Content area
Full Text
In an April 2010 Wall Street Journal opinion-editorial, Leah Ward Sears, former chief justice of the Georgia Supreme Court, con' fronts gender and race-based slights occurring over the course of her judicial career.* Many African'American professionals have similar truths to teU, but few discuss their experiences outside their social circles, and rarely are the covers withdrawn in such a public arena. The frank' ness of her discussion surprises only those unfamiliar with Chief Justice Sears. The writing is but another example of the boldness of this modem judicial titan.
At the age of 27, Leah Ward Sears acquired her first seat in the judiciary. In February 1 992, she became the first woman and the youngest person appointed to serve on the Georgia Supreme Court. Later, she also became the first African-American woman to serve as chief justice on a state court of last resort. In the eyes of many, she is a contender for a seat on the Supreme Court of the United States. Whether reading her persuasive majority opinions, forceful dissenting opinions, or powerful op-ed pieces, one feels the courage of her convictions.
Leah Ward Sears has carved out a substantial piece of state and national history . In Georgia, a state that belonged to the Old Confederacy, she served with distinction on the highest court for 17 years, writing a sizeable body of law and establishing precedents that will long influence future decision making. As chief justice, she also spearheaded two major initiatives to strengthen Georgia's families: a Georgia Supreme Court Commission on Chiidren, Marriage, and Family Law and the Committee on Civil Justice, designed to advance access-to-justice efforts in Georgia. Armed with her Ivy League coüege education from Cornei!, Emory law degree, LLM. from the University of Virginia, and the discipline ingrained by her military upbringing, she has marched in pursuit of justice at a relentless pace. Now a partner at Schiff Hardin LLP in Adonta, Chief Justice Sears also serves as a senior famity law fellow at the Institute for American Values. The Judges' Journal is pleased to higWight this incredible Waymaker.
* Leah Ward Sears, How About Those Tomato Sandwiches . . .
What does a former chief justice of the Georgia Supreme Court do when she's mistaken...