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

89(R) HR 1243 - Enrolled version - Bill Text

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