Ellen Ash Peters

Ellen Ash Peters (March 21, 1930 - April 17, 2024) was a lawyer and judge, known for her significant contributions to the legal field in Connecticut. Born in Berlin, Germany, in 1930, she immigrated to the United States with her family in 1939, fleeing Nazi Germany.

Peters graduated from Swarthmore College and then Yale Law School in 1954. Two years later, she became the first woman appointed to the Yale Law School faculty, specializing in contracts and commercial law, and later became the first woman to gain full professorship in 1964. In 1978, Governor Ella T. Grasso appointed her as the first woman to serve on the Connecticut Supreme Court.

She made history again in 1984 when she was appointed the court's first female Chief Justice, a position she held until her mandatory retirement in 1996. During her tenure, she authored the majority opinion in the landmark 1996 school desegregation case, Sheff v. O'Neill. After retiring as Chief Justice, she continued to serve as a judge trial referee and taught as a visiting professor at the University of Connecticut School of Law.

Ellen Ash Peters passed away on April 17, 2024, at the age of 94, leaving a legacy as a trailblazer for women in the legal profession and a champion of justice.

Sources:

Ellen Ash Peters, first female chief justice of Connecticut Supreme Court, dies at 94 | AP News. (2024, April 17). AP News. https://apnews.com/article/ellen-ash-peters-died-44074c35ff0ae0ffeb5ef01be6dc4a6e

Ellen Ash Peters — CT Women’s Hall of Fame. (n.d.). CT Women’s Hall of Fame. https://www.cwhf.org/inductees/ellen-ash-peters