ABSTRACT
Of all the criminal justice professions, the legal field is the one where women have made the greatest strides. One of the best stepping-stones to Congress and to government administration starts with a law degree, and there are many other ways that getting this qualification can open doors to community service and administration. Women now make up a third of the profession and over half of law school graduates. Yet, despite the generally favorable climate and the unprecedented opportunities for women in the law today, a legacy of discrimination remains. This is seen in the big law firms and the underrepresentation of women at the highest levels of partnership. The numbers of Black and Latina women who attend law school are disproportionately low and they, even more than white law school graduates, have extremely high financial loans to pay back. Women’s advances in the legal profession, in short, are cause for celebration but not complacency. This chapter, through the use of personal narratives and biographical information, focuses on female lawyers who work in the criminal justice system, including as judges, and the challenges they face from sexual harassment to disrespect in other ways. Looming through all the stories is the theme of how much discrimination they faced in the early years of their practice as men in the field resisted their rise and held them back in ways that almost sound humorous by present-day standards. This chapter also celebrates their successes in shaping laws and fighting for the rights of their clients.
