Florence Ellinwood Allen - Becoming A Judge

Becoming A Judge

Once she won a few cases and gained the respect of her male colleagues, her career flourished. In 1919, she was appointed the assistant prosecuting attorney for Cleveland's Cuyahoga County. An active Democrat, she nevertheless encountered opposition from Democratic party chairman Burr Gongwer. However, the appointment was approved and she became the first woman in Ohio to hold such a position. She then began bringing cases before the grand jury. She also continued to advocate for women's rights, even giving talks about her devotion to the Democratic party and the political process. By 1920, she was elected as a Common Pleas judge, on a non-partisan ticket. She was the first woman in this position too, and during her time on the bench she tried nearly 900 cases. Undoubtedly, her biggest challenge was a case involving gangster Frank Motto, who was convicted of the murder of two men during a robbery. With women on the jury and a woman judge, legal critics wondered whether the stereotype about women being emotional, and thus lenient, would come into play, but it did not. Motto was convicted, and in mid-May 1921, Judge Allen sentenced Motto to the electric chair. Her meteoric rise continued when in 1922, Allen was elected to the Ohio Supreme Court. She immediately told reporters that she intended to keep partisan politics out of the judiciary. It was a promise she would keep.

In 1928, Allen was re-elected to a second six-year term on the Ohio Supreme Court. All of the winners in that election were Republicans except for her. She continued to be a popular figure in Ohio, honored by numerous civic groups for her fairmindedness; and lawyers who came before her praised her willingness to listen. And while she was not afraid to make the difficult decisions, even on death penalty cases, Judge Allen was not just a "law and order" judge. She was also a mentor, who encouraged young women to become lawyers. She continued to give educational talks about the law, and she worked tirelessly to improve women's legal rights. She was a proponent of jury service for women, at a time when many states still did not allow women to serve, and she continued to encourage women to be politically active even while remaining non-partisan herself. By 1930, her reputation was so positive that some newspapers were suggesting that she be nominated for a seat on the Supreme Court. Among them was the Christian Science Monitor, which praised Allen for her "distinguished achievements" as a jurist.

A pacifist, Judge Allen was an opponent of war and argued that the only way to avoid war was to outlaw it. War must be made outlawed and declared a crime, she said. She also called for the establishment of an international court that have jurisdiction over purely international disputes and that international law should be codified on the basis of equity and right.