HR1243 - Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the appointment of the all-female Supreme Court of Texas.

      H.R. No. 1243       R E S O L U T I O N          WHEREAS, One hundred years ago, the State of Texas made   history with the appointment of a supreme court composed solely of   women; and          WHEREAS, Believed to be among the first in the nation, the   all-female supreme court was selected by Governor Pat Morris Neff   in 1925 to hear a case involving a powerful and well-connected   fraternity, the Woodmen of the World; titled W. T. Johnson et al. v.   J. M. Darr et al. , the matter centered around two tracts of land in   El Paso being claimed by trustees of the organization; they took the   trial court's only partly favorable verdict to the El Paso Court of   Civil Appeals, which fully sided with the group in its ruling; and          WHEREAS, The case was further appealed to the state supreme   court, but all three of its justices were members of the Woodmen and   therefore disallowed from hearing the matter; state law required   Governor Neff to appoint special justices in their stead, but he   discovered that all the qualified candidates he considered were   members of the fraternity as well; and          WHEREAS, Governor Neff had previously named women to serve on   a number of state boards, and he was the first Texas governor to   hire a female private secretary; he ultimately appointed to the   special court three experienced women lawyers, including associate   justices Ruth Virginia Brazzil of Galveston, a real estate broker,   and Hattie Leah Henenberg of Dallas, an advocate for free legal aid;   he selected as chief justice Hortense Sparks Ward of Houston, one of   the first female attorneys to be admitted to the State Bar of Texas   and a leader in the women's rights movement; her son-in-law later   reported that she had been unable to suppress a smile when reciting   the part of her oath of office declaring she had never fought in a   duel; and          WHEREAS, The proceedings of this historic court were a press   sensation, covered by The New York Times and other major outlets;   the clerk of the court reportedly refused to work for "a bunch of   women," so the deputy clerk took his place; the special court met   three times before handing down its unanimous ruling in favor of the   Woodmen in May 1925; and          WHEREAS, In an era when most American women were not allowed   to serve on juries, the members of the all-female Supreme Court of   Texas were true trailblazers, and it is indeed fitting to celebrate   this remarkable milestone; now, therefore, be it          RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas   Legislature hereby commemorate the 100th anniversary of the   appointment of the all-female supreme court.     Dutton     Burrows Guerra Morales Shaw   Alders Guillen Morgan   Allen Harless Muñoz   Anchía Harris Noble   Ashby Harris Davila Olcott   Barry Harrison Oliverson   Bell of Kaufman Hayes Ordaz   Bell of Montgomery Hefner Orr   Bernal Hernandez Patterson   Bhojani Hickland Paul   Bonnen Hinojosa Perez of El Paso   Bowers Holt Perez of Harris   Bryant Hopper Phelan   Buckley Howard Pierson   Bucy Hull Plesa   Bumgarner Hunter Raymond   Button Isaac Reynolds   Cain Johnson Richardson   Campos Jones of Dallas Rodríguez Ramos   Canales Jones of Harris Romero   Capriglione Kerwin Rose   Cole King Rosenthal   Collier Kitzman Schatzline   Cook LaHood Schofield   Cortez Lalani Schoolcraft   Craddick Lambert Shaheen   Cunningham Landgraf Shofner   Curry Leach Simmons   Darby Leo Wilson Slawson   A. Davis of Dallas Little Smithee   Y. Davis of Dallas Longoria Spiller   Dean Lopez of Bexar Swanson   DeAyala Lopez of Cameron Talarico   Dorazio Louderback Tepper   Dutton Lowe Thompson   Dyson Lozano Tinderholt   Fairly Lujan Toth   Flores Luther Troxclair   Frank Manuel Turner   Gámez Martinez VanDeaver   Garcia of Bexar Martinez Fischer Vasut   Garcia of Dallas McLaughlin Villalobos   Garcia Hernandez McQueeney Virdell   Gates Metcalf Vo   Gerdes Meyer Walle   Geren Meza Ward Johnson   Gervin-Hawkins Money Wharton   González of Dallas Moody Wilson   González of El Paso Morales of Harris Wu   Goodwin Morales of Maverick Zwiener     ______________________________   Speaker of the House                 I certify that H.R. No. 1243 was adopted by the House on May 22,   2025, by a non-record vote.     ______________________________   Chief Clerk of the House