CHICAGO, Oct. 24, 2024 — The American Bar Association Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity will honor Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge D. Zeke Zeidler with its Stonewall Award during the annual awards reception from 5:30-7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 1 2025, at the ABA Midyear Meeting at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel in Phoenix, Arizona.
Named after the New York City Stonewall Inn police raid and riot of June 28, 1969, which was a turning point in the gay rights movement, the award recognizes lawyers who have considerably advanced lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals in the legal profession and successfully championed LGBT legal causes.
A longtime advocate for LGBTQ rights, Zeidler has led efforts to bring about positive change throughout his extensive legal career. In 2004, he was the first openly gay man initially elected to the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. He is a former president of the International Association of LGBTQ+ Judges.
“A big part of judicial ethics is about treating people with dignity and respect and ensuring others are too,” Zeidler said recently. “The court deals with people from every walk of life ... Understanding the litigants who come before us is a major part of the judicial branch’s dedication to diversity and inclusion."
Zeidler was appointed as a juvenile court referee in 1998, where he was full time in the Edelman Children’s Court and earlier was senior staff attorney for Dependency Court Legal services, where he represented more than 2,000 children and other parties in Juvenile Dependency Court. He continues to focus on juvenile issues.
He is a member, chair or board member of number of legal, judicial and professional organizations, including the Judicial Council, Center for Judicial Education and Research, National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, California Judges Association, California Court Commissioners Association and the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles.
Zeidler was elected to the Redondo Beach Unified School District School Board in 1995 and served as president from 1997-1998. He was reelected to the board in 1999.
Zeidler has a B.A. from California State University, Northridge and a J.D. from Loyola Law School.
The ABA Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity leads the ABA’s commitment to diversity, inclusion and full and equal participation by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the ABA, the legal profession and society. Created in 2007, the commission seeks to secure equal treatment in the ABA, the legal profession and the justice system without regard to sexual orientation or gender identity.
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