Written by Admin | Apr 7, 2019 5:00:00 AM
CHICAGOLAWBULLETIN.COM THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 2019 ® Volume 165, No. 66 Serving Chicago’s legal community for 164 years St ate’s juvenile justice foundation gets its start from first female judge W ith Woman’s Histo- the time in the following words: presiding over the Court for ry Month still “C h i c ago’s Juvenile Court, which MODERN FAMILY Delinquent Girls would today be large in the was established in 1899, was the considered outdated, her compas- rearview mirror first of its kind in the United sion for the offenders who ap- and Law Day States. Its pioneer work was di- peared before was obvious. around the corner, it’s an appro- rectly responsible for a salutary Bartelme had very strong views priate time to reflect on the im- change through the entire nation about the root causes of delin- pact that the entry of women into in the relation of law to delinquent MEIGHAN A. quency in young girls and was a the legal profession and our ju- c h i l d re n .” “The Court for Delin- HARMON staunch advocate for keeping girls diciary has had on our community quent Girls,” “The Delinquent,” out of the workforce until they and society. Vol. III, no. 12, pages 6-10; at 7. were at least 16. The first woman lawyer in Illi- Also during her tenure as pub- Meighan A. Harmon is a senior partner She is quoted in The Delinquent nois, Alta M. Hulett, was admitted lic guardian, Bartelme established at Schiller, DuCanto & Fleck LLP whose about her thoughts on the societal to the bar in 1873. It took another Mary Clubs, the first in her own practice concentrates on resolving changes causing the increased 50 years for a woman to be elect- home, as a place for girls to be complex family law and divorce cases – number in delinquent girls at the both through settlement and litigation, ed judge in Illinois. Illinois’f i rs t supervised before their placement turn of the century as follows: including the distribution of multi-million female judge, Mary Margaret in foster care. “The entrance of women into the dollar estates and complicated Bartelme, was born on July 24, By 1923, more than 2,600 girls child-custody disputes. She can be industrial field has changed the 1866, in Chicago. had been served by Mary Clubs. reached atmharmon@sdflaw.com. attitude of men toward her. Men She studied law at Northwest- Elected judge in the Cook County have lost quite generally their old ern University, graduating in 1894, Circuit Court in 1923, it was nat- and good, are capable of passing chivalrous and sentimental regard the same year she was admitted ural for Bartelme to be assigned judgment on girls who have erred, for women which characterized to the Illinois bar. She then em- to sit in the Juvenile Court, pre- because few men have a clear un- the days of our mothers and barked on a remarkable career siding for many years over the derstanding of a woman’s nature. g ra n d m o t h e rs . that would change the face of ju- “Court for Delinquent Girls,”a Not all women are capable of such “Close daily business associa- venile justice in Illinois and the special docket that she created. work, because their sympathies tion with women has bred in men United States. Bartleme insisted that all those would be too likely to override a feeling ungallantly akin to con- Early in her career, Bartelme working in her courtroom were their judgment. tempt. In the business world she was a leading suffragette (the women, including the clerk, court “Miss Bartelme is the right meets men who dress well and right to vote was not granted until reporters and the bailiff and men woman in the right place. She is a are willing to entertain her and 1919, 25 years after Bartelme was were allowed in the courtroom on- m a n’s intellect and judgment and spend money upon her. They take admitted to the bar) as well as an ly if they were essential to the a woman’s heart, sympathies and her to gay cafes and buy her advocate for numerous charitable p ro ce e d i n gs . intuitive knowledge of feminine wines and delicate food and drive causes supporting indigent wom- her about in automobiles. an and children. “I t’s an introduction to a new Likely as a result of this char- (Mary Margaret) Bartleme insisted that all those and brilliant world. It turns her itable work, then-Gov. John R. head. It gives her false idea of working in her courtroom were woman, Tanner appointed Bartelme to be pleasure, of happiness of life. She public guardian of Cook County in including the clerk, court reporters and the has her choice of humdrum ex- 1897. She was the first woman to istence as a poor man’s wife or an bailiff and men were allowed in the courtroom occupy the office. Her tenure last- alluring career as a rich man’s ed 16 years. only if they were essential to the proceedings. mistress. It is a small wonder that In 1899, Bartelme and other re- so many make the wrong choice. formers lobbied for and then cre- They are too young and heedless ated the Juvenile Court in Chica- Her supervising judge was character and feminine view to realize that the primrose path go, separating juvenile offenders quoted in “The Delinquent”as de- p o i n t .” turns off at last into the desert of from the adult criminal system for scribing her in the following way: Mary Bartelme is also credited lost hopes and ruined lives.” the first time in Illinois. That “She is an acute and well-trained with beginning the inclusion of so- Separate and apart from being same year, Bartelme also helped lawyer with a distinctly judicial cial scientists in the hearing and the first woman judge in Illinois, establish a detention home in- temperament. Her mind is quick sentencing portions of court pro- Mary Margaret Bartelme was a stead of adult jail for juvenile of- and comprehensive. She has ceedings, literally changing the fo- trailblazer throughout her entire fe n d e rs . poise, cool judgment and a fine cus of those proceedings from pun- long career. She should be re- The Chicago Juvenile Court discriminating sense of justice. ishment to rehabilitation. While membered for her significant con- was described in a publication at “Few men, no matter how wise some of her views expressedwh i l e tributions to our profession. Copyright © 2019 Law Bulletin Media. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission from Law Bulletin Media.