Herland Legal Defense Fund Guidelines

(approved by HSR Board of Directors 6-30-97)

The Herland Legal Defense Fund's purpose is to promote lesbian and gay equal rights through the legal system by providing community education, professional education and referrals and direct financial assistance in cases involving lesbian issues within the jurisdiction of Oklahoma.

Criteria for selection of cases:

§ Cases, trial or appeal, that can make effective use of existing positive lesbian precedents such as Fox.

§ In appeal cases, the judge's ruling can be construed as indicating that sexual orientation was a consideration in deciding the case.

§ Potential for legal success will be a priority for funding of cases by the Herland LDF. Volunteer attorneys will advise HSRLDF in this area.

Application Process:

Requests for assistance will be made in person to the HSRLDF committee. The committee will report to the Herland Board of Directors.

Copies of all relevant documents will be provided to the HSRLDF committee.

All applications will be reviewed by at least one volunteer attorney, who is not the attorney for the case in question, who will make a recommendation to the LDF regarding the case.

HSRLDF Operating Procedures

The following types of expenses will be considered for payment: expert witness, filing fees, transcripts, and other litigation support expenses. Attorney fees will be paid only when there are specific fundraising efforts toward those fees.

Women involved in cases supported by the HSRLDF will be encouraged to seek assistance through the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund and National Lesbian Resource Center.

The HSRLDF committee and it's attorney review board will hold as confidential the identity of persons receiving support through the fund and all information about the cases. The attorney review board will be asked to assist in developing guidelines for individuals involved in the cases regarding media and publicity.

All payments from the HSRLDF fund will be made directly to the individual's attorney on documented expenses.

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