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for Interview with Judge Margaret Driscoll
Interview with Judge Margaret Driscoll
IntervieweeInterview with
Margaret Driscoll
American, 1915 - 2000
InterviewerInterviewed by
Barbara M. Quinn
American
Date1999 October 30
ClassificationsGraphics
Credit LineGift of the Connecticut Bar Foundation
DescriptionOral history interview with Judge Margaret Driscoll who was interviewed by Judge Barbara M. Quinn on October 30, 1999 and November 8, 1999 for the Connecticut Bar Foundation's History of Connecticut Women in the Legal Profession Project.
Topics Discussed:
- Early Life and Family: Her father worked in the clothing business, eventually ran stores in Bridgeport and New Britain. One sister became Director of the American Cancer Society. Another sister worked in television and radio but passed away at age 45 due to diabetes.
- Education: Attended Madison School, Shelton Junior High, and Central High School. Graduated from Wellesley College in 1935. Yale Law School in 1935. Only four women in her class. Her law professor Harry Shulman.
- Bar Admission and Early Career: Admitted to the Connecticut Bar in 1938. Began practicing law in Bridgeport in 1938 with Arthur Weiss. Worked indexing attorney general reports before transitioning to private practice.
- Political Activities: Active in Connecticut Democratic politics during the late 1930s and early 1940s. Ran for Congress in 1944. Advocated for entering World War II and made speeches to Connecticut Democrats.
- Labor Advocacy: Became spokesperson and general counsel for the Connecticut State Labor Council (AFL-CIO) in 1945. Advocated for labor laws, unemployment compensation, and teachers’ tenure. Continued labor advocacy until her judicial appointment in 1960.
- Marriage and Family: Married on September 30, 1946. Son born in 1947.
- Judicial Appointments: Nominated to the Court of Common Pleas in 1959 but rejected.
Appointed as Connecticut’s first woman juvenile court judge in 1960.
- Juvenile Court Work from 1960-1978: Advocated for visitation rights and proper care for children.
- National and Regional Leadership: President of the New England Council for Juvenile Court Judges (1973-1976). President of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (1976-1977).
- Reflections on Judicial System Changes: Changes observed over her career.
- Community Involvement: Promoted housing for underprivileged families and proper school funding.
- Statutory Interpretation and Case Decisions
Topics Discussed:
- Early Life and Family: Her father worked in the clothing business, eventually ran stores in Bridgeport and New Britain. One sister became Director of the American Cancer Society. Another sister worked in television and radio but passed away at age 45 due to diabetes.
- Education: Attended Madison School, Shelton Junior High, and Central High School. Graduated from Wellesley College in 1935. Yale Law School in 1935. Only four women in her class. Her law professor Harry Shulman.
- Bar Admission and Early Career: Admitted to the Connecticut Bar in 1938. Began practicing law in Bridgeport in 1938 with Arthur Weiss. Worked indexing attorney general reports before transitioning to private practice.
- Political Activities: Active in Connecticut Democratic politics during the late 1930s and early 1940s. Ran for Congress in 1944. Advocated for entering World War II and made speeches to Connecticut Democrats.
- Labor Advocacy: Became spokesperson and general counsel for the Connecticut State Labor Council (AFL-CIO) in 1945. Advocated for labor laws, unemployment compensation, and teachers’ tenure. Continued labor advocacy until her judicial appointment in 1960.
- Marriage and Family: Married on September 30, 1946. Son born in 1947.
- Judicial Appointments: Nominated to the Court of Common Pleas in 1959 but rejected.
Appointed as Connecticut’s first woman juvenile court judge in 1960.
- Juvenile Court Work from 1960-1978: Advocated for visitation rights and proper care for children.
- National and Regional Leadership: President of the New England Council for Juvenile Court Judges (1973-1976). President of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (1976-1977).
- Reflections on Judicial System Changes: Changes observed over her career.
- Community Involvement: Promoted housing for underprivileged families and proper school funding.
- Statutory Interpretation and Case Decisions
Object number2024.38.3a-d
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)
Subject Terms
- Women
- Lawyers
- Women lawyers
- Oral history
- Interview films
- Interview transcripts
- Interviews
- Oral narratives
- Attorneys
- Family
- Education
- Sports
- Yale University
- Law schools
- Bridgeport (Conn.)
- G. Fox & Co.
- Politics, practical
- World War, 1939-1945
- American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)
- Mothers
- Housing projects
- Sexism
- Judges
- Political candidates
- Women politicians
- Labor unions
- Connecticut State Labor Council, AFL-CIO
- Unemployment
- Unemployed
- Activism and advocacy
- Juvenile courts
- Judges
- Interviews and Oral Histories
- History of Connecticut Women in the Legal Profession Project
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