TEXAS SUPREME COURT HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Recommendations

Info

Jury Service: A Milestone for Women’s Rights in Texas 1By Sarah A. DuckersWHEN DID <strong>TEXAS</strong> HAVE ITS FIRST WOMAN JUROR?If you are like most people I have asked, your answer rangessomewhere from the 1890s to the 1930s. Perhaps this reflects the factthat Texas was the first state to allow women property rights, had oneof the first woman governors, had its first woman judge in 1934, andwas the first state in the nation to have its supreme court comprisedentirely of women in 1925. Very few people come close to guessingthe date Texas had its first woman juror—1954. We’ve come a longway, baby, indeed.On May 18, 1953, the Texas Legislature passed House JointResolution 16, which proposed an amendment to the Texas Constitutionproviding that qualification for service on a jury should “not be deniedor abridged by reason of sex.” The enactment of the resolution was notunanimous—it passed the Texas House by a vote of 123 to 16 and theTexas Senate by a vote of 23 to 7.The proposed constitutional amendment was presented tothe voters of Texas on November 2, 1954, when it passed by a vote of302,850 to 224,730, with 57 percent of the voters in favor. Not exactly anoverwhelming majority.Less than a month later, on November 22, 1954, the case of R.E.Hayes v. Texas & New Orleans Railroad Co. was called to trial in the 152 ndDistrict Court of Harris County, Texas. A jury had been requested, and whenthe panel was seated for voir dire, there sat, as jury panel member number1, Miss Louise Summers. Miss Summers was “over 21,” an employee atCameron Iron Works, and lived in the Spring Branch area of Houston.Miss Summers was a descendant of a soldier who fought at the Battleof Yorktown in the American Revolution. Her nephew, James Summers (apartner in the San Antonio office of Norton Rose Fulbright), described heras a “true pioneering spirit.” “She got on a train in Newman, Georgia in1This is a revised version of an article that originally appeared in The Houston Lawyerin January-February 2008 under the title “The First Woman Juror in Texas” (availableonline at http://www.thehoustonlawyer.com/aa_jan08/page38.htm). Used by permissionof The Houston Lawyer.Miss Louise Summers appears asthe first juror in the jury list for R.E.Hayes v. Texas & New Orleans R.R. Co.Photo courtesy of Francisco Heredia,Harris County Assistant DistrictClerk for Historical Records.87
Docket sheet in R.E. Hayes v. Texas & New Orleans R.R. Co.Photo courtesy of Francisco Heredia, Harris County Assistant District Clerk for Historical Records.88
Page 1 and 2:
Journal of theTEXAS SUPREME COURT H
Page 3 and 4:
News & AnnouncementsU.S. Senator Jo
Page 5 and 6:
• FellowsMuch of the Society’s
Page 7 and 8:
I can’t conclude my remarks witho
Page 9 and 10:
students. An NPR story critical of
Page 11 and 12:
FELLOWS OF THE SOCIETYHEMPHILL FELL
Page 13 and 14:
ABOVE: Former Justice Dale Wainwrig
Page 15 and 16:
ABOVE: Kerry Cammack, former Justic
Page 17 and 18:
Patty Hagans, Lauren Harris, Chief
Page 19 and 20:
And while the warriors are absent o
Page 21 and 22:
Reflections on the Texas Equal Righ
Page 23 and 24:
No Pawn in a Game of Thrones:Queen
Page 25 and 26:
In the life she lived, the examples
Page 27 and 28:
marriages, would be governed by the
Page 29 and 30:
law firm partnership with his fathe
Page 31 and 32:
Peter Gray’s personal copy of The
Page 33 and 34:
Original Case File Cover, “Emelin
Page 35 and 36:
Bolls’s attorney sent questions t
Page 37 and 38:
Oran Roberts honoring his life. Add
Page 39 and 40: Although no known photograph or des
Page 41 and 42: sources, including interviews with
Page 43 and 44: Below: Plat of San Felipe de Austin
Page 45 and 46: Sam Houston had meanwhile become th
Page 47 and 48: feared that the government might ne
Page 49 and 50: Contemporary chronicles of what hap
Page 51 and 52: Captain Lewis reported later that t
Page 53 and 54: No delicate flower prone to wilt un
Page 55 and 56: would be well-educated by sendingth
Page 57 and 58: Hortense S. Ward’s face on the Ha
Page 59 and 60: and motivation. 22 The Legislature
Page 61 and 62: As Chief Justice Pope observed, Hor
Page 63 and 64: Hortense remained active in the Hou
Page 65 and 66: They Would Not Be Denied:The Texas
Page 67 and 68: the law and society, unmarried wome
Page 69 and 70: Letter, C.B. Randell toErminia T. F
Page 71 and 72: those regarding women’s suffrage,
Page 73 and 74: arena. Jane Y. McCallum, a successf
Page 75 and 76: tsl-50022.html#series5) and the Tex
Page 77 and 78: like her contemporary, Sandra Day O
Page 79 and 80: in which she held Judge Hughes, my
Page 81 and 82: state’s highest court, Governor P
Page 83 and 84: women could cast ballots in this el
Page 85 and 86: opponents in the race. Her slogan w
Page 87 and 88: qualifications. In 2002 at the requ
Page 89: Those who did practice law experien
Page 93 and 94: 1919 and moved to Houston as a sing
Page 95 and 96: In 1950, most law firms would not h
Page 97 and 98: argued, “MUW’s policy of exclud
Page 99 and 100: Preserving the Oral History of Stat
Page 101 and 102: Linda Hunsaker (left),great grandda
Page 103 and 104: Participants in the 2015 Women’s
Page 105 and 106: training programs for law firm asso
Page 107 and 108: Property Act, Francisco sent the pr
Page 109 and 110: U.S. Senator John Cornyn Will Keyno
Page 111 and 112: Society Hosts Second Biennial Sympo
Page 113 and 114: SCOTX Justices Eva Guzman and Debra
Page 115 and 116: The Society’s Program “Magna Ca
Page 117 and 118: Society Debuts YouTube Channel,Post
Page 119 and 120: Texas Legislature Funds the Texas D
Page 121 and 122: In addition, the Texas Supreme Cour
Page 123 and 124: 2015 BA BreakfastBy Dylan O. Drummo
Page 125 and 126: twenty-eighth state to join the Uni
Page 127 and 128: Sat., Nov. 7Sat., Nov. 14Sat./Sun.,
Page 129 and 130: TEXAS SUPREME COURTHISTORICAL SOCIE
Page 131 and 132: New MembersThe Society has added fo
Page 133: Membership ApplicationName:The Texa
show all

TEXAS SUPREME COURT HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?