Mary Jane Spurlin
{{short description|American judge}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Mary Jane Spurlin
| honorific-suffix =
| image = Mary Jane Spurlin.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Judge Mary Jane Spurlin, 1924Photo Credit: Oregon Historical Society BB013509
| office = Multnomah County District Court Judge
| term_start = April 1, 1926
| term_end = Unknown
| nominator = Governor Walter M. Pierce
| appointer =
| predecessor =
| successor =
|birth_date = {{birth date|1883|01|16}}
|birth_place =
|death_date = {{death date and age|1970|06|04|1883|01|16}}
|death_place = Portland, Oregon
|party =
|spouse =
|alma_mater = Lewis & Clark Law School
}}
Mary Jane Spurlin (January 16, 1883 – June 4, 1970) became Oregon's first woman judge in 1926 after Governor Walter M. Pierce appointed her as a Multnomah County district judge. In 1927, Spurlin was elected president of the Portland Federation of Women's Clubs.
Early life
Mary Jane Spurlin was a native of Virginia, the daughter of D. A. and Daisy Marie Spurlin.{{cite book|last1=Binheim|first1=Max|last2=Elvin|first2=Charles A|title=Women of the West; a series of biographical sketches of living eminent women in the eleven western states of the United States of America|date=1928|page=165}}{{PD-notice}}
Career
Spurlin graduated from Lewis & Clark Law School in 1924. In 1926, Governor Walter M. Pierce appointed her district judge for Multnomah County. She became Oregon's first women judge on April 1, 1926 when she was sworn into that position. Governor Pierce had previously appointed her to Oregon's Child Welfare Commission.[https://www.newspapers.com/image/95426851/?terms=Spurlin "Pierce Appoints Woman Judge"] Daily Capital Journal, Salem, Oregon, 13 February 1926, p. 1.{{subscription required}}[https://www.newspapers.com/image/133859665/?terms=Spurlin "Women Judge on Multnomah Bench"], Eugene Guard, Eugene, Oregon, 1 April 1926, p. 1.{{subscription required}}[https://www.newspapers.com/image/110277121/?terms=Spurlin "First Women Judge Take Place on Bench"], Daily Capital Journal, Salem, Oregon, 1 April 1926, p. 16.{{subscription required}} She was defeated in May 1928 in the following election.{{Cite news |last=Sullivan |first=Ann |date=September 20, 1959 |title=Legal Field Chosen By Oregon Women |work=The Oregonian}}
In 1935, Spurlin became Oregon's director of women's programs for the Works Progress Administration.[https://www.newspapers.com/image/79816987/?terms=Spurlin "Griffith Picks Oregon Relief Work Leaders"], Statesman Journal, Salem, Oregon, 6 July 1935, p. 1.{{subscription required}}
Spurlin wrote in 1935 about the negative reactions the public had to uniformed police officers, adding that policewomen in street dress had an advantage over uniformed patrolmen in gaining the confidence of both troublesome children and their parents.{{cite web|url=http://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/lewis_clark_law_school/| title=Lewis & Clark Law School|publisher=Oregon Encyclopedia|first=Ronald B.|last=Lansing}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N4z380OCk78C&q=Mary+Jane+Spurlin&pg=PA62|title=Policing Women: The Sexual Politics of Law Enforcement and the Lapd|first=Janis|last=Appier|publisher=Temple University Press|year=1998|isbn=9781566395601}}
Spurlin was a member of the Women Lawyers Association of Oregon.{{cite web|title=The History of Queen's Bench|url=http://www.owlsqueensbench.org/history.html|work=January 11, 2004|publisher=Queen's Bench|accessdate=10 March 2013}} She was also a member of the General Federation of Women's Clubs. Spurlin was elected president of the Portland Federation of Women's Clubs on April 9, 1927. In addition, she was a member of the Business and Professional Women's Club (which was organized in Oregon by Abigail Keasey Frankel), the Soroptimist Club, the Women's Convalescent Home Board, the League of Women Voters, the Phi Delta Delta, and the Professional Woman's League.[https://www.newspapers.com/image/80023610/?terms=Spurlin "Business and Professional Women’s Club"], Statesman Journal, Salem, Oregon, 30 November 1926, p. 7.{{subscription required}}
Personal life
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://records.ancestry.com/Mary_Jane_Spurlin_records.ashx?pid=53018638 Mary Jane Spurlin (1883 - 1970)], ancestry.com
- [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=SP&GSpartial=1&GSbyrel=all&GSst=39&GScntry=4&GSsr=5241&GRid=59062767& Mary Jane Spurlin], findagrave
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Category:Lawyers from Salem, Oregon
Category:Oregon state court judges
Category:Lewis & Clark Law School alumni
Category:Lawyers from Portland, Oregon
Category:20th-century American women judges
Category:20th-century American judges