimously finding an intent by police to 
obtain impeachment evidence in deliberate violation of a custodial suspect's 14th Amendment due 
process rights, reversing the jury conviction of Kenneth Ray Neal, 18, for the second degree murder of 
Donald Collins, 69, a gay man).

Nease, State v., 116 Wash. App. 1078 (Wash.Ct.App., May 20, 2003) (remanding to the trial court 
for re-sentencing in light of the trial court's order that defendant undergo HIV testing).

Nevada Dept. of Human Resources v. Hibbs, 123 S.Ct. 1972 (U.S.Sup.Ct., May 27, 2003) (holding 
that FMLA was really a sex discrimination law and sex discrimination should receive heightened scrutiny 
under the 14th Amendment, and thus Congress is authorized to apply FMLA to the states pursuant to 
section 5 of that Amendment)


Nitke v. Ashcroft, 253 F.Supp.2d 587 (S.D.N.Y., Mar. 24, 2003) (refused to grant a preliminary 
injunction against enforcement of the Communications Decency Act's obscenity provision but also 
refused to grant in full the government's motion to dismiss.  The lead plaintiff is a female photographer 
who specializes in sexual-explicit images that she places on her own website).

Noto v. Regions Bank, 2003 WL 22965568 (U.S. Ct. App., 5th Cir., Dec. 17, 2003) (not officially 
published) (affirmed per curiam a decision by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of 
Louisiana, granting summary judgment to the employer in a sex discrimination case revolving around a 
female supervisor's verbally and physically demonstrative conduct towards the plaintiff, Sandra Lynn 
Noto and writing that "Title VII prohibits discrimination.not overly effusive behavior").

Okwedy v. Molinari, 333 F3d 339 (2d Cir. June 24, 2003) (not officially published) (remanding for 
further consideration the issue of whether a public official's letter calling for the removal of a billboard 
declaring homosexuality a sin is, itself, constitutionally protected free speech).

Osborne v. State, 843 So.2d 99 (Miss.Ct.App., Apr. 15, 2003) (affirming a conviction for aggravated 
assault and sentence of twenty years imprisonment, holding that the State's eyewitness testimony that 
defendant was gay did not warrant a mistrial).

Patches v. City of Phoenix, 2003 WL 21206120 (9th Cir., May 12, 2003) (not officially published). (a 
three-judge panel unanimous rejected a discrimination and privacy suit brought by a lesbian police 
officer against the City of Phoenix, Arizona, and several city employees finding no constitutional bar to 
the police department's investigation).

Pate v. Peel, 256 F.Supp.2d 1326 (N.D. Fla., Mar. 31, 2003)( rejecting 1st and 8th Amendment 
claims by an HIV+ state prison inmate).

Pawlick v. Birmingham, 780 N.E.2d 466 (Mass., Dec. 30, 2002) (unanimously confirming the action of 
a single justice who held that Thomas Birmingham, President of the Commonwealth Senate could not be 
sued to compel him to reconvene the legislature to get an anti-marriage state constitutional amendment 
before the voters.)

Pecenka v. Fareway Stores, Inc., No. 154/02-1979, (Iowa Sup.Ct, Dec. 17, 2003) summaried in 
BNA Daily Labor Report No. 246, 12-23-03, p. A-7/8.  (holding that a male grocery clerk who was 
discharged for refusing to remove an ear stud had not stated a claim for sex discrimination under the 
state's human rights law).

Pedroza v. Cintas Corp., 2003 WL 828237 (US Dist. Ct., W.D. Mo., Jan. 9, 2003) (not officially 
published) (summary judgment for defendant and ruling that plaintiff's evidence of harassment by a co-
worker was insufficient for a reasonable jury to concluded that the harassment was "because of sex").

Peek-A-Boo Lounge of Bradenton, Inc. v. Manatee Co., 337 F.3d 1251 (11th Cir. 2003, July 15, 
2003 (appealing a series of county ordinances aimed at adult entertainment establishments regarding 
nudity under the 4th, 5th, and 14th Amendments).

Perdue v. Mississippi State Board of Health, No. G2001-1891 S/2 (Miss., 5th Chancery Ct. Dist.., 
Mar. 18, 2003) (ruling that state officials may not refuse to issue a new birth certificate for a 
Mississippi-born boy who was adopted by a lesbian couple from Vermont).

Perry, State of Washington v., 2003 WL 1775990 (Wash.Ct.App., April 1, 2003) (unpublished 
opinion) (vacating an HIV testing requirement that was part of the sentence imposed where the 
defendant was convicted of two counts of delivery of mephamphetamine).

