Matthews, Burnita Shelton
1849 - 1988
Details
Alias: Burnita Shelton
Born: 11/28/1849 in Burnell, Mississippi
Died: 4/25/1988
Ethnicity: White/Caucasian
Professional Facts
Practice Area:
Civil RightsReal Property
Labor Law
Profession:
General practiceWomen's rights
Property law
Jury service
Labor law
Regions and States of Practice:
DC, South
Legal Education:
The George Washington University Law School, 1919
Positions During Her Career:
Clerk in Veteran's Administration (1917)Started a law firm with Laura Berrien and Rebekah Greathouse in D. C. - Matthews, Berrien & Greathouse (1921-1949)
Head counsel and chief researcher for the National Woman's Party (1921-1934)
Taught evidence at the Washington College of Law (1933-1939)
Sat on the Court of Customs and Patent Appeals
Judge on the U. S. District Court for the District of Columbia, appointed by Harry S. Truman (1949-1988)
Firsts:
Woman to sit on the Court of Customs and Patent AppealsWoman appointed to the Federal District Court (1949)
Further Research Materials
References:
Susan Ware (Editor) and Stacy Braukman, Notable American Women: A Biographical Dictionary Completing The Twentieth Century.
The Bellknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts 2004.
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
15 Years of Advocacy for Women
Lisa Small, 15 Years of Advocacy for Women: Women and the Law Time Line, 1619-1998. Women's Law and Public Policy Fellowship Program on its 15th Anniversary, 1998.
Lisa Small, 15 Years of Advocacy for Women: Women and the Law Time Line, 1619-1998. Women's Law and Public Policy Fellowship Program on its 15th Anniversary, 1998.
A Timeline of Women's Legal History in the United States
Professor Cunnea and Lisa Small, A Timeline of Women's Legal History in the United States. March 8, 1998.
Professor Cunnea and Lisa Small, A Timeline of Women's Legal History in the United States. March 8, 1998.
Rebecca Mae Salokar and Mary L. Volcansek (Eds.), Women in Law: A Bio-bibliographical Sourcebook. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press (1996).
Women in the Federal Judiciary: Three Way Pavers and the Exhilarating Change President Carter Wrought
Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Laura W. Brill, Women in the Federal Judiciary: Three Way Pavers and the Exhilarating Change President Carter Wrought, 64 Fordham Law Review 281 (November 1995)
Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Laura W. Brill, Women in the Federal Judiciary: Three Way Pavers and the Exhilarating Change President Carter Wrought, 64 Fordham Law Review 281 (November 1995)
Mary H. Zimmerman (Ed.), 75 Year History of the National Association of Women Lawyers: 1899-1974. New York: The Association (1975).
Laura Miller Derry, Digest of Women Lawyers and Judges. Lousville, Kentucky: Dunne Press (1949)
The Woman Juror
Burnita Shelton Matthews, The Woman Juror, 15 The Women Lawyers' Journal 15 (1927).
Burnita Shelton Matthews, The Woman Juror, 15 The Women Lawyers' Journal 15 (1927).
Links:
Student Papers:
Florence Allen Ellinwood: A Woman of Firsts
Russ, John A., 1997
Russ, John A., 1997
Burnita Shelton Matthews: The Biography of a Pioneering Woman, Lawyer and Feminist
Wade, Christine L.
Wade, Christine L.
Burnita Shelton Matthews: First Female District Judge
Solomon, Alexander, 2001
Solomon, Alexander, 2001
Potential Paper Topics:
An analysis of Matthews's research on sexually discriminatory state laws and the bills she proposed to rectify the discrimination she uncovered.An analysis of one of Matthews's most famous cases. In 1927, the U.S. government sought to condemn the Woman's Party’s headquarters in order to construct a new building for the U.S. Supreme Court. Matthews secured for her clients the largest award in such a condemnation proceeding up to that date.
An analysis of her work to put women on juries (note her work: "The Denial of Justice to Women").
An analysis of her work for "sameness" legislation, particularly in the workplace. See here Morehead v. New York ex rel. Tipaldo, where SCOTUS struck down NY's minimum wage law for women (for which she co-authored an amicus brief). Note that this decision was later repudiated by West Coast Hotel v. Parrish.
Analyses of several important cases, including (1) a passport dispute for singer Paul Robeson, (2) a case upholding the right of Black Muslims to conduct religious services in prison, (3) the bribery trial of teamsters leader Jimmy Hoffa in 1957.