Jerold A. Krieger ((1943-12-12)December 12, 1943 – (2002-02-14)February 14, 2002)[2][3] was a judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court known for his work fighting for civil rights for gays, minorities and the disadvantaged.
[2] California Governor Jerry Brown named Krieger to the Los Angeles Municipal Court on December 31, 1982.
[2] In 1988, Krieger successfully ran for an open seat on the Los Angeles County Superior Court, winning by a large margin.
[14] It found many situations where people in the courts system, including parties to cases, workers, and jurors, were subject to bias.
Krieger stated, "The study shows that there is both a perception and in some cases actual unequal treatment based upon sexual orientation.
"[15] "It's a wake-up call of how much work needs to be done," said Jon W. Davidson, attorney for the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund.
"[2] Krieger's subcommittee made many recommendations for "ensuring that the court system is fair and accessible to all persons in the state of California" in regards to sexual orientation.
These included improving training, developing a diverse pool of clerks and interns, changing the Standards of Judicial Administration to prevent retaliation against whistleblowers, and studying bias in hiring and promotion.
[2][17] Rabbi Lisa Edwards of Temple Beth Chayim Chadashim recalls that Judge Krieger "used to laugh and sigh with me at the irony that the state of California authorized the two of us to officiate and sign marriage licenses – could even do so for a couple who had been together one day – but that same state of California wouldn't let either of us marry our own partners of so many years.