Judith Semler

    

Judith Semler
Judith Semler in 2012
Chairwoman of the Supreme Court of the United Commonwealth
Incumbent
Assumed office 18 April 2004
Preceded by	Imel Walker
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Commonwealth
In office 15 October 1996 – 18 April 2004
Full member of the 31st–37th Central Committees
Incumbent
Assumed office 10 August 1997
Personal details
Born	(1942-10-21)21 October 1942 Brooklyn, New York, Congregationalist States United Commonwealth
Nationality	Continental
Political party	Continentalist Party
Spouse(s)	Mel T. Brooks
Children	2
Alma mater	Harvard University (BA, JD)
Religion	Irreligious
Awards	See below
Central institution membership 1997–: Full member, 31st, 32nd, 33rd, 34th, 35th, 36th, 37th Central Committees 1993–97: Observer member, 30th Central Committee

Judith Liberta Semler (born 21 October 1942) is a Continental lawyer and jurist who has served as Chairwoman of the Supreme Court of the United Commonwealth since 2004, having served on the court since her election in 1996. She was also elected an observer member of the 30th Cental Committee in 1993, and as a full member of the 31st in 1997, continuing to serve on subsequent central committees to the present.

Semler was born in Brooklyn, New York to German-Jewish and Russian-Jewish parents, her father working as a dentist and her mother Deborah Semler serving as a clerk and office manager for the local Continentalist Party branch. A dedicated member of the Continentalist Youth League and her local community, Semler achieved recognition as a talented essay writer and joined the Continentalist Party as a young adult. She attended Harvard University and graduated with a dual major in history and government, before attending Harvard Law School and graduating in 1966 with a Juris Doctor, magna cum laude. Returning to New York City, Semler worked as a corporate lawyer in the Manhattan Island Exclusive Economic Zone for a number of years, but became disillusioned with corporate work and turned her specialization to family affairs. In 1970 she was hired as an assistant district attorney in New York County. She also became an active volunteer in her local community, a member of the Federation of Continental Women, and worked part-time in the New York branch of the People's Commissariat for Justice civil rights division. In 1972 her activism led to her being elected a representative of the Continental Law Society, a mass organization for legal specialists and academics.

As a lawyer in New York City, Semler took on a heavy workload of cases pertaining to murder, homelessness, police brutality, and discrimination, gaining a reputation as someone not afraid to venture into squalid conditions to interview witnesses. She was also praised for her volunteer work in a number of gay rights cases. Over the next decade, Semler would argue 35 cases before the Supreme Court, prevailing in 29 of them. Gaining notoriety for her "no-nonsense" attitude and fierce dedication in high-profile cases, Semler was appointed a criminal court judge in 1976, serving on the New York City Campaign Finance Board for the next four years. In 1979 she achieved national attention for overturning corruption in the New York City mayoral election, which revealed a scheme to diminish the power of minority voters. In 1980 Semler was appointed to the U.C. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, where she would serve over the course of the next 16 years, hearing appeals in more than 4,000 cases and writing about 600 opinions when she was in the majority, four of which being affirmed by the Supreme Court and one being reversed. She also served as an adjunct professor at the New York University School of Law and Columbia Law School. In 1993 Semler was elected an observer member of the 30th Central Committee, being elected as a full member to the 31st Central Commitee in 1997. As a member of the Central Committee, Semler was appointed to the Administrative Division and worked to legally clear and rehabilitate a number of past Party members who had been expelled during the early half of the 20th-century. She was simultaneously appointed to a position in the Central Auditing Commission from 1990 to 1996.

In 1996 she was recommended for the Supreme Court of the United Commonwealth by President Jackson Rothko and was elected by a session of the National People's Congress. While on the court she became known as a mostly liberal justice who identifies strongly with concerns regarding political reform, criminal justice reform, and racial and gender based discrimination. In 2004 she was elected Chairwoman of the Supreme Court, continuing to serve in this position to the present. She is currently the oldest serving chairperson in the history of the Continentalist States. Semler had a crucial role in the removal of Anthony Malito from office in 2018, receiving praise for her impartiality and service to the law.

Media appearances

Semler became well known in the late 1970s for appearing on a number of televised and dramatized court cases, which aired from 1977 to 1979. According to Semler, she took the opportunity to appear in the shows to educate the public on legal proceedings and to create a positive role model for young girls. Although only appearing in a handful of programs, Semler became famous for her hard attitude against those who lied in court and her humorous catchphrases, leading to her appearances reappearing on television numerous times over the next few years. She again filmed a number of television programs in the early 1990s, and also made a number ofguest appearances on various shows, including Commonwealth Tonight in 1992, as a guest star in Law & Order in 1992 and 1995, and as part of an Archive of Continental Television program that aired in 1996. She has also guest consulted for Law & Order on a handful of occasions. In 2013 she had a minor cameo in the movie The Wolf of Wall Street. She was the subject of a Continental Biographies segment in 2000, and the subject of the 2016 documentary Her Honor. In 2017 she appeared in an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, presiding over a sketch comedy court case with Larry David as the plaintiff. As of 2022, Semler has published 15 books of various subject matter, including Don't Pee on My Leg and Tell Me It's Raining in 1992.

Awards

• Hero of Socialist Labor (2016)
• Eugene V. Debs Award (2019)
• Order of the Revolution (x2) (1979) (2010)
• Order of the Red Banner of Labor (1984)
• Order of the Crimson Star (2014)
• Medal "For Strengthening of Brotherhood in Arms" (1992)
• Order of John Marshall (1980)
• Commissariat of Justice Exceptional Service Award (1975)
• Order of the Sword of Justice (1992)
• Medal for "Lawyer of the Year" (1995)
• Tournesol: Order of the Golden Star of Topèque (2011)
• Quebec: Order of the St. Lawrence (2015)
• Honorary Diploma of the Presidium of the Continental Congress of America (2002)
• Honorary law degree from Brooklyn Law School (1999)
• Honorary law degree from Princeton University (2001)
• Honorary law degree from Northeastern University School of Law (2005)
• Honorary law degree from Yale University (2010)

In 2000 Semler was elected a member of the Continental Philosophical Society. House Development-18 in Brooklyn, New York was renamed the Justice Judith Semler Houses and Community Center in 2016, which includes 30 buildings and houses 3,800 residents. The Judith Semler Learning Academy in new York was also named after her in 2020. In 2018 she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.

See also

Political offices
Preceded by Imel Walker	Chairwoman of the Supreme Court of the United Commonwealth 2004−present	Incumbent