Vaughn R. Walker

Vaughn R. Walker,(born 1944) is the Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.

Biography

Walker was born in Watseka, Illinois, and graduated from the University of Michigan in 1966 and Stanford Law School in 1970. After serving as a law clerk for United States District Court for the Central District of California judge Robert J. Kelleher from 1971 to 1972, he practiced in San Francisco at Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro from 1972 until his September 7, 1989, nomination by President George H. W. Bush to the federal district court.[citation needed] Walker was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on November 21, 1989, on unanimous consent and received commission on November 27, 1989. Walker is one of two federal judges publicly known to be gay.

Views

Walker believes in a legal approach known as law and economics.

Walker's original nomination to the bench by Ronald Reagan in 1987 stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee because of controversy over his representation of the United States Olympic Committee in a lawsuit that prohibited the use of the title "Gay Olympics". Two dozen House Democrats, led by Rep. Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco, opposed his nomination because of his alleged "insensitivity" to gays and the poor. Years later, the San Francisco Chronicle noted the irony of this opposition due to Walker's sexual orientation.

Walker is an unorthodox judge who has called for auctioning lead counsel status in securities class actions and for the legalization of drugs.

A San Francisco Chronicle columnist and reporter wrote in a commentary that Judge Walker has an "aversion to harsh sentences for well-educated, well-heeled criminals and, in particular, perpetrators of securities fraud."

Wired magazine describes Walker as having libertarian leanings.

Cases

Walker has presided over notable cases including lawsuits over NSA warrantless surveillance, the criminal sentencing of radio host Bernie Ward, the breach of TD Ameritrade's customer information database, the Apple Computer, Inc. v. Microsoft Corporation copyright infringement case, antitrust litigation over the Hearst Corporation's purchase of the San Francisco Chronicle, and Oracle's merger/hostile takeover of PeopleSoft, approved despite Justice Department opposition.

In 1999 Walker rejected arguments from the parents of a San Leandro boy who claimed their religious rights were violated by pro-gay comments their son's teacher had made in the classroom. In 2005, Walker sided with the city of Oakland against two employees who placed fliers promoting "natural family, marriage and family values." Walker wrote in an opinion that the city had "significant interests in restricting discriminatory speech about homosexuals. . . .(and has) a duty under state law to prevent workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation."

On 11 January 2010, Walker began hearing arguments for Perry v. Schwarzenegger. The case is a federal-constitutional challenge to California Proposition 8, a state referendum that defined marriage in the California constitution to reflect the federal definition found in the Defense of Marriage Act (known as DOMA), a definition previously expressed by the majority of Californians in Prop 22.

On 4 August 2010, Walker ruled that California Proposition 8 was unconstitutional in Perry v. Schwarzenegger. The decision is expected to be appealed.

On 4 August, 2010, University of Notre Dame legal scholar Gerard V. Bradley criticized Walker, for refusing to recuse himself, citing a July 21, 2010 L.A. Times article observing that the openly gay Walker is often seen at social events in the company of a companion, a physician."If (as The Times suggests) Judge Walker is in a stable same-sex relationship, then he might wish or even expect to wed should same-sex marriage become legally available in California." 14

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