Peterman v. Meeker, 855 So.2d 690 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App., 2nd Dist., Oct. 3, 2003) (deciding a new point 
of Florida law unanimously ruled that the state's domestic violence law, Fla. Stat. Sec. 741.30, provides 
a basis for issuing an injunction in the context of a gay relationship where one member is threatening the 
other with violence).

Pienkowski v. Higgins, 2003 WL 21267484 (3rd Cir., June 3, 2003) (not officially published) 
(upholding the lower court and finding that there was insufficient evidence of an oral agreement where 
the appellants claimed that in 1997 they had conveyed some sixty acres of land to the appellee in 
exchange for a promise by the appellee, Higgins, to care for appellants' HIV+ son and therefore finding 
it unenforceable).

Priore v. New York Yankees, 761 N.Y.S.2d 608, 2003 N.Y. Slip Op. 14582 (N.Y.App.Div., 1st 
Dept., May 29, 2003) (ruling that Bronx County Supreme Court Justice Anne Targum should have 
granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment on all claims by Paul Priore, a former Yankees 
employee, including claims of sexual orientation and HIV-related discrimination).

Priore v. New York Yankees, (N.Y.Ct.App., Dec.22, 2003) (denied petition by plaintiff for leave to 
appeal the unanimous decision which rejected his sexual orientation discrimination charge against the 
New York Yankees).

Ratliff v Ratliff, 2003 WL 1856408 (Ark. Ct. App., Apr. 9, 2003) (not officially published) (affirming a 
judgment awarding custody of two girls to their lesbian mother).

Reilly v. Transport Workers Union, NYLJ, 1/02/2003 (N.Y. Sup.Ct., N.Y. Co.) (preliminarily allowing 
a suit against the New York City Transit Authority and the Transport Workers Union by an employee 
seeking health benefits coverage for his domestic partner).

Reyes-Sanchez v. Ashcroft, 261 F.Supp.2d 276 (S.D.N.Y., April 30, 2003)(finding plaintiff's 
challenges to the regulations implementing the CAT meritless and the BIA did not err in its interpretation 
of those regulations as applied to plaintiff's claims.).

Rich v. McDonald's Corp., 798 N.E.2d 1169 (Ohio Ct.App., 8th Dist., Oct. 9, 2003) (an HIV+ man 
lost his $5 million jury award after the court ruled that the defendant was entitled to its request for 
interrogatories to the jury rather than a general verdict in this complicated case). 

Rios & Reyes, People v., 2003 WL 1558197 (Cal.Ct.App. 4th Dist, Mar. 26, 2003) (unpublished 
opinion)(upholding a criminal assault conviction and sentence for two young men who brutally beat 
some gay men in a diner as a verbal altercation escalated).

Rivera v. Alvarado, 240 F.Supp.2d 136 (P.R., Jan. 9, 2003) (holding that plaintiff failed to persuade a 
judge that conditions at the Bayamon Correctional Complex violated her son's 8th amendment rights 
and contributed to his death from complications of hepatitis C and AIDS).

Robert B.  v. Susan B., 109 Cal.App.4th 1109 (Cal. App. 6th Dist., June 13, 2003) (affirmed that (1) a 
statute providing that donor of semen for use in artificial insemination of woman who is not donor's wife 
is treated as if donor is not natural father of conceived child did not apply, and (2) wife was not an 
interested person who had standing to bring action). 

Robert Wright Heilig, In the Matter of, 816 A.2d 68 (Md.Ct.App., Feb. 11, 2003) (unanimously ruled 
that the state's circuit courts may exercise their general equitable power to issue an order changing an 
individual's legal sexual identity, if the individual presents sufficient medical evidence to show that they 
have completed a permanent and irreversible change from one sex to the other).

Robertson v. Reinhart, 2003 WL 122613 (Cal.Ct.App., 1st Dist., Jan. 8, 2003) (unpublished opinion) 
(unanimously approving that a lesbian couple did not have an implied contract governing their property).

Rodriguez, United States v., 327 F.3d 52 (1st Cir., Apr. 30, 2003)(vacated a drug conviction and 
sentencing decision for an effeminate gay man by U.S. District Judge Tauro solely on the ground that his 
refusal to grant a downward departure from sentencing guidelines may have been based on a 
misunderstanding about whether he had discretion to do so).

