American Bar Association Honors Transgender Judge

The American Bar Association’s Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity has announced that Phyllis Randolph Frye, a City of Houston Municipal Courts associate judge who reportedly is the first openly transgender judge to be appointed in Texas, is one of the recipients of the 2017 Stonewall Awards.
The American Bar Association’s Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity has announced that Phyllis Randolph Frye, a City of Houston Municipal Courts associate judge who reportedly is the first openly transgender judge to be appointed in Texas, is one of the recipients of the 2017 Stonewall Awards.

Appreciating Phyllis Randolph Frye

The American Bar Association’s Commission on Sexual  Orientation and Gender Identity has announced that Phyllis Randolph Frye, a City of Houston Municipal Courts associate judge who reportedly is the first openly transgender judge to be appointed in Texas, is one of the recipients of the 2017 Stonewall Awards. The awards, named for the 1969 police raid and riot at the Stonewall Inn in New York City, honor lawyers who have advanced lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals in the legal business and who have championed LGBT legal causes.

Phyllis, born Phillip, transitioned in the 1970s and, after earning a J.D. from the University of Houston College of Law, convened the first International Conference on Transgender Law & Employment Policy. Frye also maintains a law practice at Frye, Benavidez, and O’Neil in Houston.

The award will be bestowed at the February 2018 ABA Midyear Meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Lori Tripoli is a freelance writer and editor in Bedford, N.Y.

 

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