Miscellaneous

Hayes, You!

By Anne Skove, Esq.

It has come to our attention that October is Rutherford B. Hayes month.

Our contribution is this: President Hayes signed legislation allowing women to argue before the Supreme Court. They were already arguing everywhere else, so why not? (Source: Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center.)

New Yorker Belva Bennett Lockwood was the first woman to take up President Hayes on his offer. (She later ran for president, so there!)

To get a sense of why women were barred from the bar, check out what Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Ryan wrote in In re Lavinia Goodell, 1875:

"Discussions are habitually necessary in courts of justice, which are unfit for female ears. The habitual presence of women at these would tend to relax the public sense of decency and propriety."

We think Chief Justice Abrahamson would disagree!

Happy Hayes Month to all!

Full post as published by court-o-rama.org on October 01, 2008 (boomark / email).