Georgia Philipps Bullock (November 18, 1878 − August 28, 1957) was the first female Superior Court judge in California.
Georgia Bullock | |
|---|---|
 Bullock c. 1924 | |
| Los Angeles Superior Court Judge | |
| In office August 14, 1931 – 1956 | |
| Appointed by | Gov. James Rolph Jr. |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 18, 1878 Chicago, Illinois |
| Died | August 29, 1957 (aged 78) Monterey, California |
| Alma mater | University of Southern California Law School |
Education and early career
editGeorgia Philipps Morgan was born in 1878, in Chicago, Illinois, to Thomas Herbert Morgan and Mary Potwin Judd. Her father was born in Aberavon in South Wales. A promising concert singer as a child, she was discouraged by her parents from pursuing a career in music because they disapproved of women performing publicly.
As a young woman, Bullock worked at a law firm during the day and took shorthand and typing classes at night. In 1912, she enrolled in night classes at the University of Southern California law school.
She earned her LL.B. from the University of Southern California's law school in 1914, having already passed the California bar. While still in law school, she began her judicial career by volunteering as a probation officer on the Woman's Court, a division of the Los Angeles Police Court that dealt with female defendants.[1] In 1917, she became a deputy district attorney, prosecuting prostitutes and their clients during World War I. She later moved into private practice.
She was a founding member of Phi Delta Delta, a law student sorority, and co-founded the Women Lawyers Club of Los Angeles. In 1932, she served as vice president of the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL).[2] She became a prominent role model for professional woman in Los Angeles, promoting the participation of women in public office and policymaking.[3]
Judicial experience
editIn 1924, Bullock was named by county supervisors to the Women's Court, becoming the first female judge in California above the level of justice of the peace. The cases brought before her often involved women charged with crimes such as prostitution and drug use, as well as men charged with sexual violence and failure to support their families. Committed to the principle that men and women deserved the same punishments and rewards, she held women responsible for the behavior.[4] Her work on behalf of women was sometimes seen as progressive, but she also promoted traditional practices such as corporal punishment.[5]
In 1926, following a reorganization of the state judiciary, she became a Los Angeles municipal judge. In 1927, she ran against and beat a male opponent to retain her position. In 1928, she ran for superior court but lost. In 1931, Republican governor James Rolph Jr. appointed her to a vacant seat on the court, making Bullock the second woman in the country to sit on a court of general jurisdiction. She was repeatedly reelected to her seat in elections in 1932, 1938, 1944, and 1950. She retired in 1956.[3]
Personal life
editGeorgia Morgan married William Wingfield Bullock in 1899. The couple had two children before divorcing. One of her children, Wynn Bullock, became a notable photographer. After moving to Pasadena, California with her children in 1910, Bullock described herself as a widow.[3] While living in the Pasadena area, Judge Bullock belonged to St. James Episcopal Church in South Pasadena, and was active with Zonta International and the Order of the Eastern Star, among other affiliations.[6]
Bullock died in 1957, age 78, in a convalescent home in Monterey, California,[7] after a stroke.[8] The papers of Georgia Philipps Morgan Bullock are archived in UCLA Libraries Special Collections.[9]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ M. C. Larkin, "Women Must Be Saved By Women – Judge Starts Unfortunates' Court" Evansville Press (February 2, 1916): 3. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Noted Woman Jurist Talks Monday Night" San Bernardino County Sun (November 7, 1937): 6. via Newspapers.com
- ^ a b c Cook 2000.
- ^ Katharan McCommon, "Georgia P. Bullock – Pioneer Woman Lawyer" Brooklyn Daily Eagle (October 26, 1924): 87. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Feminine Jurist Suggests Harder Spanking of Child" Salt Lake Tribune (August 22, 1934): 27. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Cal's First Woman Judge, SoPas Resident, Dies at 78" Pasadena Independent (August 30, 1957): 1. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "California's First Woman Judge Dies" Times Standard (August 30, 1957): 3. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Judge Bullock Dies in Monterey" Santa Cruz Sentinel (August 29, 1957): 1. via Newspapers.com
- ^ Finding Aid for Georgia Philipps Morgan Bullock Papers, 1890-1957, UCLA Libraries Special Collections, Online Archive of California.
Further reading
edit- Cook, Beverly Blair (November–December 1993). "Moral Authority and Gender Difference: Georgia Bullock and the Los Angeles Women's Court". Judicature. 77 (3): 144–55. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
- Cook, Beverly Blair (2000). "Bullock, Georgia Philipps". American National Biography. doi:10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1101000. ISBN 978-0-19-860669-7. Retrieved August 25, 2020 – via American National Biography online.
- Downs, Winfield Scott, ed. (1935). Encyclopedia of American Biography: New Series. Vol. 4. American Historical Society. pp. 238–39. OCLC 649569887 – via HathiTrust.
- Harris, Gloria G.; Cohen, Hannah S. (2012). "7. Lawyers — Georgia Bullock: First Woman California Superior Court Judge". Women Trailblazers of California: Pioneers to the Present. Charleston, SC: The History Press. pp. 108–21 [112–14]. ISBN 978-1609496753.