Bill Text: TX SR451 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Recognizing April 24, 2023, as Texas Women Judges' Day.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2023-04-24 - Reported enrolled [SR451 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-SR451-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Recognizing April 24, 2023, as Texas Women Judges' Day.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2023-04-24 - Reported enrolled [SR451 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-SR451-Introduced.html
88R23925 BK-D | ||
By: Zaffirini, et al. | S.R. No. 451 |
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WHEREAS, The observance of Texas Women Judges' Day at the | ||
State Capitol on April 24, 2023, provides a welcome opportunity to | ||
recognize women judges for their invaluable work to advance the | ||
administration of justice and the rule of law in our state; and | ||
WHEREAS, Women judges in Texas have a storied history dating | ||
back to 1925, when Hortense Sparks Ward, the first woman to pass the | ||
Texas bar exam, along with Hattie Leah Henenberg and Ruth Virginia | ||
Brazzil formed the first all-women high court in the United States; | ||
the three women were appointed by Governor Pat Neff to serve as | ||
special justices on a Texas Supreme Court case from which all of the | ||
existing judges on the court had recused themselves; and | ||
WHEREAS, In 1935, Sarah Tilghman Hughes became the first | ||
woman to hold a permanent position on a Texas bench; she went on to | ||
make history again in 1961 as the first woman appointed to a federal | ||
district judgeship in Texas, and she remains the only woman ever to | ||
administer the oath of office to an American president, having | ||
sworn in Lyndon Baines Johnson aboard Air Force One on November 22, | ||
1963; and | ||
WHEREAS, Among other notable trailblazers who have | ||
contributed to the diversity of the Texas judiciary are Harriet | ||
Mitchell Murphy, the first African American woman appointed to a | ||
regular judgeship in Texas, Elma Salinas Ender, the first Latina | ||
state district judge in Texas, and Wendy Duong, the first | ||
Vietnamese American woman to serve as a judge in the state; in 2005, | ||
the Texas Fourth District Court of Appeals in San Antonio became the | ||
first appellate court in the U.S. composed entirely of women, and in | ||
2021, the court again had the distinction of being the only | ||
all-women and now majority-Latina appellate court in the country; | ||
and | ||
WHEREAS, Today, the Texas Supreme Court includes three female | ||
justices, Jane Bland, Rebecca Aizpuru Huddle, and Debra Lehrmann, | ||
while the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals includes four women, | ||
Presiding Judge Sharon Keller and Judges Barbara Hervey, Mary Lou | ||
Keel, and Michelle Slaughter; women currently represent 34 percent | ||
of judges in all courts throughout Texas, as well as 43 percent of | ||
all state and district judges; and | ||
WHEREAS, Women judges have brought inspiring dedication, | ||
wisdom, and integrity to the bench, helping to make our judicial | ||
system fairer and more just for all Texans, and it is indeed fitting | ||
that a special day be set aside to honor their immeasurable | ||
contributions; now, therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the 88th Texas Legislature | ||
hereby recognize April 24, 2023, as Texas Women Judges' Day at the | ||
State Capitol and commend the women judges of the State of Texas for | ||
their service and commitment to equal justice under the law. |