Miriam Mattinen ShearingEveliina Olsson
The image of the American legal system is one-sided: Finnish-American judges emphasised the unglamorous aspects of their work
''Universitas Helsingiensis'' (Winter 2006). (born Ellen Miriam Mattinen; February 24, 1935) is an American lawyer and retired judge in

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

. Shearing was the first woman to serve as a Nevada district judge and as

justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

and chief justice on the

Supreme Court of Nevada The Supreme Court of Nevada is the highest state court of the U.S. state of Nevada, and the head of the Nevada Judiciary. The main constitutional function of the Supreme Court is to review appeals made directly from the decisions of the district ...

(1993–2005).

Early life and education

She was born on February 24, 1935, in Waverly, New York. Shearing grew up on a farm near

Spencer, New York Spencer is a town in Tioga County, New York, United States. The population was 2,976 at the 2020 census. The town and its primary village are named after Ambrose Spencer. It lies on the western border of the county and is south of Ithaca. Inside ...

, the oldest of three children. She was the daughter of Eino Olavi and Lillian Sophia (Petaja) Mattinen. Her parents were

Finnish American Finnish Americans ( fi, amerikansuomalaiset, ) comprise Americans with ancestral roots from Finland or Finnish people who immigrated to and reside in the United States. The Finnish-American population numbers a little bit more than 650,000. Man ...

, and she spoke

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

in the home. Shearing graduated from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts 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 philosophy; at Cornell, she met her husband, Steven Shearing. She then graduated from

Boston College Law School Boston College Law School (BC Law) is the law school of Boston College. It is situated on a wooded campus in Newton, Massachusetts, about 1.5 miles from the university's main campus in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. With approximately 800 studen ...

, where she took

night classes A night school is an adult learning school that holds classes in the evening or at night to accommodate people who work during the day. A community college or university may hold night school classes that admit undergraduates. Italy The Scuola ...

while her husband attended

medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, M ...

Career

After graduation, the Shearings moved to California, where Steven Shearing completed his

medical internship A medical intern is a physician in training who has completed medical school and has a medical degree but does not yet have a license to practice medicine unsupervised. Medical education generally ends with a period of practical training similar ...

and

residency Residency may refer to: * Domicile (law), the act of establishing or maintaining a residence in a given place ** Permanent residency, indefinite residence within a country despite not having citizenship * Residency (medicine), a stage of postgrad ...

, and then lived in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, where Steven Shearing worked for

CARE Care may refer to: Organizations and projects * CARE (New Zealand), Citizens Association for Racial Equality, a former New Zealand organisation * CARE (relief agency), "Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere", an international aid and ...

. The Shearings moved to Nevada in 1969, and Shearing was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in Nevada that year, becoming the fiftieth woman admitted to practice in the state.Doug McMurdo
Dr. Steven Shearing, 76, eye surgery pioneer, dies
''Las Vegas Review-Journal'' (July 12, 2011). Shearing practiced for several years in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, and became a juvenile court referee in 1975. Shearing successfully ran for a seat on the justice court, after the Clark County Commission (which was opposed to a woman serving on the court) refused to appoint her to an open seat. In 1977, Shearing became a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

in Clark County.Phillip Hager
Nevada Elects First Woman to High Court
''Los Angeles Times'' (November 5, 1992). In 1983, Shearing became a Nevada District Court judge, the first woman to do so In 1986, Shearing became chief judge on the court and served as president of the Nevada District Judges Association. In 1992, Shearing won an election to the Nevada Supreme Court, defeating District Judge J. Charles Thompson, the one-time favorite, 43 percent to 29 percent.Shearing to retire from state high court
''Las Vegas Sun'' (April 30, 2003). Shearing was an advocate of

abortion rights Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pre ...

who during the election campaign urged "a female voice" on the court. The election was deeply bitter in tone, which the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline criticized, prompting Shearing and Thompson to apologize and agree "to refrain from negative campaigning in the future." Shearing became the first woman on the Nevada Supreme Court, and the 40th serving female state supreme court justice. Shearing served on the court for twelve years, and was named chief justice in 1997. She ran unopposed for reelection in 1998. Shearing announced in April 2003 that she would not seek a third term, and retired on January 4, 2005, at the conclusion of her second term in office. Shearing said that upon retirement she would divide her time between Las Vegas and

Incline Village Incline Village is a census-designated place (CDP) on the north shore of Lake Tahoe in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The population was 8,777 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Reno− Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. Until the 2 ...

Personal life

Shearing was married to husband Dr. Steven Shearing (d. 2011), an

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgery, surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Followin ...

and pioneer in

cataract surgery Cataract surgery, also called lens replacement surgery, is the removal of the natural lens of the eye (also called "crystalline lens") that has developed an opacification, which is referred to as a cataract, and its replacement with an intraocu ...

. They had three children. In February 1984, the Shearings were part of a group of landowners who donated 1,470 acres of land near

Pioche, Nevada Pioche is an unincorporated town in Lincoln County, Nevada, United States, approximately northeast of Las Vegas. U.S. Route 93 is the main route to Pioche and bypasses the town center just to the east, with Nevada State Route 321 and Nevada ...

, to the

University of Nevada, Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes the S ...

. Valued at $882,000, the donation was at that time one of the largest gifts in UNLV history.Eugene P. Moehring, ''The University of Nevada, Las Vegas: A History'' (University of Nevada Press, 2007 ), p. 99.

References

Nevada Supreme Court bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shearing, Miriam C. 1935 births Living people American people of Finnish descent Boston College Law School alumni Cornell University alumni Nevada state court judges Justices of the Nevada Supreme Court People from Tioga County, New York People from Incline Village, Nevada Women chief justices of state supreme courts in the United States Chief Justices of the Nevada Supreme Court 21st-century American lawyers 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American judges 21st-century American judges Nevada lawyers New York (state) lawyers 20th-century American women judges 21st-century American women judges Women in Nevada politics