Sylvia A. Bacon (born July 9, 1931) is a former

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 ...

of the

Superior Court of the District of Columbia The Superior Court of the District of Columbia, commonly referred to as DC Superior Court, is the trial court for the District of Columbia, in the United States. It hears cases involving criminal and civil law, as well as family court, landlor ...

who was considered by both

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

John Dean John Wesley Dean III (born October 14, 1938) is an American former attorney who served as White House Counsel for U.S. President Richard Nixon from July 1970 until April 1973. Dean is known for his role in the cover-up of the Watergate scandal ...

, "Cast of Characters: Candidates considered for the Supreme Court", ''The Rehnquist Choice: The Untold Story of the Nixon Appointment That Redefined the Supreme Court'' (Free Press, 2001), p. xiii-xiv. . and

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

Elizabeth Olson, "Reagan may have strong hand over high court", ''United Press International'' (November 9, 1980). as a potential nominee to the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

, at a time when no women had yet been appointed to the Court.

Early life and education

Born in

Watertown, South Dakota Watertown is a city in and the county seat of Codington County, South Dakota, United States. Watertown is home to the Redlin Art Center which houses many of the original art works produced by Terry Redlin, one of America's most popular wildlife ar ...

, Bacon graduated Watertown High SchoolEugene G. Schwartz, Ed., ''American Students Organize: Founding the National Student Association After World War II'' (2006), Page 476. in 1949 and received a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in Economics from

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...

after three years (1952), a Graduate Certificate in Economics from the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

through a Rotary Fellowship (1953), an

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

(1956), and an LL.M. from the

Georgetown University Law Center The Georgetown University Law Center (Georgetown Law) is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment and ...

(1959). While at Vassar, she was an officer in the

National Student Association The United States National Student Association (NSA) was a confederation of college and university student governments that was in operation from 1947 to 1978. Founding and early years The NSA was founded at a conference at the University of Wisc ...

. From 1956 to 1957, she was a judicial law clerk to District Court judge

Burnita Shelton Matthews Burnita Shelton Matthews (December 28, 1894 – April 25, 1988) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. She was the first woman appointed to serve on a United States District Court. Ear ...

Career

She worked in various positions within the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

from 1956 to 1970, during which time she "helped draft the District of Columbia's controversial no-knock crime bill",The Nation: Nixon's Not So Supreme Court
, ''

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Mar ...

'' (Monday, October 25, 1971). and "served under

Ramsey Clark William Ramsey Clark (December 18, 1927 – April 9, 2021) was an American lawyer, activist, and federal government official. A progressive, New Frontier liberal, he occupied senior positions in the United States Department of Justice under Presi ...

and helped draft legislation for court reform in the District of Columbia." She was appointed to the Superior Court of the District of Columbia in 1970, serving until 1991. She was considered to be a nominee for the

by both Presidents

Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

and

Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

. As of June 2010, Bacon was a "distinguished lecturer" on the faculty of the

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...

Columbus School of Law The Columbus School of Law, also known as Catholic Law or CUA Law, is the law school of the Catholic University of America, a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. More than 400 Juris Doctor students attend Catholic Law ...

. In 1986, after "complaints" by "prosecutors and defense lawyers" about her appearing to be "confused and disoriented", Bacon was treated for alcohol abuse, as documented by

Elsa Walsh Elsa Walsh is an American journalist and author. In 1989 she was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and she released her book ''Divided Lives: The Public and Private Struggles of 3 Accomplished Women'' in 1995. Walsh has worked for both ''The Was ...

in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

''. In 1987, the highest appellate court in the District of Columbia reversed Bacon's ruling against Georgetown University LGBTQ undergraduate and law students in ''Gay Rights Coalition v. Georgetown University'', in which Bacon had found that Georgetown's religious origin protected it from complying with the District of Columbia Human Rights Act, which bans discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.''Gay Rights Coalition v. Georgetown University'', 436 A.2d 1 (1987).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bacon, Sylvia A. 1931 births Alumni of the London School of Economics American women judges Columbus School of Law faculty Judges of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia Georgetown University Law Center alumni Harvard Law School alumni Living people No-knock warrant People from Watertown, South Dakota Vassar College alumni American women academics 21st-century American women

Early life and education

Career

See also

References