Bruce William Nickerson (June 21, 1941 – February 5, 2022) was an American

civil right Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...

s and

gay right Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , ...

s attorney in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. He was also an authority on lewd conduct law in the United States. Nickerson operated a solo legal practice in

San Carlos, California San Carlos (Spanish for "St. Charles") is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States. The population is 30,722 per the 2020 census. History Native Americans Prior to the Spanish arrival in 1769, the land of San Carlos was occupi ...

, and was affiliated with Carlos Scott Lopez-Gelormino, a clinical psychologist and human rights attorney.

Biography

Nickerson attended

Modesto High School Modesto High School is a public high school in Modesto, California, United States. It offers the International Baccalaureate Program and the Avid program, Performing Arts Program and was the first public school to do so in the Central Valley of ...

Modesto, California Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton- ...

. He received an A.B. in

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

, with honors, from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from

Golden Gate University Golden Gate University (GGU or Golden Gate) is a private university in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1901, GGU specializes in educating professionals through its schools of law, business, taxation, and accounting. The university offers s ...

. Nickerson operated a solo legal practice after passing the

California Bar The State Bar of California is California's official attorney licensing agency. It is responsible for managing the admission of lawyers to the practice of law, investigating complaints of professional misconduct, prescribing appropriate disciplin ...

, and often affiliated himself with attorneys addressing civil rights issues and lewd conduct cases. His focus on lewd conduct emerged after pursuing several cases addressing such conduct and freedom of speech issues at adult bookstores in the early 1980s in and around the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

. Nickerson successfully argued ''Baluyut v. Superior Court,'' (1996) 12 Cal.4th 826, where there was no appearance for Respondent, which case established discriminatory prosecution as a defense in police

sting operation In law enforcement, a sting operation is a deceptive operation designed to catch a person attempting to commit a crime. A typical sting will have an undercover law enforcement officer, detective, or co-operative member of the public play a role a ...

s which target gay public conduct and ignore identical straight public conduct. Nickerson was recognized as having "made a sort of mini-career out of defending these cases" on lewd conduct and police sting operations targeting gay men. Openly gay himself, he had argued in front of the California Supreme Court and

Federal Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (in case citations, Fed. Cir. or C.A.F.C.) is a United States court of appeals that has special appellate jurisdiction over certain types of specialized cases in the U.S. federal court ...

courts regarding civil rights issues affecting gay people. Given Nickerson's stance and successful record on gay issues and civil rights, he was the subject of many critics. These included Bill O'Reilly, who interviewed Nickerson on

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

in 2007 regarding a series of cases that Nickerson had been arguing on behalf of several hundred defendants related to a sting operation targeting gay men in

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

. Nickerson died in February 2022, aged 80. He was survived by two former wives, his civil partner, and two sons.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nickerson, Bruce 1941 births 2022 deaths People from Modesto, California Stanford University alumni Golden Gate University School of Law alumni Lawyers from San Francisco American LGBT rights activists American human rights activists Activists from California