Thanks to the Miami New Times, you have now probably heard of George Rekers and his Rentboy. If you haven’t seen the article, click here.
I admit, the story has been fun but I was waiting for the legal fallout.
Yesterday, John Schwartz got things started with this New York Times article.
According to the article, Rekers (a clinical psychologist and ordained Baptist minister) has testified in cases concerning same-sex marriage and gay adoption that gay men and lesbians aren’t fit to parent. (Read more about Professor George here.)
In one such case, he testified in a suit challenging a Florida law banning adoption by gay parents – his testimony was a major part of Attorney General Bill McCollum’s defense of the statute. Florida paid Rekers $120,000.
The question is whether or not this scandal discredits Rekers’ testimony.
“Each lawyer must tell the court if he comes to know that one of his witnesses has given ‘false’ testimony,” said Stephen Gillers, an expert in legal ethics at New York University.
McCollum has distanced himself from Rekers. “It is safe to say that if this case moves beyond this stage, Mr. Rekers will have no further involvement in the case,” said Ryan Wiggins, a spokeswoman for McCollum. “We will certainly not be recommending him in the future.”
After a judge declared the Florida gay adoption law unconstitutional, McCollum appealed. In his papers, McCollum called out the lower court’s “wholesale disregard” of testimony by Rekers and another expert, calling the decision “arbitrary.”
Rekers has denounced the “false reports,” stating: “I have not engaged in any homosexual behavior whatsoever. I am not gay and never have been.”
But still, does McCollum have a duty to bring the scandal to the attention of the appellate court?
According to Gillers, Mr. McCollum is now obligated both as a lawyer and as a public official to alert the appellate court. “It is not enough for the attorney general simply to refrain from relying on the testimony in his brief and argument,” he said. “He has an affirmative duty to speak up.”
You are the judge. Has Dr. George Rekers been discredited – based on his trip to Europe with his “Rentboy”?
