Judge Martin M. Doctoroff
Chair, Council of Chief Judges
of Courts of Appeals
American Center Building
27777 Franklin Rd. Suite 645
Southfield, MI 48034-2055

Dear Judge Doctoroff:

Each year about 33 percent of births in the United States involve children born to unmarried parents. As you know, unwed births are not a new phenomena. A large segment of people who are now adults were born when their parents were not married.

Our research has disclosed that a majority of states continue to stigmatize such children. In 17 states there are statutes on the books which refer to children born outside of wedlock as "bastards" or "illegitimate." Some appellate judges in 37 states refer to these children as "illegitimate."

We believe that it is time to stop the name calling. Statutes are the embodiment of the collective will of the people. Judges are supposed to be fair and impartial. We think you would agree that it is not fair to label children in such a derogatory manner.

Part of the mission of AASP is to end marital status bias against unmarried adults and their families. In furtherance of this goal, we have launched a Stop the Stigma Campaign. The enclosed brochure explains more about the campaign which is being conducted state by state.

Yesterday I sent an e-mail message about this educational campaign to Judge Gerald T. Elliott, chair of the American Judges Association. He suggested that I should contact an appellate judges association. That is why I am writing to you.

As chair of the Council of Chief Judges of Courts of Appeals, I thought that you could bring this issue to the attention of your association’s members. They, in turn, could share the information with other appellate judges in their respective jurisdictions.

I have enclosed a few brochures about our Stop the Stigma Campaign. If you would like to receive more copies please let me know and I can mail them to you.

Since your association’s members may not be familiar with AASP, I am enclosing some materials to give you an overview of AASP and its mission. Stigmatization of children born to unmarried parents is only one of many areas in which single people experience discrimination.

Members of your association may find that a visit to our Internet website – www.unmarriedAmerica.com – would be helpful and informative. A section of our site contains information about the Stop the Stigma Campaign. This section can be found at: www.unmarriedAmerica.com/stop-stigma.htm.

Since most of your members probably have e-mail addresses, it may be more efficient for you to share this information with them by e-mail, just as I did yesterday with 30 officers and board members of the American Judges Association.

Thank you for considering this request. I look forward to your reply.

Very truly yours,

Thomas F. Coleman
Executive Director