Rodriguez v. Prommer, 2003 WL 253947 (Cal.App 2nd Dist., Feb. 6, 2003) (not officially published) 
(affirming the dismissal of a tort suit brought by plaintiff who had been misdiagnosed as HIV+ but 
reversed dismissal of claims brought on behalf of plaintiff's infant son who had been needlessly 
subjected to HIV testing as a result of his mother's misdiagnosis).

Roe v. Village of Westmont, 2003 WL 444508 (N.D. Ill., Feb. 24, 2003) (not officially published) 
(denying defendants motion to dismiss after plaintiff sued under the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, 42 
USC 1983 and the Illinois Consitution after being turned down when a pre-employment test showed 
him to be HIV+.).
Roman v. Superior Court, 5 Cal.Rptr.3d 807 (Cal. Ct. App., 2nd Dist., Nov. 5, 2003) (denying a 
motion to exclude information regarding Doe's condition, and denying the defendant's motion to set 
aside the charges, holding that there was sufficient evidence that the defendant's conduct could produce 
great bodily harm, and also that the defendant knew the victim was a dependent adult).

Rubin v. Chilton, 819 A.2d 22 (N.J.App.Div., Apr.1, 2003)(holding that the state's Law Against 
Discrimination forbids discrimination against independent contractors, but not under the section 
forbidding employment discrimination).

In re Russell L. Goodale, Debtor, 298 BR 886 (U.S. Bankruptcy Ct., W.D. Wash., July 25, 2003) 
(holding that under the federal Defense of Marriage Act, 1 U.S.C. sec. 7, a former same-sex partner of 
a debtor could not be considered a "spouse" for purposes of the bankruptcy law).

Sam's Club v. Madison Equal Opportunities Commission, 668 N.W.2d 562 (Wis. Ct.Apps., July 24, 
2003) (unpublished disposition) (affirmed that Sam's Club, an operation of Wal-Mart, did not violate 
the state's human rights law, which forbids discrimination on the basis of personal appearance, when it 
discharged Tonya Maier because she wore an eyebrow ring to work in violation of the company's 
appearance code).

Sanders v. May Department Stores, 315 F.3d 940 (8th Cir., Jan. 9, 2003) (ruling that a transexual's 
failure to request leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act waived her subsequent right to sue 
under that statute).

Schroeder v. Maumee Board of Education, 296 F.Supp.2d 869 (N.D. Ohio Dec. 8, 2003) (denying a 
motion for summary judgment brought by a high school principal and assistant principal in on claims of 
equal protection and violation of Title IX, although the court did grant summary judgment on a First 
Amendment claim and found the board of education was insulated from the Equal Protection claim after 
school officials failed to take effective action to protect a vocal gay rights high school student who was 
being subjected to verbal and physical harassment by other students).  

S.D. Myers, Inc. v. City & County of San Francisco, 336 F.3d 1174 (9th Cir. July 29, 2003) (holding 
that the mere fact that the state legislature has established a domestic partner registry does not preempt 
the field of legislation pertaining to domestic partnerships).

Sharon S. v. Superior Court of San Diego County, 73 P.3d 554, 2 Cal.Rptr. 3d 699 (Aug. 4, 2003) 
(ruling that the state's family code does not prohibit second-parent adoptions).

Shaw v. First Marathon, Inc., 2003 WL 22833653 (Mass. App.Ct., Nov. 26, 2003) (unpublished 
disposition) (affirming the refusal of the Superior Court to assert jurisdiction over a discrimination claim 
brought by a gay Canadian man against his Canadian employer).

Shephard v. Bay Windows, Inc., 2003 WL 22225764 (Mass. Super. Ct., September 22, 2003) (not 
officially published) (ruling that Bay Windows, a weekly Boston newspaper aimed at the lesbian and gay 
community, will have to defend against a claim that it defamed a local businessman, David Shephard, 
and Shephard's public relations firm, by publishing an article that the court believes could be construed 
by readers to have suggested that Shephard and his company acted improperly in handling payments 
intended for one of their clients, the Greater Boston Business Council (GBBC)).

Sherman v. Jones, 258 F.Supp.2d 440 (E.D.Va., Apr. 22, 2003) (ruling at least in the 4th Circuit that 
there is no constitutional privacy protection for the HIV status of a prison inmate).

Sherwood Armour v. Danbury Hospital, 2003 WL 22705960 (Conn. Super.Ct., Oct. 30, 2003) (not 
officially reported) (ruling that a the defendant hospital did not have a duty in April 1985 to inform a 
surgery patient about the prospective risks of using donated blood at a time when an HIV screening test 
was not yet available to the hospital).

