By Zenell Brown
“Justice Dons a Skirt” was the headline when Lila Neuenfelt was elected in 1941 as the first woman to sit on the Third Circuit Court bench. The headline was to capture the shock and invoke surprise, but ironically, Justitia and Maat, both women, have been the most accepted personification of justice. The seven decades since Judge Neuenfelt’s judgeship have proven that women possess the intelligence, leadership, and judicial acumen to further purpose of courts and the judicial system.
The 1940s
Lila Neuenfelt is elected and becomes the first woman judge on the Third Circuit Court in Michigan.
The 1950s
Martha Griffiths became the first woman judge of Recorder’s Court in Detroit in 1953. She then served in Congress. As a congresswoman, this former judge became known as the “Mother of the Equal Rights Amendment,” focusing on workplace discrimination against women. In 1982, former Judge-Congresswoman Griffiths was elected Lieutenant Governor of the State of Michigan, the first woman to be elected to this office (1982-1991).
The 1960’s
Cornelia Kennedy (née Groefsema) was a judge of the Third Judicial Circuit from 1966 to 1970. As a senior at Redford High School, Kennedy interviewed Judge Lila Neuenfelt. Kennedy was the third woman elected to a court of general jurisdiction in the state of Michigan. She was a board member of the Detroit Bar Association. Judge Kennedy was known as the First Lady of the Michigan Judiciary. She was the first woman in the nation to serve as chief judge of a federal district court. Three presidents shortlisted Judge Kennedy for the United States Supreme Court.
In 1966, Judge Geraldine Bledsoe Ford was the first black woman elected to the bench without benefit of prior appointment in the history of the United State. Judge Bledsoe Ford was elected to serve on the Recorder’s Court. After a court reorganization, she served another year as a Circuit Court Judge, before retiring in 1999. Bledsoe also earned herself a spot in the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame honoree, sharing that distinction with her mother who was inducted in 1983.
The 1970s
In 1976, Patricia Boyle was appointed judge of the Recorder's Court of the City of Detroit. She served from 1976 to 1978. Judge Boyle was nominated to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and confirmed on September 22, 1978. Justice Boyle resigned on April 20, 1983, to be appointed as an Associate Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court. Justice Boyle was inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame.
Judge Susan D. Borman was the first woman of Jewish faith to join the Third Circuit Court. Prior to becoming a judge, Judge Borman worked for the Legal Aid and Defender's Office as a criminal defense attorney. She joined the Recorder's Court in 1973 and the circuit court in 1979. Judge Borman served on the Third Circuit Court until her retirement in 2014.
The 1980s
Judge Lucile Watts was the first African American woman elected to the Third Circuit Court in 1980. She graduated law school in the 60’s. It was unusual at that time for women to attend law school but, it was not uncommon for job postings for lawyers to include, “No women need apply.” Judge Watts was inducted posthumously into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame.
In 1983, Claudia House Shropshire Morcom became the first black female appointed to Wayne County Circuit Court. Judge Claudia House Morcom was described as “a model of courage, a pioneer for black women in the law, and a champion for human rights around the world,” by the Detroit Free Press, August 2014. Prior to her appointment, Judge Morcom was the founding director and program administrator of Wayne County Neighborhood Legal Services in 1965. Judge Morcom was inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame.
Judge Cynthia Diane Stephens was the second African American woman appointed to the Third Circuit Court in 1985 after service as a 36th District Court Judge. She was appointed to the Court of Appeals in 2008. Judge Stephens has been admitted to practice in Georgia, Texas, and Michigan. Judge Stephens is an adjunct professor at several law schools and is the Chair of the State Bar of Michigan Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee.
In 1989, Judge Denise Page Hood was appointed to Recorder’s Court. In 1993, Judge Denise Page Hood was elected to the Third Circuit Court. In 1994, Judge Hood was appointed to the United States District Court, Eastern District of Michigan. On January 1, 2016 she was elevated to Chief Judge for the United States District Court, Eastern District of Michigan. Chief Judge Hood is the third female in the 178 year history of Eastern District Federal Court.
