Betty Binns Fletcher
Betty Binns Fletcher (b. 1923) was a federal judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco. She joined the court in 1979 after being nominated by President Jimmy Carter. She was serving on senior status at the time of her death, on October 22, 2012.[1][2]
Early life and education
Fletcher graduated from Stanford University with her bachelor's degree in 1943 and later from University of Washington School of Law with her J.D. degree in 1956.[3]
Professional career
Fletcher was a private practice attorney in the State of Washington from 1956 to 1979.[3]
Judicial nominations and appointments
Fletcher was nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit by President Jimmy Carter on July 12, 1979 to a new seat created by 92 Stat. 1629, which was approved by Congress. Fletcher was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on September 26, 1979 and received commission on September 26, 1979.[3] She took on senior status on November 1, 1998 in order to accommodate the demands of Republican senators who cited anti-nepotism laws in blocking the confirmation of her son Judge William Fletcher to the court in 1998. However, upon assuming senior status, she maintained a full case load for a number of years afterwards.[4] She passed away on October 22, 2012.[2]
Approach to the law
U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik mourned Fletcher's passing, stating, "She had experienced discrimination herself in her life, and her perspective included looking out for the downtrodden, the little person — but always within the framework of the law." In fact, recalling her efforts to obtain employment as an early female lawyer, Binns has commented, "Prejudice came down on me like a ton of bricks because ... the professor who was supposed to get interviews for graduating students never got one for me. So I pounded the pavement with my resume and would just go in cold and say I wanted to see the hiring partner. The receptionist always thought some secretary was getting sacked, so I would get in and get the interview."[4] For these reasons, U.S. District Chief Judge Marsha Pechman sees Fletcher as a role model for women, stating "She was always willing to share with other women and talk about her life of being a mom and a judge and a lawyer."[4]
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ "Judge Betty’s Revenge" Seattle Weekly August 18, 2009
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Statesmen Journal, "US appeals judge Betty Fletcher dies at 89," October 23, 2012
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Judge Fletcher's Biography from the Federal Judicial Center
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Seattle PI, "Liberal US appeals judge Betty Fletcher dies at 89" 10/23/2012
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| 1977 |
Ballantine • Bownes • Boyle • Bua • Carr • Clark • Cowan • Daly • Filippine • Higginbotham • Hoeveler • Hug • Johnstone • Kane • Keith • Leval • Logan • MacLaughlin • McKay • Melton • Merritt • Murphy • Nickerson • Oberdorfer • Roszkowski • Roy • Rubin • Sifton • Tang • Vance • Veron | ||
| 1978 |
Arnold • Baker • Boyle • Burns • Campos • Claiborne • Collins • Cook • Devine • Diamond • Duplantier • Edenfield • Friedman • Gonzalez • Greene • Jenkins • Lowe • Mazzone • McMillian • O'Brien • Pfaelzer • Phillips • Pollak • Sand • Shapiro • Simmons • Smith • Sweet • Tanner • Wiseman • Ziegler | ||
| 1979 |
Ackerman • Alarcon • Anderson • Arceneaux • Arnold • Aspen • Beatty • Beer • Belew • Bertelsman • Bilby • N. Black • S. Black • Bloch • Bowen • Brett • Brooks • Brown • Buchmeyer • Bunton • Burciaga • Cabranes • Carr • Carrigan • Castagna • Cire • Clark • Cohn • Conaboy • Cordova • Crabb • Cudahy • Davis • DeAnda • Debevoise • Edwards • Eginton • Ellison • Enslen • O. Evans • T. Evans • Farris • Ferguson • Fletcher • Frye • Garcia • Garza • B. Gibson • H. Gibson • Gierbolini-Ortiz • Giles • Gilliam • Green • Hall • Hastings • Hatchett • Hatfield • Hatter • Hawkins • Henderson • Higby • Hillman • Houck • Howard • Hudspeth • Hungate • F. Johnson • S. Johnson • N. Jones • S. Jones • Karlton • Kazen • Kearse • Keeton • Kehoe • Kennedy • Kidd • King • Kravitch • Loughlin • Martin • McCurn • McDonald • McNaught • McNichols • Mikva • Mitchell • Moran • Murnaghan • Murphy • D. Nelson • D.W. Nelson • Newblatt • Newman • Overton • Paine • Panner • J. Parker • R. Parker • Penn • Perez-Gimenez • Perry • Politz • Poole • Porter • Pregerson • Price • Rambo • Ramirez • Reavley • Redden • E. Reed • S. Reed • Reinhardt • Renner • Robinson • Rothstein • Sachs • Saffels • Sanders • Sarokin • Schroeder • Schwartz • Seay • Senter • Seymour • Shannon • Shaw • Shoob • Skopil • Sloviter • Sofaer • Spellman • Sprouse • Staker • Tate • Taylor • Thompson • Tidwell • Unthank • Vietor • Vining • Wald • Ward • Weinshienk • West • Wicker • Williams • Winder • Woods • Wright • Zobel | ||
| 1980 |
Aguilar • Aldrich • Anderson • Boochever • Breyer • Britt • Cahill • Canby • Carroll • Cerezo • Clemon • S. Ervin • R. Erwin • Getzendanner • Gilmore • Ginsburg • Haltom • Hardy • Henderson • Hobbs • Holschuh • Horton • Howard • Johnson • Keep • Kelly • Kenyon • Kocoras • Marquez • Marshall • Michael • Nixon • Norris • Patel • Polozola • Propst • Quackenbush • Ramsey • Rice • Shadur • Spiegel • Tashima • Thompson • Vela • White • Williams | ||
| 1981 | |||
