Note: This obituary was issued Feb. 26 by Lambda Legal.
The Honorable Patricia Logue ("Pat" to her friends, Trish" to her family) was a brilliant lawyer, a trailblazing jurist and a hero to the LGBTQ community. Pat's legacy includes numerous landmark cases she litigated over her 14 years as a lawyer with Lambda Legal, many of which transformed the lives of LGBTQ+ people nationwide.
Colleagues remember Pat as a visionary, risk-taker and optimist, who invariably chose the boldest and bravest path to victory. U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, who honored Pat in the Congressional record, said, "Pat's life and work are a call to action, a reminder that each of us has the power to effect significant change. We owe Patricia M. Logue a debt of gratitude for her leadership, courage, intellect, and compassion."
Pat was a pioneer in fighting for the rights of students. In Nabozny v. Podelsny, Pat won the first-court opinion holding that a school has an obligation to protect students from anti-gay harassment. Pat, together with fellow Lambda Legal attorney David Buckel and David Springer at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom represented Jamie Nabozny, a gay high school student who had been brutally bullied and assaulted. Instead of protecting Jamie from harassment, his school told him that it was his fault for being gay. A jury awarded Jamie close to $1 million. An appeals court upheld the verdict, and the case put school districts nationwide on notice for the first time that they are responsible for protecting students from bullying based on who they are.
Pat led the legal battle to rid the nation of sodomy laws that criminalized the intimacy and relationships of same-sex couples. In Lawrence v. Texas, Pat and a team headed by Paul Smith at Jenner & Block succeeded in striking down all such laws nationwide. Paul later reflected that Pat was his toughest and most effective coach as he prepared to argue the case before the United States Supreme Court.
In multiple cases, Pat fought and won victories on behalf of military service members discharged for violating the ban on gay servicemembers known as Don't Ask, Don't Tell; the ban on transgender service members; and the ban on military service by people living with HIV.
Among Pat's landmark victories, perhaps the most transformative was a series of cases to protect the lives of individual LGBTQ+ people and their children. Pat won in cases across the country, ensuring that the children of lesbian, gay, and bisexual parents enjoy a legally protected relationship with the people they know and love as their parents. It is no exaggeration to say that because of Pat's work, countless thousands of children around the country have grown up knowing—and being loved by—the adults who brought them into their families as parents.
In 2007, Pat joined the bench as an associate judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County, serving in the Domestic Relations Division. As a judge, Pat performed marriage ceremonies for many same-sex couples in fitting recognition and celebration of her role in achieving the milestones that made marriage equality possible.
Pat graduated from Brown University and earned her law degree from Northwestern University School of Law. She worked for Jenner & Block and Business and Professional People for the Public Interest before opening the Midwest Regional Office of Lambda Legal as its managing attorney in 1993. She served as a lawyer with Lambda Legal for 14 years in various capacities, including as interim legal director and director of constitutional litigation. Before joining the staff, Pat served on Lambda Legal's board of directors for five years.
In recognition of her scholarship and contributions to the fight for LGBTQ+ equality, Pat received numerous honors over her lifetime, including the National Lesbian and Gay Lawyers Association's Dan Bradley Award, the highest honor given to outstanding leaders in the LGBTQ+ legal community; the American Constitution Society Chicago Chapter's Abner Mikva Legal Legends Award; the Alliance of Illinois Judges (AIJ) From Stonewall to Lawrence Award; and the AIJ community Leadership Award, in recognition of advancing respect, civility, equality, and access to justice for the LGBTQ+ community. She was inducted into Chicago's LGBT Hall of Fame in 2003.
Pat is survived by her wife, Marcia Festen; their two daughters, Ruby and Ella; and granddaughter, Hazel. The couple held a commitment ceremony in 2002 and were legally married in 2008 on the beach at Martha's Vineyard's Edgartown Lighthouse. She is also survived by siblings Elizabeth (William), Anne Martha (Joseph), Michael, and Tim (Maryanne) and many nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be held for Pat this June in Chicago. Donations in honor of Pat can be made to Lambda Legal Defense Fund or the Cure Alzheimer's Fund.
