The Judge And His Husband

Border Guards Picked on the Wrong Judge And His Husband

By MATT REYNOLDS

May 20, 2013

     LOS ANGELES (CN) - An administrative law judge (ALJ) for the NLRB and his husband sued U.S. Customs and Border Protection for $3 million, claiming an officer asked to see their marriage certificate at the border, and assaulted them when they complained.
     William Kocol and Timothy Gajewski sued Several Unnamed U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers in Federal Court, alleging assault and battery, unlawful detention, slander, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and constitutional violations.
     Kocol, an administrative law judge (ALJ) for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), and Gajewski, an architect, were legally married in Beverly Hills in 2008.
     They claim that CBP officers singled them out in December 2012 at Los Angeles International airport after a trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
     After Kocol handed a Customs officer a Customs card "indicating that he was the 'head of household,' and was traveling with one family member," the plaintiffs say they were asked to explain their relationship.
     "Plaintiff Gajewski said 'husband' and then plaintiff Kocol also said 'husband,'" the complaint states.
     The officer "shook his head in disapproval and after a few seconds plaintiff Kocol said, 'Yes, this was California and we are legally married,'" according to the complaint.
     The officer asked to see their marriage certificate, and refused to allow them to enter the United States, the couple says.
     "At that point plaintiff Kocol asked to see his supervisor and plaintiff Gajewski said that he was sure that CBPO 'A' does not ask a straight married couple to produce a copy of their marriage certificate," the complaint states.
     The plaintiffs say the officer motioned for the next man and woman in line to step forward. Kocol and Gajewski protested, and were soon surrounded by five armed CBP officers and separated.
     Kocol claims that one of the officers "put his right hand against plaintiff Kocol's upper back, grabbed his left hand and began to forcefully push him into the room."
     Inside the room, the officer "twisted him around and pushed him down into a row of chairs, to his great personal discomfort," the complaint states.
     Gajewski told CBPO Officer D: "'This is bullshit; do you treat every married couple this way?' 'This is my government being homophobic.'"
     When Gajewski walked toward the room where Kocol was detained, the CBP officer "grabbed his wrist and twisted it backwards behind his back," the complaint states.
     The defendants returned Gajewski's and Kocol's passports after Kocol told them he was a federal judge, and that he intended to contact the Human Rights Campaign, and the Gay and Lesbian Center.
     The plaintiffs say the officer who eventually processed their passports apologized, and told them: "'Some people can't seem to change with the times.'"
     They seek more than $1 million in general damages, and more than $2 million in punitive damages.
     They are represented by Scott McKee of West Hollywood.  

 

 

 The Honorable Judge William G Kocol passed away peacefully at 71 years of age with his beloved husband of 30 years, Timothy Gajewski, by his side on February 20, 2020, at their home in Los Angeles California.

With a law degree from University of Wisconsin, Bill was appointed a Federal Administrative Law judge in 1992. Within the National Relations Labor Board, he defended the legal rights of union labor and the protection of workers. With over 40 years of distinguished service to the federal government, he retired in 2013.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents William and Sophie and by his loving sisters and brothers; Mary Rogus (Julian), Irene Willard, Walter Kocol (Mary), and Stanley Kocol (Flora). Bill is survived by his sisters and brothers: Diane Limas (late Arnold), Sophie Bara Cander (Adolph), Lorraine Daniels (late James), Theresa Kipshull (Gunther), Charlotte Kocol, Billy Kocol, Eddie Kocol, as well as many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Information on the March 8 memorial in Chicago may be requested at WilliamGKocol@gmail.com. Donations in leu of flowers should be directed to the Freedom from Religion Foundation of which Bill was a member and advocate, https://ffrf.org/

Two Disagree Below Zero.

An Antarctic worker was a victim of a Christmas brawl on Saturday December 29, 2007.

Fighting is not unknown in the harsh conditions of Antarctica.
A man has been sacked after a Christmas Day bar fight at the South Pole left a colleague with a broken jaw and sparked an $110,000 emergency flight to Christchurch Hospital.

But what happens in Antarctica apparently stays in Antarctica, with officials refusing to be drawn on whether cabin fever or alcohol sparked the brawl.

The two men, however, were unlikely to be scientists, as they were employed by Raytheon Polar Services, which provides the United States-run research stations in Antarctica with support personnel, ranging from cleaners to mechanics.

But the South Pole slugfest is not the first. A reported midwinter bar fight in April 2001 forced a Royal New Zealand Air Force Hercules to make a dangerous 15-hour flight to Antarctica to pick up sick and injured people, including one evacuee with a black eye and broken facial bones.

At the time, it was understood that frosty relationships and a dose of cabin fever may have contributed to the evacuation.

The Christmas fight took place at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, which houses up to 150 people during the summer season.

"There was an altercation between two people ... there's no indication of the cause or of the background between the two folks," said US National Science Foundation spokesman Peter West.

Dr Karl Erb, head of the US Antarctic programme, said the man had been sacked.

"The assailant has been removed from Antarctica and his contract terminated by his employer. Such behaviour has no place whatsoever in the US Antarctic programme."

Mr West said the injured person had been flown to the larger McMurdo Station - near New Zealand's Scott Base - for treatment.

Medical staff at McMurdo assessed the man's injury to be more serious than they could treat, and he was flown to Christchurch - accompanied by a flight nurse and paramedic - on board a US Air Force Hercules.
Mr West said the incremental cost of the medivac was approximately US$85,000 ($110,000) including fuel costs and reimbursement for flight hours.

"The additional costs were incurred because the medivac was required during a period of normally reduced flight activity - specifically the Christmas holiday.

"The injured party is, to my knowledge, still in Christchurch and is recuperating after being treated."

A Christchurch Hospital spokeswoman said a man was admitted on Christmas Day, and was discharged on Boxing Day.


Mr West would not be drawn on whether cabin fever or alcohol were factors in the fight.

Raytheon public relations manager Val Carroll said she knew nothing of the circumstances which caused the fight.

An investigation will be conducted, she said.

Graham White, North Island vice-president of the NZ Antarctic Society, said cabin fever was unlikely during the summer season.

"The situation socially is no different to anywhere else. What can happen socially on the ice probably reflects normal life really.

"Living down there is geared to make you feel as much at home as possible."

But the winter season, with its 24 hours of total darkness, is something else.

"They've definitely done studies of people deprived of light for those periods of time. Small problems can become bigger problems than what they would normally be."

Chris Knight, a mechanic who was last down in 2001-02, told the Herald in 2004 that there was "a bit of macho" in the winter.

"You just sort it out amongst yourselves."