I Hope Judge Marisa Demeo Invited Jim DeMint To Her OUT 100 Acceptance Party

This morning I was thumbing through the latest-- 16th annual-- OUT 100. I recognized lots of people, like Ricky Martin, Christine Quinn, Nate Silver, Rachel Maddow, Scissor Sisters, and Rufus Wainwright, but there were far more who I had never heard of, especially in the fashion industry. I came across one woman though, who I had heard of-- via a Senate hearing and vote-- but who I had either forgotten was gay or just never knew. Her name is Marisa Demeo and she was nominated to the D.C. Superior Court by President Obama. This is how Out described her undera photo of her with country singer Chely Wright, Iranian-American indie-rocker Rostam Batmanglij of Vampire Weekend and playwright Marc Wolf.

Judge Marisa Demeo’s history of support for gay rights and work with the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund made her recent appointment to the D.C. superior court a contentious one. Senate Republicans, led by South Carolina senator Jim DeMint, obstructed her confirmation for more than a year before it was approved by a two-to-one margin in April. Demeo, a former D.C. magistrate judge, is a member of the Human Rights Campaign and Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund.

Before Judge Demeo was finally-- and overwhelmingly-- confirmed by the Senate on April 20, DeMint had managed to stall and filibuster her nomination for just over a year, Obama having nominated her in March of 2009. It was the longest pending nomination on the Senate calendar. What could you expect from the Republicans when dealing with a Latina and a lesbian? DeMint's "concerns"-- and that of the bigoted cronies he has around him-- were due to her work with gay rights groups and Mexican American Legal Defense Fund. Get the smelling salts!

As a result of delays on Superior Court Judges like Demeo, Lee Satterfield, the Chief Judge of the D.C. Court, has written Senators Reid and McConnell on several occasions to talk about the "dire situation" on the D.C. Court, which continues to face a backlog due to retirements and vacancies.

There's simply no legitimate reason why Demeo should be blocked from a confirmation vote. She is highly experienced and qualified for this position. 

• Since 2007, Demeo has served with distinction as a Magistrate Judge in the D.C. Superior Court’s criminal division. She has presided over more than 100 bench trials and more than 300 detention and preliminary hearings. 

• From 2004 to 2007, Demeo served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C.  As a federal prosecutor, she obtained 30 indictments and tried 45 criminal cases.

• Demeo served as regional counsel at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF), where she became an expert on immigration law and other policy issues affecting the Hispanic community.

• Demeo began her legal career at the Department of Justice, where she served for three years as a trial attorney in the DOJ honors program.

• Demeo has also served as adjunct professor at Howard University Law School, teaching criminal and immigration law.

Ugly Republican faces of hatred & bigotry

The vote to break DeMint's filibuster was "the first time in history that the Senate has filed cloture on a D.C. Superior Court Judge." In the end only the 32 most bigoted Republicans voted against confirmation. Every Democrat plus 8 more mainstream Republicans voted to confirm her. GOP closet cases Lindsey Graham and Mitch McConnell both voted NO.