This article must adhere to the biographies of living persons (BLP) policy, even if it is not a biography, because it contains material about living persons. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourcedmust be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libellous. If such material is repeatedly inserted, or if you have other concerns, please report the issue to this noticeboard.If you are a subject of this article, or acting on behalf of one, and you need help, please see this help page.
This article was reviewed by member(s) of WikiProject Articles for creation. The project works to allow users to contribute quality articles and media files to the encyclopedia and track their progress as they are developed. To participate, please visit the project page for more information.Articles for creationWikipedia:WikiProject Articles for creationTemplate:WikiProject Articles for creationAfC articles
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Biography, a collaborative effort to create, develop and organize Wikipedia's articles about people. All interested editors are invited to join the project and contribute to the discussion. For instructions on how to use this banner, please refer to the documentation.BiographyWikipedia:WikiProject BiographyTemplate:WikiProject Biographybiography articles
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Law, an attempt at providing a comprehensive, standardised, pan-jurisdictional and up-to-date resource for the legal field and the subjects encompassed by it.LawWikipedia:WikiProject LawTemplate:WikiProject Lawlaw articles
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Civil Rights Movement, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Civil Rights Movement on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.Civil Rights MovementWikipedia:WikiProject Civil Rights MovementTemplate:WikiProject Civil Rights MovementCivil Rights Movement articles
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Women, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of women on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.WomenWikipedia:WikiProject WomenTemplate:WikiProject WomenWikiProject Women articles
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Jewish Women, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Jewish Women on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.Jewish WomenWikipedia:WikiProject Jewish WomenTemplate:WikiProject Jewish WomenJewish Women articles
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Israel, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Israel on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.IsraelWikipedia:WikiProject IsraelTemplate:WikiProject IsraelIsrael-related articles
This article is within the scope of WikiProject United States, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of topics relating to the United States of America on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the ongoing discussions.
This article is of interest to WikiProject LGBTQ+ studies, which tries to ensure comprehensive and factual coverage of all LGBTQ-related issues on Wikipedia. For more information, or to get involved, please visit the project page or contribute to the discussion.LGBTQ+ studiesWikipedia:WikiProject LGBTQ+ studiesTemplate:WikiProject LGBTQ+ studiesLGBTQ+ studies articles
This article is within the scope of WikiProject United States courts and judges, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of the United States federal courts, courthouses, and United States federal judges on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.United States courts and judgesWikipedia:WikiProject United States courts and judgesTemplate:WikiProject United States courts and judgesUnited States courts and judges articles
The following Wikipedia contributor may be personally or professionally connected to the subject of this article. Relevant policies and guidelines may include conflict of interest, autobiography, and neutral point of view.
Requesting reconsideration to publish this article following President Biden's nomination of Nicole Berner to serve as a U.S. Circuit Judge for the Fourth Circuit, replacing the seat vacated by Judge Diana Gribbon Motz. If confirmed, Berner would be the first openly LGBTQ judge to serve on that court and only the third openly LGBTQ woman to serve on any federal appellate court in U.S. history.
Kirmel (talk) 20:12, 15 November 2023 (UTC)Kirmel[reply]
There seems to be a dispute over whether to more fully incorporate content from sources in the article to describe the nomination hearing at Senate Judiciary Committee, e.g. whether to only state that she was questioned, or to say that she answered questions.
The sources currently in the article are Courthouse News (Dec. 13, 2023) and Bloomberg Law (Dec. 13, 2023). Courthouse News includes "Berner told Lee she was acting in her capacity as the union’s general counsel." Bloomberg Law includes "Berner told the panel..." similarly discussing her role. This is an article about Berner, so the sources noting her responses seem WP:DUE to include in the way it had been mentioned before the most recent change [1]. The previous version also seems more neutral according to WP:BLPSTYLE and WP:BLPBALANCE. Beccaynr (talk) 16:22, 18 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
I don't really understand the objection here or the distinction above about "being questioned" versus "answering questions." It was a confirmation hearing; she was asked questions and she answered them. And we should report what WP:RS said about the hearing. Here's a Washington Post article with more info from her hearing that we should incorporate. Marquardtika (talk) 17:44, 29 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you for continuing the discussion here - I think BLP and NPOV policies encourage a cautious approach with regard to how much information is included and how it is presented, particularly for contentious content, so a close look at the sources is helpful. As to available sources, we have:
Berner told Lee she was acting in her capacity as the union’s general counsel. “As a lawyer for my client, I zealously advocated for my client in those matters, as in every other matter,” she said. Further, Berner explained that she was not counsel to the local affiliate at the center of the sexual misconduct allegations.
(emphasis added to highlight how the removed text "questioned over her handling of a sexual misconduct allegation while she was serving as general counsel" could be potentially misleading [2], by potentially implying she had a role handling the allegation when she said she did not)
Republicans also questioned Nicole Berner, general counsel for the Service Employees International Union, on her handling of sexual misconduct allegations made by a member of one of the organization’s local chapters.
(this may also be a potential WP:CLOP issue, considering how closely this tracks the recently removed text [3])
Berner told the panel that the matter was best handled by the chapter’s staff and policies and that she had no role in investigating misconduct at the local, which she communicated to Sturge at the time.
(this is another source reporting her answer is she had no direct role - and this is an article about her, not sensationalized claims made at her hearing - so the focus on the questioning, instead of her answers, also seems problematic from a BLP policy perspective.)
Berner responded that “because each local of SEIU employs its own staff and sets its own personnel policies and protocols,” her office “does not have a direct role in investigating allegations or concerns that may arise in local unions regarding personnel matters.” [...] Berner replied that it was outside her jurisdiction because local SEIU affiliates have their own governing systems. “I am not counsel to the local union,” she said. “I am not responsible for, nor do I advocate behalf of, local unions” unless specifically asked to by SEIU leadership.
From my view, WP:BLPSTYLE encourages precision, and taking care to avoid undue emphasis on recent events, while WP:BLPBALANCE warns against allocating disproportionate space to particular viewpoints; based on the one day of news reports, the inclusion of what seems to only be the view of Republican questioning seems disproportionate. I also don't think neutrality can be enhanced by enlarging the section, e.g. by including her specific answers - not only are allegations against another living person involved, but an expansion seems undue to include based on the limited duration and depth of reporting available. This is why I favor a more concise and conservative approach that seems to more broadly summarize the available sources - she answered questions about various issues raised during the hearing that were related to her work as an SEIU attorney - and I think the WaPo source helps make this more clear. Beccaynr (talk) 18:32, 29 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
.png){kind=small}
.svg)