Silvestri v. Dowdy, 827 A.2d 335 (N.J. App Div., July 16, 2003) (ruling that a homeowner's liability 
policy does not cover a claim against the homeowner for intentional and wanton conduct in not 
disclosing his HIV status to a sexual partner incident to conduct in the home, but may cover the 
negligence liability of his adult children for failing to disclose his HIV status to his sexual partner). 

Smart v. State, 587 S.E.2d 6 (Ga., Sept. 22, 2003) (unanimously affirming Smart's conviction for the 
brutal murder of James Henry Williams, Jr., a gay man and rejecting Smart's attempt to get his 
conviction (and two consecutive life sentences) reversed based on the trial judge's refusal to let him 
introduce evidence of Mr. Williams' sexuality and past sexual conduct).

Smith v. City of New York, 290 F.Supp.2d 317 (S.D.N.Y., Sept. 23, 2003) (ruling that a lesbian 
woman who encountered homophobia in a New York City police station when she reported to receive 
a "desk appearance ticket" for a criminal trespass charged filed against her by her former lover failed to 
state a constitutional or statutory claim against the City).

In re Mark Smith, 109 Cal.App.4th 489 (Cal.Ct.App., 2nd Dist., June 5, 2003) (holding that there was 
no evidence in the record to support the governor's determination that an HIV+ inmate should not be 
released on parole after having served more than the minimum of 16 years of his prison sentence on a 
second-degree murder conviction).

Smith v. Carpenter, 316 F.3d 178 (2nd Cir., Jan. 14, 2003) (holding that two-short term interruptions in 
providing a prison inmate with his HIV medication is insufficient to support the his claim that prison 
officials violated the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment).

Smith v. County of Humboldt, 240 F.Supp.2d 1109 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 15, 2003) (holding that plaintiff's 
allegations fell short of the high standard to prove a hostile environment under Title VII discrimination).

Snider v. Jefferson State Community College, 344 F.3d 1325S(11th Cir., Sept. 15, 2003) (ruling that 
until the court had recently ruled that same-sex sexual harassment is actionable under the Equal 
Protection Clause against a public employer, officials of the college were not on sufficient notice to 
charge them with individual responsibility to redress such harassment by a supervisory employee of the 
college).

SOB, Inc. v County of Benton, 317 F.3d 856 (8th Cir., Jan. 24, 2003) (upholding a decision by the US 
District Court in Minnesota rejecting a 1st amendment challenge to a county ordinance that required 
breasts and genitals be covered in cabaret clubs that presented nude dancers).

Soto v. Iacavino, 2003 WL 21281762 (U.S.Dist.Ct., S.D.N.Y., June 4, 2003) (not officially 
published) (an HIV+ New York inmate alleged that he was deprived of his constitutional right to 
medical care in violation of 42 U.S.C. sec. 1983. The court dismissed the claims against the prison 
Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent but found sufficient evidence to maintain the causes of action 
for retaliatory transfer and destruction of personal property against the guards, but doubted and denied 
the causal connection between withholding the medical care and any adverse action).

Standhardt v. Superior Court, 77 P.3d 451 (Az.Ct.App., Oct. 8, 2003) (rejecting the claims of two 
men who had sought marriage licenses shortly after the Supreme Court announced its landmark decision 
in Lawrence v. Texas).

Stemler v. City of Florence, 350 F.3d 578 (6th Cir. Dec. 2, 2003) (In 1997, the U.S. Court of 
Appeals for the 6th Circuit revived an equal protection claim brought by a woman against whom DUI 
laws allegedly were selectively enforced based on her supposed sexual orientation. Stemler v. City of 
Florence, 126 F.3d 856 (6th Cir. 1997) The claim was sent back to district court. The district court, in 
2001, found that even though an abuse-of-process claim based on the same facts was tried in state 
court and summary judgment granted to the defendants (police officers), the issue was not precluded, 
and could be heard in federal court. The 6th Circuit in the latest decision found that the issue was 
precluded, and could not be tried in federal court. The district court should have granted summary 
judgment to the defendants).

Sterling v. Borough of Minersville, 232 F.3d 190 (3rd Cir. 2000) (reaching a $100,000 settlement in 
the case where the son of plaintiff Madonna Sterling, 17-year-old Marcus Wayman, committed suicide 
after a local police officer threatened to tell his grandfather that he was gay and was apprehended in a 
parked car with one of his high school football teammates late at night).

