First US transgender trial judge is sworn in

Victoria Kolakowski made history this week when she became the first trans person to be sworn in as a trial judge in the US.

The trans campaigner, who has over 20 years of legal and judicial experience, took the oath of office at a special session of the Superior Court of California on Tuesday.

Her wife and parents were present at the ceremony.

Speaking before the ceremony, Ms Kolakowski told Dot429.com: “It’s been very hard as a transgender person.

“We’re a community that’s chronically under- and unemployed and I’ve encountered that sort of discrimination in the past, but we’re making so much more progress now. In terms of my career, I think part of it is hard work and perseverance, and part of it is good luck.”

California state Senator Ellen Corbett introduced her as “a friend, a colleague, a trailblazer,” saying, “as we celebrate this new decade we mark our own start and our own first….We all know the tremendous hurdles that [she] and the transgender community have overcome.”

In the race, she beat deputy district attorney John Creighton with 51 to 48 per cent of the vote.