H.R. No. 1243

	R E S O L U T I O N
	WHEREAS, One hundred years ago, the State of Texas made
	history with the appointment of a supreme court composed solely of
	women; and
	WHEREAS, Believed to be among the first in the nation, the
	all-female supreme court was selected by Governor Pat Morris Neff
	in 1925 to hear a case involving a powerful and well-connected
	fraternity, the Woodmen of the World; titled W. T. Johnson et al. v.
	J. M. Darr et al., the matter centered around two tracts of land in
	El Paso being claimed by trustees of the organization; they took the
	trial court's only partly favorable verdict to the El Paso Court of
	Civil Appeals, which fully sided with the group in its ruling; and
	WHEREAS, The case was further appealed to the state supreme
	court, but all three of its justices were members of the Woodmen and
	therefore disallowed from hearing the matter; state law required
	Governor Neff to appoint special justices in their stead, but he
	discovered that all the qualified candidates he considered were
	members of the fraternity as well; and
	WHEREAS, Governor Neff had previously named women to serve on
	a number of state boards, and he was the first Texas governor to
	hire a female private secretary; he ultimately appointed to the
	special court three experienced women lawyers, including associate
	justices Ruth Virginia Brazzil of Galveston, a real estate broker,
	and Hattie Leah Henenberg of Dallas, an advocate for free legal aid;
	he selected as chief justice Hortense Sparks Ward of Houston, one of
	the first female attorneys to be admitted to the State Bar of Texas
	and a leader in the women's rights movement; her son-in-law later
	reported that she had been unable to suppress a smile when reciting
	the part of her oath of office declaring she had never fought in a
	duel; and
	WHEREAS, The proceedings of this historic court were a press
	sensation, covered by The New York Times and other major outlets;
	the clerk of the court reportedly refused to work for "a bunch of
	women," so the deputy clerk took his place; the special court met
	three times before handing down its unanimous ruling in favor of the
	Woodmen in May 1925; and
	WHEREAS, In an era when most American women were not allowed
	to serve on juries, the members of the all-female Supreme Court of
	Texas were true trailblazers, and it is indeed fitting to celebrate
	this remarkable milestone; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas
	Legislature hereby commemorate the 100th anniversary of the
	appointment of the all-female supreme court.
	Dutton
	Burrows Guerra Morales Shaw
	Alders Guillen Morgan
	Allen Harless Muñoz
	Anchía Harris Noble
	Ashby Harris Davila Olcott
	Barry Harrison Oliverson
	Bell of Kaufman Hayes Ordaz
	Bell of Montgomery Hefner Orr
	Bernal Hernandez Patterson
	Bhojani Hickland Paul
	Bonnen Hinojosa Perez of El Paso
	Bowers Holt Perez of Harris
	Bryant Hopper Phelan
	Buckley Howard Pierson
	Bucy Hull Plesa
	Bumgarner Hunter Raymond
	Button Isaac Reynolds
	Cain Johnson Richardson
	Campos Jones of Dallas Rodríguez Ramos
	Canales Jones of Harris Romero
	Capriglione Kerwin Rose
	Cole King Rosenthal
	Collier Kitzman Schatzline
	Cook LaHood Schofield
	Cortez Lalani Schoolcraft
	Craddick Lambert Shaheen
	Cunningham Landgraf Shofner
	Curry Leach Simmons
	Darby Leo Wilson Slawson
	A. Davis of Dallas Little Smithee
	Y. Davis of Dallas Longoria Spiller
	Dean Lopez of Bexar Swanson
	DeAyala Lopez of Cameron Talarico
	Dorazio Louderback Tepper
	Dutton Lowe Thompson
	Dyson Lozano Tinderholt
	Fairly Lujan Toth
	Flores Luther Troxclair
	Frank Manuel Turner
	Gámez Martinez VanDeaver
	Garcia of Bexar Martinez Fischer Vasut
	Garcia of Dallas McLaughlin Villalobos
	Garcia Hernandez McQueeney Virdell
	Gates Metcalf Vo
	Gerdes Meyer Walle
	Geren Meza Ward Johnson
	Gervin-Hawkins Money Wharton
	González of Dallas Moody Wilson
	González of El Paso Morales of Harris Wu
	Goodwin Morales of Maverick Zwiener
	______________________________
	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.R. No. 1243 was adopted by the House on May 22,
	2025, by a non-record vote.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House