An anti-homosexual letter to the editor published last month in a statewide legal journal has drawn criticism from some of the state's most prominent lawyers, including Utah Attorney General Jan Graham.
Voir Dire, a semiannual publication of the Litigation Section of the Utah State Bar, published the letter from Ogden lawyer Mark H. Gould, who attacked the journal's decision to spotlight attorney Jane Marquardt.Gould wrote that Marquardt is an admitted homosexual who "shares a lifestyle which is endorsed by only a very small percentage of people. Those who enter into this lifestyle are behaving illegally and immorally."
The journal was sent to more than 6,000 members of the Utah State Bar in early February. Editor Kate Toomey received dozens of letters responding to Gould's letter within a week of its publication.
The overwhelming response was negative and prompted Salt Lake attorney Francis M. Wikstrom and six others to circulate a letter condemning Gould's position, Wikstrom said.
"Ms. Marquardt's sexual orientation has nothing to do with her ability to practice law or to be an outstanding member of the bar. By contrast, one's eligibility to participate in civilized society, must less to practice law, is substantially compromised by bigotry and insensitivity. Intolerance has no place in our profession," the letter states.
Graham signed the letter along with 121 other attorneys who represent a broad political spectrum. Others who signed include Weber County Attorney Mark DeCaria, prominent civil attorneys Dale A. Kimball, David K. Watkiss, Randy L. Dryer, Stephen B. Nebeker, Jeffrey J. Hunt, Peter W. Billings and Alan L. Sullivan.
Several former bar presidents, including Paul T. Moxley and Dennis V. Haslam, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brooke C. Wells and Salt Lake County prosecutors Barbara J. Byrne, Michael J. Christensen and Trina A. Mann also signed the letter.
It will appear in the Utah Bar Journal later this week; letters submitted by individual attorneys will be published in Voir Dire's summer issue, Toomey said.
Graham said it was easy for her to decide to lend her support.
"(Gould's letter) made me very sad. I thought it was very hateful and completely inconsistent with everything that we as Utah lawyers stand for," she said Tuesday.
Also, Graham said, Marquardt deserves all the praise she gets.
Gould wrote he was upset that Voir Dire would "hold this person (Marquardt) up as some kind of role model or someone who is typical of the best of our profession." He said the letter was difficult to write and that he knew he was raising a sensitive subject. "But I feel it is an important one," he wrote.
The journal devoted a full page to Marquardt under the headline, "A Credit to the Profession," in its winter 1996 edition.
The article focused on Marquardt's work as an attorney and volunteer, which spans 20 years in Utah. She is the former president of the Weber County Bar Association and has served on two bar committees examining attorney ethics and discipline; she is also known in the Ogden community for her devotion to several charitable organizations. The article made no direct mention of her sexual orientation.
Toomey said some attorneys have questioned the journal's decision to run Gould's letter, which she read to Marquardt before it was published.
"We thought he had a right to say what he said," she said.
Marquardt agreed, noting part of the role of a legal magazine is to serve as a forum for its readers.
"His opinion is unfortunate, but he's entitled to it," she said. "I've been out for a long time; I guess it's something you expect."
She said she was most surprised by Gould's claim that her lifestyle was illegal. "It clearly isn't," she said.
Marquardt does not plan to respond to the letter with one of her own. "My life speaks for itself," she concluded.
Gould refused to comment on his position when contacted by the Deseret News. "My letter speaks for itself," he said.