Madge Bradley (November 14, 1904 – March 21, 2000) was an American attorney and

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

. Bradley served as San Diego's first female judge and was the first and only woman to serve on the bench in San Diego during her long career.

Early life

On November 14, 1904, Bradley was born in Ukiah, California. Bradley's parents operated a wine grape farm. She was the second-oldest of four children. When she was six years old, her parents moved to

Oceanside, California Oceanside is a city on the South Coast (California), South Coast of California, located in San Diego County, California, San Diego County. The city had a population of 167,086 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. The city is a popular ...

, where her mother was from. She graduated from Oceanside-Carlsbad Union High School in 1922.

Education

Bradley took

law school A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

correspondence courses from La Salle Extension University in Chicago. In 1933, she passed the

California Bar Exam The State Bar of California is California's official attorney licensing agency. It is responsible for managing the admission of lawyers to the practice of law, investigating complaints of professional misconduct, prescribing appropriate disciplin ...

but did not work as a lawyer until 1940 due to the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

Career

After high school, Bradley worked at the Union Trust Insurance and the Trust Company in San Diego, California.

Legal

In 1942, Bradley opened her own

practice Practice or practise may refer to: Education and learning * Practice (learning method), a method of learning by repetition * Phantom practice, phenomenon in which a person's abilities continue to improve, even without practicing * Practice-based ...

that specialized in

adoption Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...

domestic relations In the common law tradition, the law of domestic relations is a broad category that encompasses: * divorce; * property settlements; * alimony, spousal support, or other maintenance; * the establishment of paternity; * the establishment or termina ...

probate Probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased, or whereby the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy in the sta ...

, and guardianship work. Her interest and enthusiasm for this kind of work led her to chair the Community Welfare Council's Adoption Study Committee which served as an important tool for changing California's adoption laws and gave San Diego County the first license to run an adoption agency. She served as director of the San Diego County Bar Association for two years in the late 1940s. In October 1952, Bradley was appointed by Judge Arthur L. Mundo to sit as a superior court judge temporary for a single trial, placing her as the first woman judge in San Diego, California. In 1953, Bradley was officially appointed to the bench in San Diego County by Governor

Goodwin J. Knight Goodwin Jess "Goodie" Knight (December 9, 1896 – May 22, 1970) was an American politician who served as the 31st governor of California from 1953 until 1959. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was the 35th lieutenant governor ...

, the first woman to serve in this capacity.Obituary: Madge Bradley; Pioneering Female Judge
(March 24, 2000). ''Los Angeles Times''. Bradley served this position until her retirement in 1971. During this time, she was re-elected for her position on three separate occasions, winning each election easily. Bradley was given many awards because of her contributions to San Diego. In 1953, the year she was appointed as a judge, she was named San Diego Woman of the Year. She also received several awards from religious groups, service organizations, and the legal community. In 2002, she was inducted into the " Women's Museum of California" Hall of Fame.

Personal life

On March 21, 2000, Bradley died at

Scripps Mercy Hospital Scripps Mercy Hospital is a private Catholic hospital located in San Diego, California. Founded in 1890, it is the oldest hospital in San Diego County and has campuses in Chula Vista and Hillcrest. The hospital has 700 acute-care-licensed beds ...

in San Diego, California. She was 95 years old.

Legacy

In 1995, the Madge Bradley Building, where domestic and probate cases are heard, was named in her honor. In December 2017, the Madge Bradley Courthouse was permanently closed, when all court operations were transferred to the new Central Courthouse at 1100 Union Street.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bradley, Madge 1904 births 2000 deaths People from Oceanside, California California lawyers 20th-century American judges 20th-century American women judges 20th-century American lawyers