Stinson v. Galaza, 2003 WL 21995339 (9th Cir., Aug. 21, 2003) (not selected for publication in the 
Federal Reporter) (ruling 21 that officials at a California State Prison appeared to have exhibited 
deliberate indifference to the serious medical needs of prisoner Mark Stinson when they refused to 
provide treatment directed by Stinson's physician to deal with symptoms related to his HIV+ condition).

Stokes v. Barnheart, 257 F.Supp.2d 288 (U.S.Dist., Maine., Mar. 13, 2003) (rejecting numerous 
motions but allowing plaintiff to amend his complaint to add a violation of the federal Privacy Act when 
his HIV status was revealed).

Stokes v. Commissioner, Social Security Administration, 292 F.Supp.2d 178 (D.Maine, Nov. 21, 
2003) (rejecting a Privacy Act Claim for unauthorized disclosure of HIV status, that had been asserted 
against a Social Security worker who mentioned the client/patient's HIV status in the presence of an 
unrelated person).
 
Stowell, People v.  6 Cal.Rptr.3d 723; People v. Butler, 6 Cal.Rptr.3d 730 (Cal. Sup.Ct., Dec. 1, 
2003) (addressing issues raised in the application of state laws directing trial judges to order criminal 
defendants to submit to HIV testing under certain circumstances).

Strome, In re, 60 P.3d 1158 (Or. Ct.App., Jan. 8, 2003) (awarding permanent custody of minor 
children to their biological father, who is living with a same-sex domestic partner).

Swartsell, State v., 2003 WL 21998619 (Ohio App. 12th Dist., Aug. 25, 2003) (Not Reported in 
N.E.2d) (upholding the conviction of Mark Swartsell on two counts of rape and two counts of assault 
based on the uncorroborated testimony of two mentally impaired young men, despite prejudicial errors 
on admission of evidence).

Sweet v. Mulberry Lutheran Home, 2003 WL 21525058 (S.D. Ind., June 17, 2003) (not officially 
published) (ruling that, notwithstanding the Supreme Court's ruling in Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, 490 
U.S. 228 (1989), and subsequent cases in other parts of the country suggesting that under Hopkins 
discrimination against transgendered persons might be forbidden by the sex discrimination ban in Title 
VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, nonetheless in the 7th Circuit the binding precedent remains that an 
employer does not violate Title VII by firing an employee for having a sex change operation).

Swofford, State v.,  2003 WL 21694915 (Wash. Ct. App., Div. 2, July 22, 2003) (not officially 
published) (accepting the state's concession that the trial judge erred by ordered HIV testing of the 
defendant without making a finding that he had engaged in conduct that would expose him or others to 
HIV infection).

Taylor v. NYU Medical Center_, 2003 WL 22953229, 2003 N.Y. Slip Op. 19543 (N.Y.App.Div., 
1st Dept., Dec. 16, 2003) (affirming an order by the Supreme Court in Manhattan rejecting defendant's 
motion to dismiss plaintiff's sexual orientation discrimination claim).

Taylor v. Taylor, 110 S.W.3d 731 (Ark. Sup.Ct., May 1, 2003) (ruling that a lower court may not 
modify a custody order solely because it believes that the children might suffer public ridicule in the 
future due to others' erroneous perception that their mother was engaged in a sexual relationship with 
another woman). 

Ten's Cabaret, Inc. f/k/a Stringfellow's of New York, Ltd. v. City of New York_, NYLJ, 9/16/2003, 
p. 18, col. 1 (N.Y. Supr. Ct., N.Y. Cty., Sept. 9, 2003), Justice Louis York struck down a New York 
City ordinance which would bar an "adult establishment" from operating within 500 feet of a bookstore 
or school.

Thomas v. State of Nebraska, 2003 WL 21398035 (Nb. Ct.App.June 17, 2003) (not officially 
published) (rejecting a former inmate's suit seeking damages for having been placed in segregation due 
to his HIV status).  

Tibbs v. Tibbs, 2003 WL 22748834 (Ky. Ct.App., Nov. 21, 2003) (not officially published) (rejecting 
an argument by Patricia Tibbs that the Circuit Court Judge had erred in taking account of Tibbs lesbian 
orientation in making a child custody decision).

Tratzinski v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 2003 WL 1477660 (Va. Ct. App., Mar. 25, 2003) (not 
officially published) (upholding a 2nd degree murder conviction of plaintiff, an HIV+ gay man, in the 
death of Jermaray Johnson).

