Foltz, Clara Shortridge
1849 - 1934

Portrait by Truman Toland
Portrait by Truman Toland

Details
Alias: Clara Shortridge
Born: 7/16/1849 in Lafayette, Indiana
Died: 9/2/1934
Ethnicity: White/Caucasian
Professional Facts

Practice Area:
Civil Rights
Profession:
Women's Rights
Regions and States of Practice:
CA, West
Legal Education:
UC Hastings College of Law, 1878
Positions During Her Career:
Private practitioner (1878-1934)
Public defender (1893-1934)
Firsts:
Woman lawyer in California (1878)
Woman deputy district attorney (1911-1913)
Woman on the State Board of Charities and Corrections
Accomplishments:
Received an honorary degree from UC Hastings (1990)


Further Research Materials

References:
Book Review: Woman Lawyer: The Trials of Clara Foltz by Barbara Babcock
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Book Review: Woman Lawyer: The Trials of Clara Foltz by Barbara Babcock, 65 Stan. L. Rev. 399 (February 2013)
"Free Justice" Inventing the Public Defender
"Free Justice" Inventing the Public Defender, Barbara Babcock, Criminal Justice Magazine, Vol. 27, No. 2, Summer 2012, pp. 26.
A Pioneering Woman Lawyer
Babcock, Barbara, The National Law Journal, A Pioneering Woman Laywer, April 25, 2011
Gordon Bakken, Review of Babcock, Barbara Allen, Woman Lawyer: The Trials of Clara Foltz. H-Law, H-Net Reviews. May, 2011.
Barbara Babcock, Woman Lawyer: The Trials of Clara Foltz. Stanford University Press. January 5, 2011.
Shelf Life, Woman Lawyer: The Trials of Clara Foltz, Stanford Alumni Magazine (May/June 2011)
A Hundred Years Later, a Trailblazer Gets Her Due
Kristina Horton Flaherty, A Hundred Years Later, a Trailblazer Gets Her Due. The California Bar Journal (June 2011)
Queen's Bench 90th Anniversary/Women's Legal History Lunch
Pauline Farmer-Koppenol, Queen's Bench 90th Anniversary/Women's Legal History Lunch. Queen's Bench Newsletter, May/June, 2011
Clara Foltz and the Role of the Public Defender
Clara Foltz and the Role of the Public Defender. Presented by the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles , Reception Sponsored by the California Supreme Court Historical Society, April 21, 2011.
Book Review - Woman Lawyer: The Trials of Clara Foltz
Barbara Kate Repa, Woman Lawyer: The Trials of Clara Foltz, California Lawyer (August 2011)
Clara Foltz: California's Woman Legal Pioneer
Natalie Marine-Street, Clara Foltz: California's Woman Legal Pioneer, Gender News (August 30, 2011). Available at http://www.stanford.edu/group/gender/cgi-bin/wordpressblog/2011/08/clara-foltz-californias-woman-legal-pioneer/
Barbara Babcock and Clara Foltz: First Women
Sharon Driscoll, Barbara Babcock and Clara Foltz: First Women, (84) Stanford Lawyer (May 31, 2011)
2011 Convention Keynote Address and Awards Program: "Woman Lawyer: The Trials of Clara Foltz"
Barbara Babcock, 2011 Convention Keynote Address and Awards Program: "Woman Lawyer: The Trials of Clara Foltz" (Aprill, 2011)
Rosemary Auchmuty, ‘Barbara Babcock: Woman Lawyer: The Trials of Clara Foltz’ in 19 Feminist Legal Studies (2011) 289-291.
Barbara Babcock, Alma Mater: Clara Foltz and Hastings College of the Law, 21 Hastings Women's Law Journal 99 (2010)
Roger K. Newman (Editor), Yale Biographical Dictionary of American Law. Yale University Press (May 26, 2009)
Inventing the Public Defender
Barbara Allen Babcock, Inventing the Public Defender, 43 (4) American Criminal Law Review 1267 (2006)
Pioneer Attorney's Feminism Ennobled Her Legal Efforts
Barbara Allen Babcock, Pioneer Attorney's Feminism Ennobled Her Legal Efforts, 115 (27) Los Angeles Daily Journal 6 (February 8, 2002)
