Sadie Lipner Shulman

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Sadie Lipner Shulman (1891-December 23, 1998[1]) was, along with Emma Fall Schofield, the first female judge in Massachusetts.[2]

Early life and education[edit]

Shulman was born in 1891 in New York City.[3][1] She was one of two women the Boston University School of Law class of 1911 where she graduated cum laude.[3][4][1]

Career[edit]

She began practicing law after graduation,[3] largely in family law.[4] With her husband, Charles Shulman, she had a private law practice.[3] She was Counsel for Boston Civic Service House beginning in 1913.[4] In 1924, Shulman became the first woman to be appointed as an investigator of a divorce case.[4]

In 1926, Shulman became the first female assistant corporation counsel for the City of Boston.[3][4][1] She served in the position until 1930.[1] She was appointed as a judge to the Dorchester District Court in 1930 by Governor Frank G. Allen, becoming the first woman in Massachusetts appointed to the bench with Emma Fall Schofield.[3][4][1] She was sworn in on December 17, 1930 by Allen.[1]

Shulman did not want to retire from the bench, saying it was where she was most happy.[3] Her most controversial case involved sentencing the juvenile driver of a stolen vehicle to view the corpse of the pedestrian he killed.[3][1] She thought it was successful, as none of the juveniles involved ever re-offended.[1]

Personal and civic life[edit]

Shulman lived in Boston.[5] In 1953, she helped establish a scholarship for women who wanted to study law at Boston University and then later made a donation to construct a study lounge for women.[3][1] The lounge was named for her.[1] She was also active in a number of other religious and civic organizations.[3]

Shulman was a delegate to the 1932 Republican National Convention[3] and was the first female president of the Boston University Law School Alumni Association.[3][1]

As a member of Boston's Jewish community, she responded to the National Recovery Administration's call to assist those suffering from the Great Depression.[6] Her husband, Charles Shulman, led the campaign.[6]

Later life and death[edit]

In her later years, she would walk the halls of the nursing home in Johnson City, Tennessee where she lived, "sentencing" others who were there.[3] At the time of her death, she had seven grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.[1] Her funeral was held in Brookline, Massachusetts.[1]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Judge Sadie Shulman, at 107, first woman on a Mass. bench". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. December 29, 1998. p. 47. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  2. ^ "A History of Diversity at BU Law | School of Law". www.bu.edu. Retrieved 2018-12-13.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Vile, John R. (2003). Great American Judges: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 385. ISBN 978-1-57607-989-8. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Shulman, Sadie Lipner". Women's Legal History, Stanford University. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  5. ^ Official report of the proceedings of the eighteenth Republican national convention, held in Cleveland, Ohio. Tenny Press. 1924. p. 64. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  6. ^ a b Shubow, Joseph L. (September 3, 1933). "Boston Jews Active in Campaign for Nra". Jewish Daily Bulletin. p. 5. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
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