Vaino Spencer

Vaino Hassan Spencer (July 22, 1920 – October 25, 2016) was an American judge, the first African-American woman appointed to a judgeship in California.[1] She co-founded the Black Women Lawyers Association in 1975,[2] and the National Association of Women Judges in 1979.[3]

Vaino Spencer
Presiding Justice of the California Court of Appeal, Second District, Division One
In office
August 19, 1980 – August 31, 2007
Appointed byGovernor Jerry Brown
Personal details
Born(1920-07-22)July 22, 1920
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
DiedOctober 25, 2016(2016-10-25) (aged 96)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Spouse(s)Lorenzo V. Spencer
EducationPolytechnic High School
Alma materLos Angeles City College
Southwestern Law School
ProfessionLawyer, judge
Known forFirst African-American woman appointed to a judgeship in California

Early life and education

Vaino Hassan was born in 1920, in Los Angeles. As a teenager, she appeared as a dancer in a Laurel and Hardy movie, Bonnie Scotland (1935), along with her father, Abdul Hassan.[4]

She graduated from Polytechnic High School in 1938, attended Los Angeles City College as an undergraduate, and earned a law degree from Southwestern Law School in 1952.[5] She was the third African-American woman admitted to the California bar.[6] Before her law degree, she held a real estate license, and worked in that business.[7]

Career

Vaino Hassan Spencer practiced as a lawyer in Los Angeles. In 1961 she was appointed as a municipal court judge in Los Angeles, the first black woman in California appointed to a judgeship. In 1976, she became a Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge, and in 1980 she was named a Presiding Judge of the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division One. She retired in 2007 as "one of the longest-serving judges in California history."[8]

Personal life and legacy

Vaino Hassan married real estate agent Lorenzo V. Spencer.[9] They divorced in 1967.[10]

The National Association of Women Judges annually presents the Justice Vaino Spencer Leadership Award for outstanding leadership.[11]

Spencer died on October 25, 2016, at her home in Los Angeles.[12][13]

References
  1. "L. A. Gets First Negro Woman Judge in State" Pasadena Independent (October 9, 1961): 2. via Newspapers.com
  2. Beth Ann Krier, "Double Minority: Black Women Lawyers Organize" Los Angeles Times (November 23, 1975): E1.
  3. Shae Collins, "Black History Abounds in L.A." Our Weekly Los Angeles (February 20, 2013).
  4. Amina Hassan, Loren Miller, Civil Rights Attorney and Journalist (University of Oklahoma Press 2015): 266, note 153. ISBN 9780806152677
  5. "Pioneering Alumna Vaino Spencer Retires from the Bench" Southwestern Law School, news release (October 17, 2007).
  6. Yussuf Simmonds, "African American Women Appeal Court Justices" Los Angeles Sentinel (March 29, 2012).
  7. Jessie Carnie Smith, ed., Notable Black American Women Volume 2 (VNR AG 1996): 612. ISBN 9780810391772
  8. "Vaino Spencer to Retired as Presiding Justice" Metropolitan News-Enterprise (August 27, 2007).
  9. "Woman Rules" Jet Magazine (October 26, 1961): 15.
  10. Beverly Beyette, "Q&A: Justice Vaino Spencer on her Career" Los Angeles Times (October 29, 1980): 10.
  11. National Association of Women Judges, Awards Description.
  12. Vaino Spencer, Trailblazing Lawyer, Judge, Appeals Court PJ, Dies at 96 Metropolitan News. October 27, 2016. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  13. "California's first female black judge dies at 96". Houston Chronicle. Associated Press. October 31, 2016. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  • Biography. California Court of Appeal, Second District, Division One.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.