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Joan Dempsey Klein:
She Was a Leader, a Trailblazer, an Inspiration
By Elizabeth White
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—Erik Luna Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elizabeth White is seen delivering remarks on Thursday at a ceremony at the Criminal Justice Center in the downtown Los Angeles Civic Center. |
The remarks below were delivered by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elizabeth White on Thursday at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center at a ceremony inducting five persons, all deceased, to the Criminal Justice Wall of Fame. Plaques honoring them are mounted on a wall outside the building. Reference to Vaino Spencer is to a Court of Appeal presiding justice who sat on this district’s Div. One, now deceased.
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ustice Joan Dempsey Klein earned the privilege of being inducted into the Wall of Fame. She was a trailblazer in every sense of the word and her presence was large.
After college, she joined the touring aquatic performance show Buster Crabbe’s Aqua-Parade, a synchronized swimming troupe that toured Europe in 1950.
When she returned to the U.S., she was awarded a one-year fellowship at UCLA, where, as a female athlete, she was encouraged to study physical education.
Recognizing the limitations of a career in synchronized swimming, she decided to study law instead. She paid her own way through law school by working part-time jobs. By the time she completed her degree in 1954, she was married and had two sons.
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he served as a judge for more than 50 years—including 36 years on the Court of Appeal. She was a leading proponent of women’s rights, particularly in boosting equality and eliminating sexism in the legal profession. In 1979, she and Judge Vaino Spencer co-founded the National Association of Women Judges, an organization working to stem the gender biases that the then-small but growing number of women judges routinely faced. Her work to create NAWJ was inspired by a desire to address the pervasive sexism and discrimination faced by women throughout the legal profession.
Her desire to support women in the profession was awakened when as a lawyer, one judge repeatedly referred to her as “madam” rather than “counsel.” She responded by saying, “Your honor, I am not a madam. I would appreciate your referring to me as ‘counsel’ just as you do my co-counsel.”
In her early days as a lawyer, Justice Klein worked as a California deputy attorney general in California, rising in the profession despite having to endure persistent sexism which she described as “overt discrimination that included crude remarks as well as getting chased around the mulberry bush.”
She was frequently critiqued based on her appearance and outwardly rejected expectations about how women should dress, casting such ideas off as ridiculous. In one news story published in 1977, Justice Klein was interviewed about her thoughts on high heels, a fashion statement she eschewed. She exclaimed:
“They’re ridiculous. I absolutely will not wear them. I think they are not only unhealthy, but it’s demeaning for a designer to suggest that women, to be stylish should wear such a shoe.”
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ustice klein was devoted to the five children in the blended family created by her marriage to Conrad Klein. As parents, she and Conrad insisted that the children and their friends engage in discussions about politics and encouraged, particularly the girls, to achieve goals and become who they wanted to be, even perhaps the first woman president of the United States.
As a member of NAWJ and a former president of NAWJ, I enjoyed my alliance with Justice Klein as we sought to improve the lives of women in the law. I remember fondly that in any meeting where she agreed with a statement or principle being espoused by a speaker or someone in the audience, she would spontaneously stand and shout “Hzah!”
I would ask that you now—in her honor—repeat after me, “Hzah!”
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JOAN DEMPSEY KLEIN 1924-2020 |
Copyright 2025, Metropolitan News Company