[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 101 (Thursday, July 28, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: July 28, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
          JUDGE INGE JOHNSON: BLAZING TRAILS FOR WOMEN LAWYERS

  Mr. HEFLIN. Mr. President, in this day and age, when women make up 
nearly half the student population in our Nation's law schools and 
practice in large numbers throughout the country, it is hard to imagine 
a time when they were a rarity in the judiciary and the legal 
profession. Inge Johnson came on the scene at just such a time, and her 
story is one that has inspired many over the years.
  When Judge Johnson came to the United States in the late 1960's, she 
had already earned a law degree from the University of Copenhagen in 
her native Denmark. With the help and guidance of then law school dean 
at the University of Alabama, Dan Meador, who is currently a professor 
at the University of Virginia Law School, Inge enrolled in Alabama's 
comparative law master's degree program in 1969. It was highly unusual 
to have a foreign student attending Alabama's law school, and this made 
her something of a curiosity. Dr. Meador remembers the other students 
being keenly interested in her background. She sparked great interest 
in the field of comparative law, and developed many close friendships. 
One of those friendships happened to be with a bright and personable 
young man from Tuscumbia, AL, by the name of Bill Johnson. This 
friendship ripened into a courtship and eventually marriage.
  After completing the comparative law program at Alabama, Inge 
returned to Copenhagen, where she practiced law for a while, but soon 
returned to America to fulfill her dream of practicing here. However, 
she soon found that one of the requirements for admission to practice 
in the United States was to have a degree from an accredited American 
law school. Her determination was great, so she enrolled in the 
University of Alabama Law School for her juris doctor degree. When she 
finally received the degree, she had completed the equivalent of 7 
years of legal education.
  Mrs. Johnson then applied to take the bar examination, but soon found 
that she had yet another obstacle to overcome in her path to becoming a 
practicing lawyer in the States: She had to be a naturalized American 
citizen. She had previously applied for citizenship, but had to meet 
the residency requirement, which she would not meet for a few more 
months. The Supreme Court of Alabama came to her assistance by allowing 
her to take the bar exam since she demonstrated she would become a 
citizen shortly. After overcoming hurdle after hurdle, Mrs. Johnson 
became a full-fledged lawyer and shortly thereafter a full-fledged 
American citizen.
  In 1973, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson returned to his hometown of Tuscumbia, 
AL. Bill's forebearers, particularly the Johnsons and Helen Keller's 
family, were among Tuscumbia's early settlers.
  For many years, Inge was, incredibly, the only woman practicing law 
in all of northwest Alabama, and very possibly the only one practicing 
north of Birmingham. She and her husband practiced law together for a 
number of years under the firm name of Johnson and Johnson.
  Sixteen years ago, Inge was elected presiding circuit court judge of 
Colbert County, of which Tuscumbia is the county seat. Now in her third 
consecutive term, she did encounter some resistance when she entered 
the political arena in 1978, when some voters said she should be at 
home with her children and that a woman could not measure up to the 
demands of a judgeship. All this was said to a woman who had first gone 
to school in a country where half the practicing lawyers were women, 
and where it was not considered at all unusual for a woman to enter the 
profession. In spite of these sentiments, however, her abilities, 
qualifications, and determination allowed her to persevere and succeed. 
And attitudes have changed to the point where statements like this 
would be almost unheard of today. Besides, she has proven herself to be 
a nurturing and caring mother.
  Inge Johnson and hundreds of other trail blazers like her have 
enhanced the legal profession in many positive ways that are difficult 
to measure. There is no doubt that they opened the doors through which 
some of the brightest legal minds have been able to enter and begin 
making valuable contributions to society.
  I ask unanimous consent that an article appearing in the Times Daily, 
a daily newspaper for Florence, Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and 
Tuscumbia, on the life and career of Judge Inge Johnson be printed in 
the Record at this point.
  There being no objection, the article was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

              Johnson Prompted Curiosity When She Arrived

                           (By Robert Palmer)

       Tuscumbia.--She didn't begin her law career with the intent 
     to change the perception of female lawyers in the Deep South, 
     but in a roundabout way, Inge Johnson did.
       After 16 years on the bench as Colbert County's presiding 
     circuit judge and a decade of experience in private practice 
     in Denmark and Tuscumbia, Johnson believes her presence has 
     had a positive effect on women entering the legal profession 
     in the Shoals.
       A native of Denmark, she came to Tuscumbia in 1973 after 
     marrying William T. Johnson Jr., also a lawyer, whose family 
     has had its roots in Tuscumbia since antebellum times. For 
     several years, she was the only woman practicing law in 
     Northwest Alabama and possibly the only woman practicing 
     north of Birmingham.
       She said she was surprised by the small number of women 
     enrolled in the University of Alabama Law School when she 
     enrolled there in 1969 to obtain a comparative law degree. In 
     her native Copenhagen, where she had already earned a law 
     degree, almost half the practicing attorneys were women, and 
     it was not considered unusual for a woman to enter the legal 
     profession, she said.
       ``It didn't dawn on me that being a female in law would be 
     different here, but it was,'' she said.
       After earning a juris doctorate from Alabama, she moved to 
     Tuscumbia with her husband, and they entered practice 
     together. She said her appearance in the courtroom of a Deep 
     South steeped in old traditions attracted curiosity from her 
     male peers rather than hostility or quiet discrimination.
       ``My peers did not discriminate, though I was worried about 
     it,'' she said. ``They were more surprised than anything 
     else. It was not like trying to break into a fraternity.''
       However, she soon became frustrated. Her daytime hours were 
     devoted to her work, at night, her time was spent with their 
     first child. Two more would follow over the years.
       Johnson said she was in a Colbert judge's office one 
     afternoon and complained that she wasn't hearing the lawyer 
     ``gossip'' she needed to know because she was not well-known. 
     She also expressed frustration because she did not mingle 
     socially very often with other women because she was devoting 
     her time to establishing her practice.
       A seasoned Tuscumbia attorney in the judge's office at the 
     time laughed and told her he would keep her posted on all the 
     ``good gossip,'' she said.
       ``And he still does to this day,'' she added.
       When she ran for election as judge, her gender became an 
     issue in the campaign, though she said she had hoped to avoid 
     it as unimportant.


                       women have earned respect

       Over the years, she has talked with many area high school 
     students interested in the law profession, especially girls.
       ``I hope that I've inspired them in some way,'' she said. 
     ``A law career ties in well with family values.''
       The acceptance of women in law in the Shoals can be 
     attributed to a number of things, she said.
       ``There have never been any radical feminist lawyers around 
     here. All those I've dealt with have been very cordial and 
     professional. There has been no sticking together and 
     fighting their male colleagues,'' she said.
       ``What has characterized women attorneys here is 
     competency, capability and respect. That encourages respect 
     from their male colleagues,'' she said. ``They (women) are 
     darn good attorneys first.''

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