Appeals court rebukes New York judge for repeatedly refusing to seal trans name change records

A New York judge has come under fire for repeatedly declining to seal records for transgender people legally changing their names.

Keep up with the latest in LGBTQ+ news and politics. Sign up for The Advocate's email newsletter.

New York State Supreme Court Justice James Walsh has, over the past two years, declined to seal records, including once for a 13-year-old, only to see appellate courts overrule his decision, according to the Times Union in Albany.

The judge, who declined to speak on cases to the newspaper, in court proceedings offered reasoning that “public interest concerns” such as background checks and genealogy records outweighed fears of online harassment, work discrimination, or the risk of hate crimes.

Related: Judge nixes Justice Department subpoena of telehealth trans health care provider

Related: Federal court rejects Trump Justice Department’s effort to access trans kids’ medical records

An appellate judge, in a February decision overturning Walsh, noted the history of his rulings. “We are once again confronted with the denial of a sealing request in a Civil Rights Law article 6 proceeding — by the same Supreme Court justice — predicated on amorphous ‘public interest concerns,’” wrote Appellate Judge Eddie J. McShan in a ruling.

The habit of denying privacy concerns for transgender New Yorkers drew media attention last year, when Them noted the Supreme Court Appellate Division, on the same day, overturned three rulings by Walsh denying record seals on name changes.

“In a ‘customary’ case like this one, protecting the applicant from the threat of harm posed by an open court record of a name change proceeding necessarily takes priority over the public’s ability to access that court record,” wrote Appellate Justice Sharon A.M. Aarons in a decision at the time.

Related: Conservative Supreme Court justices curb California’s effort to shield transgender students from forced outing

Walsh did not deny requests to change the people’s names, but repeatedly declined to seal records from public scrutiny.

Sealing of records happens automatically in New York for divorce proceedings, adoptions, and other legal matters involving the changing of legal names, but it must be requested when an individual elects to change their legal name for another purpose, such as gender transitioning.