Amalya Kearse
 |
Amalya Kearse | |
|---|---|
| Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit | |
| Assumed office June 11, 2002 | |
| Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit | |
| In office June 21, 1979 – June 11, 2002 | |
| Appointed by | Jimmy Carter |
| Preceded by | Seat established |
| Succeeded by | Reena Raggi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Amalya Lyle Kearse June 11, 1937 Vauxhall, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Education | Wellesley College (BA) University of Michigan (JD) |
Amalya Lyle Kearse (born June 11, 1937)[1] is a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and a world-class bridge player.
Education and legal career
[edit]Kearse was born in Vauxhall, New Jersey[1] to physician Dr. Myra Lyle Smith Kearse of Lynchburg, Virginia, and postmaster Robert Freeman Kearse; her maternal grandparents were schoolteachers Clara Roberta Alexander Smith and Theodore Parker Smith.[2] She attended Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey. A philosophy major and 1959 graduate of Wellesley College with a Bachelor of Arts degree, she was the only black woman in her law school class at the University of Michigan Law School. She was an editor of the law review and graduated with a Juris Doctor cum laude in 1962. She entered private practice in New York City and rose to become a partner in the respected Wall Street firm of Hughes Hubbard & Reed. She was an adjunct lecturer at New York University Law School from 1968 to 1969.[3]
Federal judicial service
[edit]Kearse was nominated by President Jimmy Carter on May 3, 1979, to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, to a new seat authorized by 92 Stat. 1629. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 19, 1979, and received her commission on June 21, 1979. At the time, she was the first woman and only the second black person (after Thurgood Marshall) on the court.[1] She assumed senior status on June 11, 2002.[3]
Kearse was the author of the 1984 decision McCray v. Abrams, a case in which she developed a test that made it much harder for jurors to be struck because of their race.[4][5] The Supreme Court would develop a test similar to Kearse's in Batson v. Kentucky.
Supreme Court shortlist
[edit]In 1981, Kearse became the first African-American woman to be shortlisted for an appointment as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States; President Ronald Reagan eventually nominated Judge Sandra Day O'Connor of the Arizona Court of Appeals for the position instead.[6]
Consideration for United States attorney general
[edit]In 1993, Kearse was considered by President Bill Clinton for appointment as United States Attorney General; the job eventually went to Janet Reno.[citation needed]
Bridge career
[edit]Kearse is also known as a world-class bridge player. In 1986, playing with longtime partner Jacqui Mitchell, she won the World Women Pairs Championship, which earned her the title of World Bridge Federation World Life Master. She is also a seven-time U.S. national champion of the game.
Honors
[edit]- ACBL Hall of Fame, Blackwood Award 2004[7][8]
Awards
[edit]- Charles H. Goren Award (Personality of the Year) 1980
Wins
[edit]- World Women's Pairs (1) 1986
- North American Bridge Championships (6)
- Women's Board-a-Match Teams (1) 1990
- Women's Knockout Teams (1) 1987
- Women's Swiss Teams (1) 1991
- Life Master Women's Pairs (1) 1972
- Women's Pairs (2) 1971, 2004
- United States Bridge Championships (1)[when?]
- Women's Team Trials (1) 1992
Runners-up
[edit]- North American Bridge Championships (3)
- Mixed Board-a-Match Teams (1) 1996
- Women's Knockout Teams (1) 1991
- Women's Swiss Teams (1) 2001
- United States Bridge Championships (3)
- Women's Team Trials (3) 1988, 1995, 2004
- Other notable 2nd places:
- IOC Grand Prix Women's Teams (1) 2002
Publications
[edit]- — (1990). Bridge Convention Complete (Revised and Expanded ed.). Louisville, KY: Devyn Press, Inc. p. 1121. ISBN 0-910791-76-7.
See also
[edit]- Bill Clinton Supreme Court candidates
- List of African-American federal judges
- List of African-American jurists
- List of first women lawyers and judges in the United States
- List of United States federal judges by longevity of service
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Goldstein, Tom. "Amalya Lyle Kearse; Woman in the News", The New York Times, June 25, 1979.
- ^ Moses, Sibyl E. African American Women Writers in New Jersey, 1836-2000: A Biographical Dictionary and Bibliographic Guide. Rutgers University Press, 2003. p. 99
- ^ a b Amalya Lyle Kearse at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- ^ "Michael McCRAY, Petitioner-Appellee, v. Robert ABRAMS, Respondent-Appellant". Open Jurist. F2d (750): 1113. December 4, 1984. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
- ^ "Carter's Quiet Revolution". Slate. July 14, 2019. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
- ^ "41 years before Ketanji Brown Jackson, Amalya Lyle Kearse was considered for the Supreme Court". 19thnews.org. March 2, 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
- ^ "Induction by Year" Archived 2014-12-05 at the Wayback Machine. Hall of Fame. ACBL. Retrieved 2014-12-21.
- ^ "Kearse, Amalya" Archived 2016-03-19 at the Wayback Machine. Hall of Fame. ACBL. Retrieved 2014-12-21.
External links
[edit]- Amalya Lyle Kearse at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- Brenner, Hannah; Knake, Renee Newman (Summer 2017). "Shortlisted". UCLA Women's Law Journal. 24 (2): 88. doi:10.5070/L3242037775. SSRN 2850599.
- Amalya Kearse at the ACBL Hall of Fame (archived)
- "International record for Amalya Kearse". World Bridge Federation.
- "Master Points record for Amalya Kearse". World Bridge Federation.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
- 1937 births
- Living people
- 20th-century American judges
- 20th-century American women judges
- 20th-century American lawyers
- 20th-century American women lawyers
- 21st-century American judges
- 21st-century American women judges
- African-American judges
- 20th-century African-American lawyers
- American contract bridge players
- Columbia High School (New Jersey) alumni
- Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- Lawyers from New York City
- People from Essex County, New Jersey
- People from Union Township, Union County, New Jersey
- United States court of appeals judges appointed by Jimmy Carter
- University of Michigan Law School alumni
- Wellesley College alumni
- New York (state) Republicans
- 21st-century African-American lawyers