Photo by Poppy Mills / State of North Dakota
Never before in the 137-year history of the North Dakota Supreme Court, nor in the 28 years before that on the Supreme Court of Dakota Territory, has a woman served as Chief Justice. Before January 1st, North Dakota was one of just seven states who had not had a woman serve as Chief Justice. I’ m glad we’ re off the list.
While I’ m humbled to be the first, I certainly hope that I won’ t be the last. I follow in the footsteps of the women and men that have come before, on this court and elsewhere, too numerous to mention. But I will mention a few who made or widened the path to make room for me. Helen Hamilton, the first woman to graduate from the UND School of Law in 1905. She has been an inspiration to me since before I even applied to law school. From Helen Hamilton’ s graduation, it took 80 years for Beryl Levine to be the first female justice on the North Dakota Supreme Court. Justice Levine was appointed because Governor George Sinner believed in her abilities, and she understood what it meant to be“ a first.” Justices Mary Muehlen Maring and Carol Ronning Kapsner followed her, and are among the longest serving justices in state history. They were appointed by Gov. Ed Schaffer, who found them the most qualified to serve.
Former Chief Justice Gerald VandeWalle, authorized by administrative order, the establishment of the Gender Fairness Implementation
Committee, with a mission to monitor the progress of the judicial branch toward eradicating gender bias in the courts. Chief Justice VandeWalle and Justices Maring and Kapsner were early promoters of women on the bench – trailblazers all – and I thank them for leading the way.
None of us has the opportunity to lead without the help of others. I also want to thank former Justice Bill Neumann. He hired me as a law clerk right out of law school. In fact, he wrote me a letter of recommendation that probably got me into law school. He encouraged me time and again, and again, to put myself out there when there were judicial vacancies, both in the district court and on this Court. Birch Burdick has also been mentioned. Some of us here worked for Birch. He also took a chance on me, offering me a job as a prosecutor, knowing full well that my true aspirations weren’ t to be a prosecutor, but to be a judge. I also want to thank District Judge Cherie Clark who encouraged me, or more aptly, pestered me, until I relented to put my name on the ballot for Chief Justice. Anyone who knows Judge Clark knows she is like a gale force wind, and her superpower is persistence.
Current and former Supreme Court justices, state officials, members of the bar, and family and friends were all in attendance at the Passing of the Gavel ceremony.
Until now, I have only been a“ trail keeper,” serving in roles that other women have already done. But I too had governors who believed in me. First, then Gov. John Hoeven, and next Gov. Jack Dalrymple. Until now, I have just tried to do my job well and keep the path open that others have made for me. Now, with the help of my colleagues, the path has widened a bit more. You see, I want all nine of my grandchildren, and every child for that matter, regardless of their gender, to believe that they can become anything that they aspire to be. Honestly, being chosen as Chief Justice was beyond my wildest dreams. There is a saying,“ You can’ t be it if you can’ t see it.” When I was in high school, there had never been a woman on the United States Supreme Court, on our state district court, or on this Court, so I did not see in myself the possibility to become a judge. But in 1981, President Ronald Reagan appointed Sandra Day O’ Connor to the United States Supreme Court. And later that year, cartoonist Bil Keane published a Family Circus cartoon with the little
10 THE GAVEL
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I follow in the footsteps of the women and men that have come before, on this court and elsewhere, too numerous to mention.
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Photo by Poppy Mills / State of North Dakota