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Interview with Judge Anne C. Dranginis

IntervieweeInterview with Anne C. Dranginis American

InterviewerInterviewed by Alexandra D. DiPentima American, born 1953

Date2005 February 9

DimensionsDuration: 1 Hour, 57 Minutes, 38 Seconds

ClassificationsGraphics

Credit LineGift of the Connecticut Bar Foundation

DescriptionOral history interview with Judge Anne C. Dranginis who was interviewed by Judge Alexandra D. DiPentima on February 9, 2005 for the Connecticut Bar Foundation's History of Connecticut Women in the Legal Profession Project.

Topic Discussed:

- Early Life Background : Dranginis grew up in Litchfield County, Connecticut, born in Waterbury, and later moved to Goshen. Her mother was a teacher at the Sarka School in Litchfield and her father a machinist at the Torrington Company.

- Great Depression and WWII: She recounts stories from the Depression and World War II, noting her father served in the military in Bora Bora.

- Early Education: Dranginis's schooling began in Goshen public schools. She attended Wamogo Regional High School, participating in cheerleading and basketball.

- Education and Civic Involvement : Dranginis's parents highly valued education as a path to upward mobility and were deeply involved in civic activities and politics, instilling in her a strong sense of contribution and the drive to excel.

- College Experience at Manhattanville: Dranginis attended Manhattanville College from 1965 to 1969, majoring in philosophy.

- Political Involvement: During college, she worked in Robert Kennedy's Senate office in New York City in 1967 and 1968. Her father was a Democratic nominee for the state legislature in Goshen in 1960 and campaigned for John Kennedy. Her maternal grandfather was also involved in Waterbury politics during the 1933 election.

- Transition to Law and Early Legal Career: She applied to UConn Law School and gained practical experience working at Arnold Markle's State's Attorney's Office and the Haddam Training Facility, and handled criminal law cases.

- Challenges in the Legal Profession : Dranginis faced gender-based obstacles early in her legal career, noting difficulties in securing positions in Hartford law firms in the 1970s due to discriminatory hiring practices against women. Ultimately, she transitioned to the public sector, recognizing the persistent challenges women encountered in private practice.

- Public Sector Work: Dranginis continued her work with Lew Rome's office, and worked in Hartford with the Board of Pardons, and was eventually appointed as a part-time Assistant State's Attorney in May 1978.

Object number2024.38.23a-i

NotesProject Overview: At the turn of the 20th century, other than Mary Hall, women lawyers were virtually unknown in Connecticut. By contrast, at the turn of the 21st century, law schools were enrolling roughly the same number of women as men. Since their earliest time at the bar, women have become leaders in all areas of the profession at a pace out of all proportion to their brief history and number.

In 1999, the Fellows of the Connecticut Bar Foundation initiated the Oral History of Connecticut Women in the Legal Profession Project. Within the framework of this dynamic project, the Fellows have been creating a permanent video, audio, and photographic historical record of milestone achievements of women as they have become more visible and achieved prominence in the field of law. In 2019, a leadership donation of $20,000 from the law firm of Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey enabled the project to significantly broaden its scope and plan for the future.

Through its first two phases, the project worked with award-winning documentarian Karyl Evans and attorney/photographer Isabel Chenoweth to produce fifty-eight oral history interviews with outstanding female attorneys and 118 portraits of women in the Connecticut judiciary.

The oral history interviews have collected the stories of women whose ingenuity, perseverance, and intelligence dismantled barriers that historically prevented women from pursuing careers in the law. Connecticut has benefited from the efforts of these “pioneers” as they enriched the legal profession by joining the ranks of their male peers and paved the way for more women to join the profession. (Source: Connecticut Bar Foundation)