From the President: Let Us Honor the Trailblazers

by Denise VanLanduyt
President, DeKalb Bar Association

Belle Babb Mansfield was the first woman admitted to a state bar in the United States. She was formally admitted to the Iowa State Bar in June 1869 after the Iowa court’s favorable ruling allowing her to practice law.

In 1872, Myra Bradwell filed a petition with the U. S. Supreme Court to appeal the decision of the Illinois Supreme Court that denied her admission to the state bar after passing the bar exam in 1872. She was not successful. Bradwell v. Illinois, 84 U. S. (16 Wall.) 130 (1873).

In 1893, Belva A. Lockwood, a trained attorney, was the first woman admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court. She filed suit in this same court to force the Commonwealth of Virginia to admit her to the state bar. Stating its precedent in the Bradwell case, the U.S. Supreme Court “denied leave” to bring her argument again, citing that the states had the right to control and regulate the practice of law.Sandra Day O’Connor earned her undergraduate degree in economics and then went on to complete law school at Stanford University in two years. She served on the Stanford Law Review and was a member of the Order of the Coif. She graduated third in her class in 1952. Interestingly, she graduated with fellow Justice William Rehnquist. However, upon graduation this future Supreme Court Justice could only find work as a legal secretary. Unable to find a position in a firm, she entered the public service realm and became the deputy county attorney for San Mateo, CA. She later became assistant attorney general of Arizona. In 1981, President Ronald Regan nominated her to the highest court in the land.

In 1911, Minnie Hale Daniel became the first woman to graduate from a Georgia law school, the Atlanta Law School. In 1916, her hard work and persistent attitude paid off and women were granted the right to practice law in Georgia. In 1928, she and 18 other female lawyers formed the Georgia Association of Women Lawyers.

The State Bar of Georgia was loosely formed as the Georgia Bar Association in 1884. The formal State Bar of Georgia as we know it today has been in operation since 1964. Since the inception of these organizations, only two women have served as president of the State Bar:  Linda Klein, 1998, and Robin Frazer Clark, 2012.

Today a female, Chief Justice Carol Hunstein, leads the Georgia Supreme Court. Chief Justice Hunstein was appointed to the Georgia Supreme Court in 1992, only the second woman to serve in a permanent capacity on the state’s highest court. Leah Ward Sears, also appointed in 1992, was the first and youngest female to serve on the Georgia Supreme Court. She also has the distinction of being the first African-American female chief justice in the United States.

The DeKalb judiciary is seemingly reflective of the progress made by women in the law. The Superior Court consists of 10 judges, six of whom are female. Three of the seven judges serving on the DeKalb State Court bench are women. The Juvenile Court is evenly split, two women and two men. Women are currently serving in leadership or chief judge positions: Chief Judge Desiree Sutton Peagler, DeKalb Juvenile Court; Chief Judge Jeryl Debra Rosh, DeKalb Probate Court; Chief Judge Berryl A. Anderson, DeKalb Magistrate Court; and Hon. Cynthia J. Becker serves as the presiding judge of the very successful DeKalb County Drug Court.

And we can never forget the Honorable Anne Workman. In 1973, Judge Workman became the first female prosecutor in DeKalb County. With her appointment to the Magistrate Court, she became the first female judge in DeKalb County. She later served as a State Court judge and then Superior Court Judge of DeKalb County.

On January 17, the DeKalb Bar Association luncheon will feature and honor the women in the judiciary and the progress they and their predecessors have made. This panel will be moderated by Chief Justice Carol Hunstein and will consist of the following panel members:  Superior Court – Hon. Linda W. Hunter and Hon. Tangela Barrie; State Court – Hon. Stacey K. Hydrick; Probate Court – Chief Judge Jeryl Debra Rosh; and Magistrate Court – Chief Judge Berryl A. Anderson.

On March 7, we will be honored to have former Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears join us and give the keynote address at the annual Bench and Bar dinner.

In 1776, Abigail Adams famously wrote to her husband:

If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice, or representation.

The trail blazing began long ago and continues today.