60- ROBERT LEE – Judge, 17th District Circuit Court
When Robert Lee attended the University of Florida College of Law, he thought about what it would be like to be a judge. In August of 1997, he found out when he was appointed to the Broward County Court of Florida by former Governor Lawton Chiles. By that point in his life, he made no secret that he was gay. Moreover, he provided legal advice to the pro gay organization Broward United Against Discrimination—ending up writing a brief for a successful case that made it all the way to the state’s Supreme Court. While Robert’s appointment to a judgeship was historic, it was not as dramatic a moment in his life as his participation in the Gay & Lesbian March on Washington in 1993. The purpose of that march was to demand full equality for tax purposes for gay, lesbian and bisexual domestic partners. How times have changed.
