Justice Leah Ward Sears
Seizing Serendipity
by Rebecca Shriver Davis
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Pub Date Sep 15 2017 | Archive Date Sep 30 2017
Description
This is the first full biography of Justice Leah Ward Sears. In 1992 Sears became the first woman and youngest justice to sit on the Supreme Court of Georgia. In 2005 she became the first African American woman to serve as chief justice of any state supreme court in the country. This book explores her childhood in a career military family; her education; her early work as an attorney; her rise through Georgia’s city, county, and state court systems; and her various pursuits after leaving the supreme court in 2009, when she transitioned into a life that was no less active or public.
As the biography recounts Sears’s life and career, it is filled with instances of how Sears made her own luck by demonstrating a sharpness of mind and sagacious insight, a capacity for grueling hard work, and a relentless drive to succeed. Sears also maintained a strict devotion to judicial independence and the rule of law, which led to decisions that would surprise conservatives and liberals alike, earned the friendship of figures as diverse as Ambassador Andrew Young and Justice Clarence Thomas, and solidified a reputation that would land her on the short list of replacements for two retiring U.S. Supreme Court justices.
As a woman, an African American, a lawyer, and a judge, Sears has known successes as well as setbacks. Justice Leah Ward Sears shows that despite political targeting, the death of her beloved father, a painful divorce, and a brother’s suicide, she has persevered and prevailed.
A Note From the Publisher
Advance Praise
"Justice Leah Ward Sears is important
not only because it tells Justice Sears’s remarkable personal story and
discusses her many contributions to law and history but also because it
does all of that in the context of political, legal, and electoral
events important to all of us. The book accomplishes the difficult task
of telling the personal and inspirational story of a brilliant African
American woman while also discussing some of the most difficult issues
of our time. I recommend Justice Leah Ward Sears to anyone interested in women’s history, African American history, and biographies of extraordinary people.”
—Angela J. Davis, author of Arbitrary Justice: The Power of the American Prosecutor
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9780820351650 |
| PRICE | $34.95 (USD) |
| PAGES | 184 |
Links
Featured Reviews
Harriet S, Librarian
I received an early copy of this book from NetGalley for an unbiased review.
I did enjoy reading about Justice Sears but wasn't totally enthralled with the book.
Her background information was definitely interesting and readable. The following part was okay.
All in all, a good background book on the African-American justice.
Clara C, Educator
What an enlightening read this book was. It was well written and thoroughly inspiring. If ever a woman were to inspire you to move on, work hard and commit to achieving your goals, Justice Leah Ward Sears would. In the face of adversity she succeeded. Gender and race could, but never did stand in her way despite both being cited as excuses by many other African American women of her generation. She was the first so often, and is an inspiration to all women, not just women of colour. She seems to be unstoppable and has certainly inspired me to strive for all that I can achieve in life. I shall be following her career closely for I am quite certain we have not yet heard the last from Justice Leah Ward Sears.
Nicole H, Reviewer
Title: Justice Leah Ward Sears: Seizing Serendipity
Author: Rebecca Davis
Publish Date: Sept. 15, 2017
Publisher: University of Georgia Press
Book Blurb: As scholar Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham put it, “The politics of respectability…gives you a moral authority to say to the outside world, ‘I am worthy of respect. You don’t respect me, but I’m worthy of respect. You don’t treat me like an equal person, but I know that I am an equal person, and because I am an equal person, I’m going to fight for my rights. I’m going to demand equality. I’m not going to let you treat me like a second-class citizen.” (P5)
Book Review:
This book was a slow but nice read. Justice Leah Ward Sears was born to black parents in the time where segregation was prevalent still in this country. Despite being a part of the integration era they still had to fight. However, she was raised to believe that she was equal to every white man and why shouldn’t she have her turn. She went to high school and graduated with good grades. Good enough for her to have an opportunity through COSEP to attend Cornell University. Following that she attended law school and obtained her Juris Doctorate. Soon thereafter she had gotten married to her first husband Love Collins. Together they had one son. After they divorced she married her current husband in 1999 to whom she is still married too.
Her life happened by her seizing the opportunity to better herself and accept the chances she was given. She was asked to become a traffic court judge. She campaigned to be on the court in Georgia. She applied to law school despite being a black woman during still very segregated times. All of this happened because she accepted the opportunities afforded to her.
She made a name for herself as an activist judge based upon her decisions. One decision, in particular, was that of a black man who was on trial for raping a white woman. He got off and it was her opinion that offended the people. Some thought it was a fait accompli his acquittal. You might want to look it up if you are interested. Gaining this name for herself, she persevered and always succeeded in her life to be the best person and lawyer she could be.
I enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the glimpse of history given by the author particularly as it is black history. I enjoyed knowing that a black woman thought she should be a judge. I enjoyed that the black woman thought she should be in the play the Sound of Music I enjoyed that the woman thought she should go to law school. I enjoyed that she thought she was worthy of love two times.
Justice Sears for me represents what I believe that our children and myself should read and learn about. There really isn’t much else to say about the book.
Disclosure: I did not receive any compensation for reviewing this book but did receive a complimentary copy via Netgalley.com to review.
Shannan H, Reviewer
An interesting read about Leah Ward Sears, from her upbringing as a child of the military, to her life and career, becoming the first woman and youngest justice to sit on the Supreme Court of Georgia, as well as becoming the first African American woman to serve as chief justice of any state supreme court in the country. Very insightful.
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