Shannon Minter

Early life and education

Minter is a 1993 graduate of Cornell Law School and he has been lead counsel in dozens of groundbreaking legal victories for the LGBT community.

Minter, a trans man, grew up in East Texas and began transitioning at age 35. He did not change his name when he transitioned from female to male.

Career

Minter first gained national attention in the United States in 2001 representing the lesbian partner of Diane Whipple, in a wrongful death case due to a dog mauling; which resulted in a landmark decision in California that extended tort claims to same-sex domestic partners; previously it was a right limited only to married couples. Marjorie Knoller was sentenced to serve 15 years to life for the death of Diane Whipple. Whipple's partner, Sharon Smith, succeeded in suing for $1,500,000 in civil damages, which she donated to Saint Mary's College of California to fund the women's lacrosse team.

In 2003, Minter gained national attention again when CourtTV aired the entire case of Kantaras v. Kantaras, where Minter represented Michael Kantaras, a transgender man who was trying to keep custody of his children. Though he won that case in 2002, it was reversed on appeal in 2004 by the Florida Supreme Court, upholding the claim that the marriage was null and void because her ex-husband was still a woman and same-sex marriages are illegal in Florida. The couple settled the case with joint custody in 2005.

In 2009 Minter was the lead attorney arguing before the California Supreme Court to overturn California Proposition 8. He was opposed in the courtroom by Ken Starr.

Minter has taught law at Stanford University, Golden Gate University and Santa Clara University.

Awards

Minter won a Ford Foundation "Leadership for a Changing World" award in October 2005.

Personal life

Minter got married in 2001 and has a daughter. He said at the time that he was pained "by the injustice" that transgender people could legally marry in California while gay and lesbian couples could not.