Amalya Lyle Kearse (born June 11, 1937)Goldstein, Tom. "Amalya Lyle Kearse; Woman in the News", ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', June 25, 1979. is a senior United States circuit judge of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory comprises the states of Connecticut, New York and Vermont. The court has appellate ju ...

and a world-class

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

player.

Education and legal career

Kearse was born in

Vauxhall Vauxhall ( ) is a district in South West London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. Named after a medieval manor, "Fox Hall", it became well known for ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. Her parents were physician Myra Lyle Smith Kearse of Lynchburg,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, and postmaster Robert Freeman Kearse; her maternal grandparents were schoolteachers Clara Roberta Alexander Smith and Theodore Parker Smith. She attended

Columbia High School Columbia High School may refer to: *Columbia High School (Huntsville, Alabama) *Columbia High School (Georgia) *Columbia High School (Florida) *Columbia High School (Idaho) *Columbia High School (Illinois) *Columbia High School (Mississippi), a Mis ...

in Maplewood, New Jersey. A philosophy major and 1959 graduate of Wellesley College 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 year ...

degree, she was the only black woman in her law school class at the

University of Michigan Law School The University of Michigan Law School (Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of Comparative Law (MCL ...

. She was an editor of the law review and graduated with a Juris Doctor '' cum laude'' in 1962. She entered private practice in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and rose to become a partner in the respected Wall Street firm of Hughes Hubbard & Reed. She was an adjunct lecturer at

New York University Law School New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in New ...

from 1968 to 1969.

Federal judicial service

Kearse was nominated by President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...

on May 3, 1979, to the

, to a new seat authorized by 92 Stat. 1629. She was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on June 19, 1979, and received her commission on June 21, 1979. At the time, she was the first woman and only the second black person (after

Thurgood Marshall Thurgood Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 until 1991. He was the Supreme Court's first African-A ...

) on the court. She assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...

on June 11, 2002. Kearse was the author of the 1984 decision ''McCray v. Abrams'', a case in which she developed a test that made it much harder for jurors to be struck because of their race. The Supreme Court would develop a test similar to Kearse's in '' Batson v. Kentucky''.

Supreme Court Shortlist

In 1981, Kearse became the first African-American woman to be shortlisted for an appointment as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States;

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Ronald Reagan eventually nominated Sandra Day O'Connor for the position instead.

Consideration for United States Attorney General

In 1993, Kearse was considered by

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

for appointment as

United States Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

; the job eventually went to

Janet Reno Janet Wood Reno (July 21, 1938 – November 7, 2016) was an American lawyer who served as the 78th United States attorney general. She held the position from 1993 to 2001, making her the second-longest serving attorney general, behind only Wi ...

Bridge career

Kearse is also known as a world-class bridge player. In 1986, playing with longtime partner

Jacqui Mitchell Jacquelyn M. "Jacqui" Mitchell (born 1936) Mitchell... is as utterly self disciplined at the table as she is away from it... She passes much of her time at the table doing embroidery as though determined to remain detached, but those who trifle w ...

, she won the World Women Pairs Championship, which earned her the title of World Bridge Federation World Life Master. She is also a seven-time U.S.

national National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

champion of the game.

Honors

* ACBL Hall of Fame, Blackwood Award 2004"Induction by Year"
''Hall of Fame''. ACBL. Retrieved 2014-12-21."Kearse, Amalya"
. ''Hall of Fame''. ACBL. Retrieved 2014-12-21.

Awards

* Charles H. Goren Award (Personality of the Year) 1980

Wins

* World Women's Pairs (1) 1986 *

North American Bridge Championships North American Bridge Championships (NABC) are three annual bridge tournaments sponsored by the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL). The "Spring", "Summer", and "Fall" NABCs are usually scheduled in March, July, and November for about eleven da ...

(6) ** Women's Board-a-Match Teams (1) 1990 ** Women's Knockout Teams (1) 1987 ** Women's Swiss Teams (1) 1991 ** Life Master Women's Pairs (1) 1972 ** Women's Pairs (2) 1971, 2004 * United States Bridge Championships (1) ** Women's Team Trials (1) 1992

Runners-up

(3) ** Mixed Board-a-Match Teams (1) 1996 ** Women's Knockout Teams (1) 1991 ** Women's Swiss Teams (1) 2001 * United States Bridge Championships (3) ** Women's Team Trials (3) 1988, 1995, 2004 * Other notable 2nd places: ** IOC Grand Prix Women's Teams (1) 2002

Publications

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kearse, Amalya Lyle 1937 births Living people 20th-century American judges African-American judges American contract bridge players Columbia High School (New Jersey) alumni Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit People from Essex County, New Jersey People from Union Township, Union County, New Jersey United States court of appeals judges appointed by Jimmy Carter University of Michigan Law School alumni Wellesley College alumni 20th-century American women judges New York (state) Republicans