Lucile Alexandra Watts (1920 – June 23, 2018) was an American judge. After 20 years as a private practice lawyer, Watts was elected a Wayne County Circuit Court judge in 1980. She was the first black woman to be elected as a circuit court judge in Michigan. In 2019, she was posthumously inducted into the

Michigan Women's Hall of Fame The Michigan Women's Hall of Fame (MWHOF) honors distinguished women, both historical and contemporary, who have been associated with the U.S. state of Michigan. The hall of fame was founded in 1983 by Gladys Beckwith and is sponsored by the Michi ...

Early life

Watts was born in Homeville, Virginia, in 1920. She grew up in

Alliance, Ohio Alliance is a city in Stark County, Ohio, United States. The population was 21,672 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It was established in 1854 by the merger of three smaller communities and was a manufacturing and railroad hub in t ...

, where she attended Alliance High School followed by the

University of Detroit The University of Detroit Mercy is a private Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 and is the largest Catho ...

for her bachelor's degree. While earning her LLB from

Detroit College of Law The Michigan State University College of Law (Michigan State Law or MSU Law) is the law school of Michigan State University, a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan. Established in 1891 as the Detroit College of Law, it was the f ...

in 1962, she was one of very few woman law students in the legal daytime program. Upon graduating, she started her own practice after being unable to find work due to her gender.

Career

As a private practice lawyer, Watts was recruited by Great Lakes Mutual Insurance Company to assist with the release of black men arrested during the

1967 Detroit riot The 1967 Detroit riot, also known as the 12th Street Riot and the Detroit Uprising, was the bloodiest of the urban riots in the United States during the "long, hot summer of 1967". Composed mainly of confrontations between African American res ...

. She joined other African-American lawyers in the community to organize and coordinate in defending the men and seeking their release. After 20 years as a private practice lawyer, Watts was elected a Wayne County Circuit Court judge in 1980. She was the first black woman to be elected as a circuit court judge in Michigan. Prior to her death in 2018, Watts served as a board member at Focus: HOPE for 20 years, Woodward Academy, the YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit, Black Women Lawyers Association of Michigan, a lifetime member of the NAACP, and a National Honorary Member of Distinction of the Gamma Phi Delta Sorority. Watts died in her sleep on June 23, 2018, in her Detroit home.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watts, Lucile A. 1920 births 2018 deaths African-American judges American women judges People from Virginia University of Detroit Mercy alumni 20th-century African-American lawyers 21st-century African-American lawyers 20th-century African-American women 21st-century African-American women