Lambda Legal Seeks Mandamus in Transgender Court Access Case
Lambda Legal has announced it will ask the Illinois Supreme Court to compel a suburban Chicago court to follow proper court procedure for a transgender woman seeking a name change.
The woman, who wants to change her name from Donald Turner to Daunn Turner, sought a waiver of court fees when she filed a petition for a name change in the Will County court. The complaint (PDF), sent to the supreme court yesterday by overnight mail, says Turner is disabled and makes little income.
Turner claims an employee in the office of court clerk Pamela McGuire refused to file the papers or open a file and referred her to Chief Judge Stephen White, who later rejected her waiver request in a phone call.
The complaint alleges the judge told Turner he would not spend county money on the request and she should ask her friends to give her money on her birthday to fund the name change. White told ABAJournal.com that he would never make such a statement, although he does return phone calls. He doesn’t specifically recall Turner.
White said the court clerk sends would-be litigants to his office when they do not have filing fees. He said he reviews waiver requests on a case-by-case basis, and many factors have to be weighed. One of the factors, he said, is whether the legal petition is “a need or if that is a want.” Petitions for “wants” may be able to be filed at a later date when a litigant has a chance to save the money for a filing fee, he said.
Christopher Clark, a senior staff lawyer with Lambda Legal in Chicago, said the organization is filing a motion for leave to file a complaint seeking a writ of mandamus. He says the Illinois statute governing fee waivers requires a determination based only on financial factors.
“I think this matter raises important questions about access to the judicial process and the judicial system,” Clark told ABAJournal.com. “The determination of whether or not you are not indigent has nothing to do with the perceived necessity or importance of the underlying action. It is about your financial condition.”
