How Belva Lockwood Became a Lawyer
It was on February 15, 1933 (79 years ago today) that Giuseppe Zangara attempted to assassinate President-Elect Franklin D. Roosevelt in Miami. (He missed FDR, but killed Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak). I journalled about that in more detail lasy year on this date, and that entry can be found here for anyone interested in detail on that event.
But an anniversary that I found interesting was of what happened on February 15, 1879 (133 years ago today). It was on that day the President Rutherford Hayes signed a bill allowing female attorneys to argue cases before the Supreme Court of the United States. It turns out that the first female attorney granted that privilege was Belva Ann Lockwood, whom I've journalled about before (she ran for President in 1884 and 1888, even though women were not allowed to vote yet.)
In 1870 Lockwood applied to the Columbian Law School in the District of Columbia. The trustees refused to admit her because they believed she would be "a distraction to male students." Lockwood was eventually admitted to the new National University Law School (now the George Washington University Law School) along with several other women. She completed her coursework in May of 1873, but the law school was unwilling to grant a diploma to a woman. Without a diploma, Lockwood could not be admitted to the DC bar.
After a year she wrote a letter to President Ulysses S. Grant, appealing to him as president ex officio of the National University Law School. In the letter she stated that she had passed all her courses and deserved to be given a diploma. In September 1873, within a week of having sent the letter, Lockwood received her diploma. She was 43 years old at the time.
Lockwood was admitted to the DC bar, although several judges gave her a difficult time, telling her they had no confidence in her. When she tried to gain admission to the bar in Maryland, she was berated by a judge who told her that "God Himself has determined that women were not equal to men and never could be." When she tried to respond on her own behalf, he said she had no right to speak and he had her removed from the courtroom.
Lockwood was definitely a trail-blazer for her time. In 1873, married women did not have many legal rights. By English Common Law, Lockwood was considered a "feme covert" (a married woman) and her status under the law was different from that of a woman who was single. She was regarded as strictly subordinate to her husband. In many states, a married woman could not individually own or inherit property, nor did she have the right to make contracts or keep money earned unless her husband permitted it. Although Lockwood's husband encouraged her, judges used her married status to deny her access to the courts, including the bar of the US Supreme Court.
Despite the obstacles that she faced, Lockwood began to build a practice and a reputation as a good lawyer. Even her detractors regarded her as competent. In 1875, Lockwood began representing criminal defendants in trial court. Of 69 cases tried, she won 15 and negotiated pleas in 9. She became known as an advocate for women's issues. For example, she spoke on behalf of an 1872 bill for equal pay for federal government employees. She was active in several women's suffrage organizations. She testified before Congress in support of legislation to give married women and widows more protection under the law.
Because her practice was limited in the 1870s due to social discrimination, Lockwood drafted an anti-discrimination bill to have the same access to the bar as male colleagues. From 1874 to 1879, she lobbied Congress to pass it. In 1879, Congress finally passed the law, which was signed by President Rutherford B. Hayes 133 years ago today. The new law allowed all qualified women attorneys to practice in any federal court. Lockwood was sworn in as the first woman member of the U.S. Supreme Court bar on March 3, 1879. Late in 1880, she became the first woman lawyer to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court.
But an anniversary that I found interesting was of what happened on February 15, 1879 (133 years ago today). It was on that day the President Rutherford Hayes signed a bill allowing female attorneys to argue cases before the Supreme Court of the United States. It turns out that the first female attorney granted that privilege was Belva Ann Lockwood, whom I've journalled about before (she ran for President in 1884 and 1888, even though women were not allowed to vote yet.)
In 1870 Lockwood applied to the Columbian Law School in the District of Columbia. The trustees refused to admit her because they believed she would be "a distraction to male students." Lockwood was eventually admitted to the new National University Law School (now the George Washington University Law School) along with several other women. She completed her coursework in May of 1873, but the law school was unwilling to grant a diploma to a woman. Without a diploma, Lockwood could not be admitted to the DC bar.
After a year she wrote a letter to President Ulysses S. Grant, appealing to him as president ex officio of the National University Law School. In the letter she stated that she had passed all her courses and deserved to be given a diploma. In September 1873, within a week of having sent the letter, Lockwood received her diploma. She was 43 years old at the time.
Lockwood was admitted to the DC bar, although several judges gave her a difficult time, telling her they had no confidence in her. When she tried to gain admission to the bar in Maryland, she was berated by a judge who told her that "God Himself has determined that women were not equal to men and never could be." When she tried to respond on her own behalf, he said she had no right to speak and he had her removed from the courtroom.
Lockwood was definitely a trail-blazer for her time. In 1873, married women did not have many legal rights. By English Common Law, Lockwood was considered a "feme covert" (a married woman) and her status under the law was different from that of a woman who was single. She was regarded as strictly subordinate to her husband. In many states, a married woman could not individually own or inherit property, nor did she have the right to make contracts or keep money earned unless her husband permitted it. Although Lockwood's husband encouraged her, judges used her married status to deny her access to the courts, including the bar of the US Supreme Court.
Despite the obstacles that she faced, Lockwood began to build a practice and a reputation as a good lawyer. Even her detractors regarded her as competent. In 1875, Lockwood began representing criminal defendants in trial court. Of 69 cases tried, she won 15 and negotiated pleas in 9. She became known as an advocate for women's issues. For example, she spoke on behalf of an 1872 bill for equal pay for federal government employees. She was active in several women's suffrage organizations. She testified before Congress in support of legislation to give married women and widows more protection under the law.
Because her practice was limited in the 1870s due to social discrimination, Lockwood drafted an anti-discrimination bill to have the same access to the bar as male colleagues. From 1874 to 1879, she lobbied Congress to pass it. In 1879, Congress finally passed the law, which was signed by President Rutherford B. Hayes 133 years ago today. The new law allowed all qualified women attorneys to practice in any federal court. Lockwood was sworn in as the first woman member of the U.S. Supreme Court bar on March 3, 1879. Late in 1880, she became the first woman lawyer to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court.