Tronetti v. TLC Healthnet Lakeshore Hospital, 2003 WL 22757935 (W.D.N.Y. Sept. 26, 2003) (not 
officially published) (refusing to dismiss a complaint filed by a transgendered psychiatrist against her 
former employer for alleged violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964).

Uranga v. Federal Publications, 29 Media L.Rep. 1961 (Feb. 14, 2003) (ruling unanimously that a man 
could not sue a newspaper for invasion of privacy for publishing a court document that stated the man 
had a homosexual affair with his cousin).

U.S. v. Holston, 343 F.3d 83 (2nd Cir., Sept. 4, 2003) (ruling that recent Supreme Court decisions 
limiting federal legislative authority on federalism grounds do not undermine the constitutionality of the 
Protection of Children Against Sexual Exploitation Act of 1977, 18 U.S.C. sec. 2251(a), as amended 
in 1998 to authorize federal prosecution of child pornographers who use "materials that have been 
mailed, shipped, or transported in interstate or foreign commerce").

U.S. v. McCoy, No. 01-50495 (9th Cir., Mar. 20, 2003) (holding that Congress does not have 
authority to make it a federal crime for a person to make and possess "home-made" child pornography 
that was not intended to be place into the stream of commerce).

Vanderpool, State v., 2003 WL 22970973 (Wash. Ct.App., Dec. 18, 2003) (unpublished opinion) 
(upholding a 300-month exceptional prison sentence for Steven Leroy Vanderpool, an HIV+ man who 
was convicted of first degree child molestation).

Vandeveer v. Fort James Corp., 2003 WL 1466407 (7th Circ., Mar. 11, 2003) (unpublished opinion) 
(finding that a lesbian with multiple sclerosis was not entitled to a reasonable accommodation consisting 
of efforts by the employer to end an anti-gay atmosphere in the workplace that she blamed for a flare up 
of her illness, rendering her disabled).

Van Kmck v. Germany (June 12) (European Court of Human Rights held by 4 votes to 3 that German 
courts violated Articles 6 (right to a fair hearing) and 8 (respect for private life) of the European 
Convention on Human Rights, by interpreting a health insurance contract between a transsexual woman 
and a private insurance company as not requiring reimbursement of the cost of the hormones, surgery 
and other medical treatment required for her gender reassignment).
Veneziano v. Long Island Pipe Fabricators & Supply, 2003 WL 22416714 (3rd Cir., Oct. 23, 2003) 
(not officially published) (ruling that a former employee whose insurance coverage lapsed when he lost 
his job due to AIDS was entitled only to nominal damages for his employer's failure to notify him in a 
timely way of his right to apply for continued benefits coverage, since the district court found that the 
employer acted in good faith and that the short lapse in coverage did not prejudice the plaintiff).

Verdugo, People v., 2003 WL 21495158 (Cal.Ct.App., 2nd Dist., June 30, 2003) (not officially 
published) (upholding the standard pattern jury instructions of hate crimes.  Defendant was sentenced to 
life in prison without parole after a jury found him guilty of first degree murder.intentionally committed 
because of the victim's sexual orientation).

Victor V., People v., 2003 WL 1992493 (Cal.Ct.App., 5th Dist., Apr. 30, 2003) (not officially 
published) (finding that it was appropriate for the trial court to have ordered an HIV test for defendant, 
a minor, after the court had sustained allegations that he had engaged in sexual intercourse with a ten-
year old girl).

WERC AM/FM Radio v Coulter, 854 So.2d 1120 (Ala., Feb. 7, 2003) (slip opinion) (held 
sportscaster Paul Finebaum was entitled to summary judgment against a defamation and tort of outrage 
claims, brought by rival Coulter on the theory that Finebaum implied that Coulter is a homosexual).

Wessling v. State, 798 N.E.2d 929 (Ind. Ct.App., Nov. 21, 2003) (affirming plaintiff's conviction for 
manslaughter in the death of Lance Bunner, his domestic partner, but reversed the sentence due to 
errors by the trial judge in accounting for aggravating and mitigating factors).

Whitehurst v. Martin Medical Center, P.C., 2003 WL 22071467 (Tenn. App. Aug 28, 2003) (not 
officially published) (finding defendants not liable for defamation regarding an obstetrician/gynecologist 
who was the subject of rumors that she was sending her patients letters informing them that she had 
tested HIV+.  The court held that since no malice was shown, and the rumor-mongers sincerely 
believed the story and felt it was their duty to spread it).

