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Historical records matching Judge Constance Motley
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About Judge Constance Motley
Judge Constance Motley (Baker)
Find A Grave Memorial ID # 12261874
Constance Baker Motley was an American jurist and politician, who served as a Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. A key strategist of the civil rights movement, she was New York state senator, and Borough President of Manhattan in New York City before becoming the first African American female to serve as U.S. federal judge.
She obtained a role with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund as a staff attorney in 1946 after receiving her law degree, and continued her work with the organization for more than twenty years.
She was also the first African American female to argue at the U.S. Supreme Court. Of her 10 landmark civil rights SCOTUS cases, she won nine of them.
She was a law clerk to future U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, aiding him in the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education.
Motley was also the first African-American woman appointed to the federal judiciary, serving as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
ADDITIONAL FAMOUS FIRSTS: She was also the first African American woman to attend Columbia Law School, and the first African-American female elected to the New York State Senate.
Motley was also a leading figure in the desegregation of Southern universities and public spaces.
Civil Rights Queen: Constance Baker Motley and the Struggle for Equality by Tomiko Brown-Nagin, 2022
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Judge Constance Motley's Timeline
| 1921 |
September 14, 1921
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New Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut, United States
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| 2005 |
September 28, 2005
Age 84
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New York City, New York County, New York, United States
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