Motley, Constance Baker
1921 - 2005
Details
Alias: Constance Baker
Born: 9/14/1921 in New Haven, Connecticut
Died: 9/28/2005
Ethnicity: African American/Black
Professional Facts
Regions and States of Practice:
NY, Northeast
Legal Education:
Columbia Law School, 1946
Other Education:
Fisk UniversityB.A. in economics, New York University (1943)
Positions During Her Career:
Clerked under Thurgood Marshall (1945-1946)Research assistant at the Legal Defense and Education Fund (LDEF) (1946-1949)
Associate Special Counsel at the LDEF (1949-1961)
Associate counsel of the LDEF (1961-1964)
Appointed to the New York Senate (1964-1966)
Borough president of Manhattan (1965-1966)
Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, becoming chief judge in 1982 (1966-2005)
Firsts:
Black female to argue before the Supreme Court (1961)African American and woman to serve as borough president of Manhattan (1965)
African American female appointed to the Federal Bench (1966)
Woman to serve as chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
Accomplishments:
Only Woman on the legal team for Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education (1954)Awarded the Medal for Excellence from Columbia Law School (1987)
Inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame (1993)
Awarded the Presidential Citizen Medal by President Bill Clinton (2001)
Awarded the Springarn Medal by the NAACP (2003)
Further Research Materials
References:
Black Women Judges: The Historical Journey of Black Women to the Nation’s Highest Courts
Anna Blackburne-Rigsby, Black Women Judges: The Historical Journey of Black Women to the Nation’s Highest Courts, 53 Howard Law Journal 645 (Spring 2010)
Anna Blackburne-Rigsby, Black Women Judges: The Historical Journey of Black Women to the Nation’s Highest Courts, 53 Howard Law Journal 645 (Spring 2010)
Why Care About the History of Women in the Legal Profession?
Mary L. Clark, Why Care About the History of Women in the Legal Profession?, 27 (2) Women's Rights Law Reporter 59 (Spring 2006)
Mary L. Clark, Why Care About the History of Women in the Legal Profession?, 27 (2) Women's Rights Law Reporter 59 (Spring 2006)
A Century of Achievement: The Centennial of the National Association of Women Lawyers
Selma Moidel Smith: A Century of Achievement: The Centennial of the National Association of Women Lawyers, 85 Women Lawyers Journal 2 (Summer 1999) *Originally printed as two articles: "...The First 50 Years," 9 Experience 1 (Fall 1998), and "...The Second 50 Years," 9 Experience 2 (Winter 1999)
Selma Moidel Smith: A Century of Achievement: The Centennial of the National Association of Women Lawyers, 85 Women Lawyers Journal 2 (Summer 1999) *Originally printed as two articles: "...The First 50 Years," 9 Experience 1 (Fall 1998), and "...The Second 50 Years," 9 Experience 2 (Winter 1999)
Catherine Aman, Centuries of Change, Women in the Law, The American Lawyer, March 1999, pp.57-60
Dawn Bradley Berry, The 50 Most Influential Women in American Law. Los Angeles: Contemporary Books (1996).
Rebecca Mae Salokar and Mary L. Volcansek (Eds.), Women in Law: A Bio-bibliographical Sourcebook. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press (1996).
Jessie Carney Smith (Editor), Notable Black American Women. Detroit : Gale Research (1992)
Lynn Gilbert and Gaylen Moore, Particular Passions: Talks With Women Who Have Shaped Our Times. New York: C.N. Potter (1981).
Links:
Student Papers:
Constance Baker Motley: A Legal Revolutionary's Fight To Establish Equality
Weatherby, Shani Moore, 2007
Weatherby, Shani Moore, 2007