A Real Revolution
Barbara Allen Babcock, A Real Revolution, 49 (4) The University of Kansas Law Review 719 (May 2001)
Women Defenders in the West
Barbara Allen Babcock, Women Defenders in the West, University of Nevada Law Journal 1 (2001)
150th Anniversary of the Supreme Court
Barbara Allen Babcock, 150th Anniversary of the Supreme Court, 22 Official California Reports 4th 1275 - 79 (February 8, 2000)
American National Biography Online: "Foltz, Clara Shortridge"
Barbara Allen Babcock. In American National Biography Online: "Foltz, Clara Shortridge". Oxford University Press (February 2000), available at: http://www.anb.org/articles/11/11-00962.html
Earnest and Sincere in Their Work: Litta Belle Hibben Campbell and Women of the Early USC Law School
John G. Tomlinson, Earnest and Sincere in Their Work: Litta Belle Hibben Campbell and Women of the Early USC Law School, 10 S. Cal. R. L. & Women's Stud. 117 (2000), available at: http://www-rcf.usc.edu/~rlaws/issues.html
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)
The First Women Members of the Supreme Court Bar, 1879 - 1900
Mary L. Clark, The First Women Members of the Supreme Court Bar, 1879-1900, 36 San Diego Law Review 87 (1999)
Before It Was Merely Difficult: Belva Lockwood's Life in Law and Politics
Jill Norgren, Before It Was Merely Difficult: Belva Lockwood's Life in Law and Politics, 23 Journal of Supreme Court History 1 (1999)
Catherine Aman, Enter the Ladies, Women in the Law, The American Lawyer, March 1999, pp.110-112
Book Review: Feminist Lawyers
Barbara Allen Babcock, Book Review: Feminist Lawyers, 50 Stanford Law Review 1689 (May 1998)
Making History: Lelia Robinson's Index to American Women Lawyers
Barbara Allen Babcock, Making History: Lelia Robinson's Index to American Women Lawyers. Stanford Law School (July 1998)
All the Allies of Each: Lelia Robinson's Portrait of Early Women Lawyers in America
Julia Steele, All the Allies of Each: Lelia Robinson's Portrait of Early Women Lawyers in America, 1998
First Women Lawyers in the United States
C. Sleeth, First Women Lawyers in the United States, Bar Association (July 18, 1997)
Shoulder to Shoulder: Litta Belle Hibben Campbell and the Women of the U.S.C. Law School During the Early Years
John G. Tomlinson, Shoulder to Shoulder: Litta Belle Hibben Campbell and the Women of the U.S.C. Law School During the Early Years, 71 Southern California Law Review 6 (1997)
Dawn Bradley Berry, The 50 Most Influential Women in American Law. Los Angeles: Contemporary Books (1996).
'Contracted' Biographies and Other Obstacles to 'Truth': Commentary
Barbara Allen Babcock, 'Contracted' Biographies and Other Obstacles to 'Truth': Commentary, 70 New York University Law Review 707 (June 1995)
Curriculum Vitae (Feminae): Biography and Early American Women Lawyers
Carol Sanger, Curriculum Vitae (Feminae): Biography and Early American Women Lawyers, 46 Stanford Law Review 1245 (1994)
Clara Shortridge Foltz: 'First Woman'
Barbara Allen Babcock, Clara Shortridge Foltz: 'First Woman', 28 Valparaiso University Law Review 1231 (Summer 1994)
Remarks on the Occasion of the Publication of Called from Within: Early Women Lawyers of Hawaii
Barbara Allen Babcock, Remarks on the Occasion of the Publication of Called from Within: Early Women Lawyers of Hawaii, 16 (3) Biography 222 (March 12, 1993)
A Place in the Palladium: Women's Rights and Jury Service
Barbara Allen Babcock, A Place in the Palladium: Women's Rights and Jury Service, 61 (4) University of Cincinnati Law Review 1139 (1993)
Western Women Lawyers