Williams v. Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, 579 S.E.2d 231 (N.C.Sup.Ct., May 2, 2003) 
(ruling that the state constitution forbids the legislature from authorizing localities to pass civil rights 
ordinances that have the effect of regulating labor).

Williams v. Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, 581 S.E.2d 415 (N.C. Sup.Ct., June 13, 2003) 
(affirming that counties and municipalities in that state do not have authority to adopt employment 
discrimination laws that are broader than existing state laws).

Wilmoth, State v., 2003 WL 23663235 (Nov. 6, 2003) (not officially published) (rejecting Wilmoth's 
appeal of his conviction of attempted second-degree murder of his male roommate).
Wood v. Crown Redi-Mix, Inc., 339 F.3d 682 (8th Cir., Aug. 7, 2003) (holding that in order for the 
ADA to require an employer to accommodate an employee's physical impairment, the major life activity 
affected by the impairment must be logically related to the requested accommodation and in this case 
the inability to procreate resulting from a work-related back injury did not have a logical relationship in 
the court's view to the plaintiff's requested accommodation).

Yanowitz v. L'Oreal U.S.A. Inc., 69 P.3d 978 (Cal., June 11, 2003) (holding that a male executive's 
order to fire a female employee because she fails to meet the executive's standards for sexual 
attractiveness is an act of sex discrimination when no similar standards are applied to men).

Zachary Exline, In the Matter of, 2003 WL 685520 (Ohio. App. 7th Dist., Feb. 26, 2003) (not officially 
published) (upholding a lower court decision to award custody of a boy to his lesbian aunt instead of his 
mother because she was not mentally stable).

Legislative Notes: 
9/11 Fund Disbursement (Gay City News, Jan. 24, 2003) (Special Master Kenneth Feinberg, 
administrator of the Sept 11th Victim Compensation Fund awarded $557,390 in benefits to Peggy Neff, 
the surviving domestic partner of Sheila Hein, a civilian Army employee who died in the terrorist attack 
on the Pentagon).

Belgium legislates Same-Sex Marriage (Assoc. Press Jan. 30, 2003) (Belgium's House of 
Representatives approved a measure already passed in the Senate to become the second country to 
embrace same-sex marriages; however, unlike the Netherlands, Belgium still does not allow same-sex 
partners to adopt children, although single gay people may).

In early April 2003, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson signed into law S.B.38 title the "Hate 
Crimes Act" under which the courts are authorized to impose an enhanced sentence if the jury finds that 
a defendant's non-capital felony was motivated by hate on the basis of the victim's actual or perceived 
.sexual orientation or gender identity.  In addition, he signed S.B.28 which amends the state's civil 
rights laws to add sexual orientation and gender identity. Plus he signed an executive order, No.2003-
0010 which extended employee benefits to the committed same-sex partners of state employees.  

N.Y. State Education Department Hearing Officer Dr. Joel M. Douglas upheld the discharge of 
Terence Brunson, a tenured N.Y.C. social-studies teacher at Morris High School, for his anti-lesbian 
speech and actions at the school. Department of Education of City District of the City of New York and 
Terence Brunson, SED File No. 4536 (Oct. 18, 2003).  

International Cases:

Australia: Family Court of Australia has affirmed the ruling of Family Court Judge Chisholm in the case 
of Attorney General for the Commonwealth v. Kevin and Jennifer, Appeal No. EA 97/2001 
(Feb. 21, 2003), finding that "Kevin," a post-operative female-to-male transsexual, should be 
considered a man for purposes of the law and thus qualified to marry Jennifer.

Australia: On Aug. 6, 2003 in the United Nations Human Rights Committee in Young v. Australia, 
Communication No. 941/2000.  (The Committee's "views" are available at http://www.unhchr.ch, 
Treaty Bodies Database Search, "Edward Young.") Edward Young had been in a 38-year relationship 
with his partner, Mr. C., a war veteran.  After Mr. C.'s death, Mr. Young applied for a veteran's 
dependant pension under the federal Veteran's Entitlement Act (VEA), which defines "dependant" as 
including a "partner," and "partner" as a person "living with a person of the opposite sex ... in a 
marriage-like relationship." He argued that the denial of a pension constituted sexual orientation 
discrimination contrary to Article 26 of the Covenant: "All persons ... are entitled without discrimination 
to the equal protection of the law...[T]he law shall...guarantee ... protection against discrimination on any 
ground such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, 
property, birth or other status." The Committee found that the [Australian Government] violated article 
26.by denying [Mr. Young] a pension on the basis of his sex or sexual orientation. 