The 1990s
In 1994, Judge Kirsten Frank Kelly was appointed to the Wayne Circuit Court. In 1997, Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Conrad Mallett appointed her presiding judge of the newly formed Family Division of the Wayne Circuit Court. In 1999, she was appointed as the presiding judge of the Juvenile Division of the Court. In 2000, Judge Kelly was elected to the Court of Appeals. She is the chairman of the Court of Appeals Quality Review Committee and serves on the Rules Committee as well.
Judge Vera Massey Jones, an African-American woman, became the Chief Judge of Recorder’s Court in 1995. She served as Chief Judge until the Recorder’s Court merger with the Third Circuit Court in 1997 and then she continued to serve as judge in the Criminal Division of the Third Circuit Court. Judge Jones presided over the Veteran’s Treatment Docket. Judge Jones served on the Third Circuit Court until her retirement in 2014.
Judge Patricia Fresard joined the Wayne County Circuit Court in 1999. She was the first woman judge of Hispanic descent to join the bench. Judge Fresard has served as felony trial court judge and presently serves as Presiding Judge for the Civil Division.
The 2000s
In 2002, Judge Mary Beth Kelly became the first woman to serve as Chief Judge of the Third Circuit Court. She was appointed to the Third Circuit Court in 1999. She served on the Michigan Supreme Court from 2011-2015.
Judge Charlene Elder was appointed in 2005. She was the first Muslim female judge to ever serve in the U.S. Judge Elder helped initiate the Domestic Violence Prevention Court in the Family – Domestic Relations Division.
In the 2000’s, it is common place to have women as judges, and it is common place for women judges to occupy positions of court leadership, and to be elevated to high courts. Third Circuit Court leadership has included women judges Chief Judge Pro Tem Lita M. Popke, Presiding Judge Maria L. Oxholm, and Presiding Judge Leslie Kim Smith who helped to identify efficiencies and system reforms, and develop plans to ensure the operations of the court system during fiscal crisis. It has included women judges who championed technology and new court innovations such as Judge Jeanne Stempien who helped usher in eFiling technology, and also served as the Presiding Judge of the Civil Division, and a Business Court judge.
The list of Third Circuit Court women judges elevated to the high judges continues to grow. Many of the women judges are also adjunct law school professors, and some who retire become respected mediators and arbitrators. Like Judge Griffiths, Judge Kym Worthy transitions and serves in another branch of government, making a positive impact there as well.
Third Circuit Court’s Women History Celebration
In the span of 70 years, the subject of women judgeship has evolved from the shocking headlines to the recognition and acknowledgement of the contribution of women judges. In 2017, Judge Muriel Hughes hosted the portrait unveiling of Judge Lila Neuenfelt in courtroom 1401 at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center which was the courtroom where Judge Neuenfelt presided over matters and where Judge Hughes currently sits. The audience included the Chief Judge, current judges and alumni of the bench, the Dean and representatives from the University of Detroit-Mercy Law School where Judge Neuenfelt graduated, court managers, and staff.
Judge Hughes highlighted Judge Lila Neuenfelt’s accomplishments against the backdrop of society that provided limited career opportunities for women and even more limited opportunities for women in the law.
Neuenfelt became a lawyer only two years after the 19th Amendment was passed. In 1926, Lila Neuenfelt was the first woman elected justice of the peace in Michigan. In addition to this part-time position, Lila Neuenfelt opened her own law office at a time when the few women attorneys who existed practiced mostly in association with brothers and husbands. In 1929, Lila Neuenfelt became one of Dearborn’s two full-time municipal judges. She retained her seat until she became the first woman Third Circuit Court judge. In short, Judge Neuenfelt was shattering glass ceilings before that saying was even part of our vocabulary. The Women History celebration included the women judges of the Third Circuit Court bench gathering for a photo with Judge Neuenfelt’s portrait.
The portrait unveiling and the events chronicled in this article are fragments of a much larger and richer history of the Women. In honor of Women’s History Month 2021, the Third Circuit Court publishes this article and recognizes the 32 women who serve as judges of the Third Circuit Court.
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