Barbara Allen Babcock, Western Women Lawyers, 45 Stanford Law Review 2179 (July, 1993)
She Blazed the Trail: Clara Foltz Opened a Major Door for Women in 1878, When She Became the First Female Member of the State Bar
Barbara Allen Babcock, She Blazed the Trail: Clara Foltz Opened a Major Door for Women in 1878, When She Became the First Female Member of the State Bar, Los Angeles Daily Journal, October 7, 1993, at 16
Clara Shortridge Foltz: Constitution-Maker
Barbara Allen Babcock, Clara Shortridge Foltz: Constitution-maker, 66 Indiana Law Journal 849 (1991)
Reconstructing the Person: The Case of Clara Shortridge Foltz
Barbara Allen Babcock, Reconstructing the Person: The Case of Clara Shortridge Foltz, 12 (1) Biography 1 (1989)
Edward T. James (Ed.), Janet Wilson James (Assoc. Ed.), and Paul S. Boyer (Ass. Ed.), Notable American Women, 1607-1950; A Biographical Dictionary. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press (1971).
Women Lawyers' Club: News Items
"News Items", 2 (4) Women Lawyers' Journal (February, 1913)
Stella Reid Crothers, American Women Lawyers, The Home Magazine, September 1907, pp.15
Mrs. Foltz Goes to New York, Chicago Daily Tribune, January 25, 1896
Duties of District Attorneys in Prosecution
Clara Foltz, Duties of District Attorneys in Prosecutions, 18 CRIM L. MAG. 415 (July 1896).
Should Women be Executed
Clara Foltz, Should Women be Executed, 54 ALB. L.J. 309 (1896).
For the New Woman, Chicago Daily Tribune, June 24, 1895
In the Clouds at Colorado Springs, Chicago Daily Tribune, June 30, 1895
Mrs. Foltz in a Collision at Sea, Chicago Daily Tribune, October 1, 1895
Women at the Bar, Vol. 1 No. 10
Women at the Bar, 1 (10) The Law Student's Helper 303 (October 1893)
Can Women Practice Law?
Can Women Practice Law? 1 (5) The Law Student's Helper 102 (May 1893)
Women at the Bar, Vol. 1 No. 12
Women at the Bar, 1 (12) The Law Student's Helper 339 (December, 1893)
Minor Meetings of the Day, Chicago Daily Tribune, May 19, 1893
A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-Seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portraits of Leading American Women in All Walks of Life
Frances E. Willard and Mary A. Livermore (Editors), A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-Seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portraits of Leading American Women in All Walks of Life, pp. 210-211. New York: Charles Wells Moulton (1893), available at: http://books.google.com/books?id=zXEEAAAAYAAJ
Belva Lockwood, The Congress of Law Reform, 3 American Journal of Politics 321, 1893.
Public Defenders-Rights of Persons Accused of Crime-Abuses Now Existing
Clara Shortridge Foltz, Public Defenders-Rights of Persons Accused of Crime-Abuses Now Existing, 48 Albany Law Journal 248, 1893.
Public Defender
Clara Foltz, Public Defenders, 31 Am. Law. Rev. 393 (1897)
Evolution of Law
Clara Shortridge Foltz, Evolution of Law, 48 Alb. L. J. 345 (1893).
Scored a Point with Her Shoe, Chicago Daily Tribune, November 12, 1892
Women Lawyers in the United States
Lelia J. Robinson, Women Lawyers in the United States, 2 The Green Bag 10 (1890)
A Forgotten Hero, The Washington Post, March 3, 1890
The Chicago Law Times Vol 2. No. 3, Women in Law, pp.301-308, Chicago Law Times, 1888
Admission of Women to the Bar
Catharine V. Waite, Admission of Women to the Bar, 1 Chicago Law Times (1887)
Women in the Law: Their Past, Present, and Future
Edith Prouty, Women in the Law: Their Past, Present, and Future, The Woman's Journal (April 22, 1876)

Links:

Student Papers:
The Los Angeles Years of Clara Shortridge Foltz
McCarron, Katherine E., 2002