Highlights Archives
Lavinia Goodell: Breaking Legal Barriers
One hundred and thirty years ago this week, Lavinia Goodell opened the door for women to practice law in Wisconsin. On March 22, 1877, the Wisconsin Legislature passed a bill prohibiting denial of admission to the state bar on the basis of gender thanks to Goodell's persuasive efforts. Goodell was Wisconsin's first female lawyer, and her challenge to the prevailing attitude about the proper role of women brought official recognition to her professional status as well as acknowledgement for her contributions to women everywhere.
 Lavinia Goodell Rhoda Lavinia Goodell was born in Utica, New York, in 1839, the daughter of prominent abolitionist William Goodell. She moved to Janesville, Wisconsin, in 1871 and began to practice law on her own because no firm would hire her. She soon made a place for herself as a copyist in the firm of Jackson and Norcross, where her dedication to her studies won over Pliny Norcross, who helped her win admission to the Rock County bar in 1874. Admission to the Wisconsin bar, then as now, came by order of a judge after the applicant's legal knowledge and moral character had been thoroughly examined. While Circuit Judge Herman Conger had his doubts about Goodell based on her gender, he could find no legal impediment to her admission.
Although Goodell maintained a general legal practice, she took a particular interest in the rights of married women, penal legislation and prison reform. In 1875, one of her cases was appealed to the State Supreme Court, but her petition (PDF 621KB) to practice before the court was denied because of her gender. In rejecting her request, Chief Justice Edward G. Ryan expressed his outrage at her request, writing that "Nature has tempered woman as little for the juridical conflicts of the court room, as for the physical conflicts of the battle field." This wasn't the first time that Ryan had opposed women's rights — he had vocally criticized the provision giving married women property rights at the 1846 Constitutional Convention too.
Ryan's opinion gained national attention and a negative reaction in the media. Goodell took advantage of the attention and wrote a forceful response to Ryan in the Chicago Legal News, declaring that the barriers to women's admission to the profession would certainly be overthrown. Soon after, Speaker of the State Assembly, John Cassoday, introduced a bill explicitly allowing women to be admitted to the bar. The bill passed and became law in 1877. Goodell reapplied for admission to the Supreme Court (PDF 4KB) in 1879 and was admitted over the protests of Chief Justice Ryan.
Today around 25 percent of Wisconsin's lawyers are women. Women are not only practicing law before the Wisconsin Supreme Court but they are also presiding over it. Shirley S. Abrahamson became Wisconsin's first woman Supreme Court justice in 1976 and its first woman Chief Justice in 1996. She is joined on the court by justices Ann Walsh Bradley and Patience D. Roggensack — and all clearly proving Justice Ryan wrong.
:: Posted March 21, 2007
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