Antoine B. Craigwell graduated from Bernard M. Baruch College of the City University of New York with a double major in psychology and journalism. As a journalist, he has written for several publications. His articles have appeared in Fortune Small Business (FSB), the Villager Newspapers in Northeastern Connecticut, The Bronx Times Reporter and The Bronx Times, The Amsterdam News, and recently for The Network Journal, in New York City.
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By Sr. Correspondent, Antoine Craigwell
(New York, NY) -A New York State appeals court on Oct 21 overturned a lower court's decision which had ordered that a transgender person seeking to change his or her name must provide medical evidence of the need for a name change. The appellate court ruling in the case of Leah Uri Winn-Ritzenberg, who had petitioned the court to change her name to Olin Winn-Ritzenberg, was delivered following the combined efforts of the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF) as part of its Name Change Project. Arguments for the case before the Appellate Court were presented by Daniel Gonen, as lead counsel, and legal briefs submitted by attorneys from the law firm Debevoise & Plimpton and from the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, on behalf of Winn-Ritzenberg.
| A lower civil court had denied Winn-Ritzenberg's petition for a name change because there was no certification from a doctor, psychotherapist, or social worker who had determined the need for a name change. In its decision, the appellate court stated, "There is no sound basis in law or policy to engraft upon the statutory provisions an additional requirement that a transgendered-petitioner present medical substantiation for the desired name change." |
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By Sr. Correspondent, Antoine Craigwell
(New York, NY) -A New York State appeals court on Oct 21 overturned a lower court's decision which had ordered that a transgender person seeking to change his or her name must provide medical evidence of the need for a name change. The appellate court ruling in the case of Leah Uri Winn-Ritzenberg, who had petitioned the court to change her name to Olin Winn-Ritzenberg, was delivered following the combined efforts of the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF) as part of its Name Change Project. Arguments for the case before the Appellate Court were presented by Daniel Gonen, as lead counsel, and legal briefs submitted by attorneys from the law firm Debevoise & Plimpton and from the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, on behalf of Winn-Ritzenberg.
| A lower civil court had denied Winn-Ritzenberg's petition for a name change because there was no certification from a doctor, psychotherapist, or social worker who had determined the need for a name change. In its decision, the appellate court stated, "There is no sound basis in law or policy to engraft upon the statutory provisions an additional requirement that a transgendered-petitioner present medical substantiation for the desired name change."
Attorney Michael Silverman, TLDEF executive director, said, "The appellate court's ruling sends a powerful message that transgender people must be treated equally and that they cannot be subjected to different legal requirements than everyone else. People's names are fundamental to their identities. This ruling confirms that each one of us has the right to be known by a name we choose. That choice can't be second-guessed by doctors, therapists or anyone else just because someone is transgender." "The ruling in my case confirms that transgender people should be treated with the same dignity and respect as everyone else," Winn-Ritzenberg added. |