Women Setting New Records as State Supreme Court Judges
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Three state judges share their experiences as leaders By Michelle Austein
Washington -- Although it has taken a long time in U.S. history, today women commonly serve on the highest courts in the country. Many of these women overcame great obstacles to achieve their positions. The composition of the American judicial system is "very different than when I joined the court and there were all white men," said Leah Ward Sears, chief justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia. "That is not the America I know today." Born in Germany when her father was stationed there as an Army officer, Sears was surprised when she moved to the United States in 1955 and found that African Americans were struggling to achieve equal rights. She watched as courts ushered in sweeping civil rights changes and was inspired to attend law school. "Being the first was always a little difficult," Sears said. Throughout her career as a lawyer and a judge, Sears has been the first many times, including the first woman and youngest person appointed to the Georgia Supreme Court in 1992 and the first female to win a statewide contested election. In 2005, she was sworn in as the first African-American woman to serve as the state's chief justice after winning the position in 2004. "I had to fight to be accepted," Sears said. "I didn't do it by having a chip on my shoulder; I just worked hard." Patricia Timmons-Goodson, associate justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina, was also often the first, whether as the first person in her family to attend law school or as the first African-American woman to serve on North Carolina's highest court. "I have ancestors that were every bit as smart as I feel that I am," Timmons-Goodson said, but the opportunities for them to pursue the same career path were not available. Timmons-Goodson chose a career in law because "when individuals had problems … they found their way to a lawyer seeking advice. That excited me then and it excites me even today." Carol Hunstein, presiding justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia, took a much different path to becoming a judge. Hunstein contracted polio at age 2 and then spent much of her childhood battling bone cancer. As a single mother at age 22, Hunstein's cancer returned. Doctors amputated her leg and told her she had about a year to live. Despite these hardships and a constant struggle to make ends meet, Hunstein earned a scholarship to attend college and paid for law school with Social Security benefits she received after her former husband's death.
As a female lawyer, Hunstein felt some judges did not treat her fairly. One in particular commonly addressed her as "little lady" in court, which she viewed as unfair to both her and her clients. "I thought … I can be a better judge than he can be," Hunstein said, so in 1984, she ran in her first judicial election. In at least 35 states, citizens elect their judges. Each state has its own set of guidelines for these elections. In some states, judges belong to a political party; in others they do not. "Campaigning is a very humbling experience, in which each citizen has a vote," Timmons-Goodson said. Running a statewide campaign takes a tremendous amount of effort, time and travel she said. While campaigning in North Carolina, Timmons-Goodson said she visited places and met people she otherwise may not have known. Judges are expected to be fair and impartial, which can make running a judicial election campaign uniquely difficult. "Our masters are the law. When we run, we don't run as politicians," Sears said. "I'm very careful when I run for office that I not say 'vote for me and I will do this.'" "I am not beholden to those people who contributed to my campaign," Hunstein said. "I really, truly am not." In fact, Hunstein once recused herself from a case when a donor was a party to the lawsuit. The women described their experiences on the bench as both difficult and rewarding and said judges perform an important community service. "Judges make very difficult decisions that have an incredible impact on people's finances, their property, on their future, on their families, on their children," Hunstein said. "These are important decisions to the people who are in front of you." Serving as one in a group of judges on a supreme court requires good interpersonal skills, Timmons-Goodson said. All the justices on her court are involved in every decision. "You need to be able to get along with others. You need to know how to listen. You need to know how to communicate. You need to know how to compromise and when to compromise." When a group makes a decision, it is critical to have a diversity of ideas represented, Timmons-Goodson said. "Women often offer a perspective that is different than men." "It's really important for women to serve … so that we'll be viewed as equals," Hunstein said. "We have something to offer." "That's what I've done,” she said, “and that's what a lot of other women in the state of Georgia and across the United States have done." (USINFO is produced by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://america.gov) |