Canada: The Supreme Court of Canada rejected an attempt by private parties to interject themselves 
into the same-sex marriage litigation.  In a unanimous disposition announced on October 9, 2003 the 
court granted a motion to quash applications for leave to appeal the marriage decision by the Ontario 
Court of Appeals, which had been filed by right-wing and religious groups, and also dismissed motions 
by these groups to be added as parties to the case for purpose of obtaining standing to appeal. The 
Association for Marriage and the Family in Ontario v. Halpern; The Interfaith Coalition on 
Marriage and Family v. Halpern, No. 29879.

European Court: On June 10, 2003 Advocate General (Mr.) D maso Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer of the 
European Court of Justice in Luxembourg (E.C.J.) delivered his Opinion (available at 
http://europa.eu.int/jurisp/cgi-bin/form.pl?lang=en) in Case C-117/01, K.B. v. National Health 
Service Pensions Agency.  The case, referred to the E.C.J. by the Court of Appeal (of England and 
Wales), concerns the non-eligibility of the transsexual male partner of a non-transsexual female 
employee for a "widower's pension" if she were to pre-decease him.  Colomer found that "the unequal 
treatment to which transsexuals are subject amounts to sexual discrimination," because "the impediment 
to marriage in [K.B.] is based on ... the gender reassignment of [the employee's partner], which is 
covered by Article 141 E.C., following [P.]."

Israel: The Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot has reported that a family court in Nazareth ruled against 
a claim by a surviving gay life partner to inherit from his intestate deceased.  The court ruled Oct. 15, 
2003 in the case of Doe v. Administrator General that the legal principal allowing unmarried 
opposite-sex long-term partners to inherit did not apply to same-sex couples.  An appeal is being 
pursued.

Scotland: A Scottish Appeal Court panel ruled on July 22 that "shameless indecency" is not a crime in 
Scotland.  The term was used in a 19th century treatise and then taken up by some courts as a sort-of 
catch-all criminal offense, but the court found that it was unduly vague in letting judges send people to 
prison for conduct that the judge might find personally offensive but was nowhere specified in the law. 
Procurator Fiscal, Dunoon v. Dominick, #XJ147/30. Gay Scotland #147 - Nov. 2003.

South Africa: On July 31, 2003 in Marie Fourie & Cecelia Bonthuys v. Minister of Home Affairs, 
Case CCT 25/03, the Constitutional Court of South Africa refused an application by a lesbian couple 
for leave to appeal directly to the Constitutional Court, from the Oct. 18, 2002 decision of the Pretoria 
High Court dismissing their constitutional challenge to the exclusion of same-sex couples from civil 
marriage.

South Africa: Adopting what it called an "incremental step" in common law development, the Supreme 
Court of Appeal of South Africa ruled in Du Plessis v. Road Accident Fund, Case No. 443/2002 
(Sept. 19, 2003), that the surviving gay life partner of a road accident victim was entitled to apply to the 
Fund for compensation on the same basis as a surviving legal spouse.

UK: Since the July 11, 2002, judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (Strasbourg Court) in 
Goodwin v. United Kingdom (Sept. 2002 Law Notes), the UK has been in ongoing violation of 
Articles 8 (respect for private life) and 12 (right to marry) of the European Convention on Human 
Rights, by failing to permit transsexual men and women to change the sex on their birth certificates and 
to contract a different-sex marriage in their reassigned sex.  The only question has been when the UK 
will remedy this violation, and whether the remedy will be provided by the judiciary, or by a 
combination of executive and legislative action.  On April 10, 2003 in Bellinger v. Bellinger, a panel 
of five Law Lords of the House of Lords (the United Kingdom's highest appellate court) unanimously 
declined to provide an immediate remedy and left compliance with the Strasbourg Court's judgment in 
Goodwin to the executive and legislature (for the full text of Bellinger, google "House of Lords 
Judgments").

UK: On June 19, 2003 a five-judge panel of the (judicial) House of Lords, the United Kingdom's 
highest court, unanimously rejected arguments that the dismissal of a gay member of the Royal Air 
Force (R.A.F.), and a public school's failure to deal with the harassment of a lesbian teacher by her 
students, violated the employment provisions of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975.  The arguments were 
made in Macdonald v. Advocate General for Scotland, on appeal from the Court of Session, Inner 
House (Scotland) (Summer 2001 Law Notes), and Pearce v. Governing Body of Mayfield School, 
on appeal from the Court of Appeal (England and Wales).   The Law Lords combined the cases into a 
single ruling.