involved and interested through long trials. Equal rights Krieger served as a role model on the bench for many openly gay judges who followed him. He was a member of the California Judicial Council's Access and Fairness Advisory Committee and was chairperson of its Sexual Orientation Fairness Subcommittee. The subcommittee conducted a six-year study, which was the first of its kind in the nation. It found many situations where people in the courts system, including parties to cases, workers, and jurors, were subject to bias. Krieger stated, "The study shows that there is both a perception and in some cases actual unequal treatment based upon sexual orientation." "It's a wake-up call of how much work needs to be done," said Jon W. Davidson, attorney for the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund. "It has important consequences, because gays and lesbians are going to use the court system. The courts need to deal with [the inequalities] if they're committed to open access for all people." Commenting on the study, Krieger said it is the laws that are prejudiced, not the judges and court employees. "I can be very fair," he said. "But I'm still not permitted to do a marriage of a gay couple." Krieger's subcommittee made many recommendations for "ensuring that the court system is fair and accessible to all persons in the state of California" in regards to sexual orientation. These included improving training, developing a diverse pool of clerks and interns, changing the Standards of Judicial Administration to prevent retaliation against whistleblowers, and studying bias in hiring and promotion. Krieger also was a co-founder in 1972 of the world's first gay and lesbian synagogue, Temple Beth Chayim Chadashim. "In the gay community, you don't feel you can be Jewish, and in the Jewish community, you don't feel you can be gay. I'm still a Jew, and I'm also gay. The temple brings it together." Judge Krieger was co-chair of the Lesbian and Gay Caucus of the California Democratic Party. He developed a reputation as a civil rights activist and political strategist for Democratic candidates. He inspired and help found the Lawyers for Human Rights (now called the Lesbian and Gay Lawyers Association of Los Angeles) in 1979 and became its second president. Rabbi Lisa Edwards of Temple Beth Chayim Chadashim recalls that Judge Krieger "used to laugh and sigh with me at the irony that the state of