The story of Florence Allen, the first female judge in the United States, and the transformation of the legal system by women.
Florence Allen was the first female judge in many positions: she was the first female judge on a federal appeals court, the first female justice elected to a state Supreme Court, and the first female justice nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court. During her forty-year tenure as a judge, the country saw fluctuations between progressivism and conservatism, with the passage of a constitutional amendment granting women the right to vote, two world wars, and two fear-mongering campaigns.Communism, fear of the far right, and the New Deal programme.
In the midst of these changes, women exploited their new political status to bring about radical change in the courts, beginning with their active participation in the judicial system, then through the development of theories of common law, social justice, and due process. Examining Allen's inspiring legal life, Tracy Thomas explores the broader history of how women have entered the legal system as judges, lawyers, jurors, and legislators.To demand a more representative judicial system that is in everyone's interest.
