Constance Baker Motley

Constance Baker Motley was the first African American woman to argue a case before the Supreme Court and the first to serve as a federal judge. She argued ten landmark civil rights cases before the Supreme Court, winning nine. 

She attended New York University (B.A., 1943) and Columbia University Law School (LL.B., 1946). Motley joined the legal staff of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund while at law school and subsequently became associate counsel and a key lieutenant to Thurgood Marshall. From 1945 to 1964, Motley worked on major school segregation cases supported by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. She served as chief counsel for James Meredith in his fight to enter the University of Mississippi and led the defense for “Freedom Fighters” who rode interstate buses to test the success of desegregation laws. In 1964, she began a campaign for the extension of civil rights legislation and for additional low- and middle-income housing. In 1965, Motley was elected president of the Borough of Manhattan–the first woman to hold the office. As president, she authored a revitalization plan for Harlem and East Harlem, successfully fighting for funds to improve these and other underserved areas of the city. She was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in January 1966. She became Chief Judge on June 1, 1982, and served until October 1, 1986. Her autobiography, Equal Justice Under Law, was published in 1998.