May Darlington Lahey (1889–1984) was an Australian-born American Lawyer and Jurist. Her career achievements in the United States pre-date similar achievements in Australia: she began practising law in California in 1914, thus becoming the first woman from Queensland to practise law. Likewise, she was appointed a judge in 1928, 35 years before Roma Mitchell became the first female judge in Australia, therefore becoming the first Australian woman to serve as a judge.

Early life

Lahey was born in 1889 in

Canungra Canungra is a rural town and locality in the Scenic Rim Region of South East Queensland, Australia. In the , Canungra had a population of 1,436 people. Geography Located in South East Queensland, Canungra is situated in the Gold Coast hinte ...

, south-east Queensland, in 1889 to sawmill operator James Lahey and his wife Amelia. She attended Hillview State School in Canungra and Brisbane Girls Grammar School, completing her studies in 1906, and the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

. She had an uncle living in California and in 1910 she and her mother and sisters moved there. She attended the University of Southern California's College of Law, where she joined the law society

Phi Delta Delta Phi Delta Delta () was a women's professional law fraternity founded in November 1911 at the University of Southern California. It merged with Phi Alpha Delta in 1972. History Phi Delta Delta Legal Sorority was founded at the USC Gould School of ...

, and graduated with an honours degree in 1914. The same year, she went to the Californian Bar and began work as a probate lawyer until 1928. In 1916 she adopted American citizenship, recognising that there were greater opportunities for career advancement in the United States than in her native Australia. Lahey became prominent in women's organisations such as the

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV) is a nonpartisan American nonprofit political organization. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include Voter registration, registering voters, providing voter information, boosting voter turnout and adv ...

and the Women Lawyers Club, and was also an active Republican - she campaigned for

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...

in his 1928 presidential campaign.

Appointment as judge

In December 1928 Lahey was appointed a judge of the

Los Angeles County Superior Court The Superior Court of Los Angeles County is the California Superior Courts of California, Superior Court located in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County. It is the largest single unified trial court in the United States. The Sup ...

, the second woman to be appointed to the court. Lahey was in the news after

Jean Harlow Jean Harlow (born Harlean Harlow Carpenter; March 3, 1911 – June 7, 1937) was an American actress. Known for her portrayal of "bad girl" characters, she was the leading sex symbol of the early 1930s and one of the defining figures of the ...

's new husband

Paul Bern Paul Bern (born Paul Levy; December 3, 1889September 5, 1932) was a German-born American film director, screenwriter and film producer, producer for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), where he became the assistant to producer Irving Thalberg. He helped la ...

was killed in a mysterious death that was ruled as suicide in 1932. Lahey ruled in Harlow's favour and made her an executor of her husband's estate. After 15 years' service, Lahey was unanimously elected the court's Presiding Judge, becoming the first woman to hold the position. Lahey briefly retired in 1947, due to ill health but resumed her legal career in 1951, ultimately retiring in 1965. She received the Ernestine Stahlhut award in 1965. She died in Los Angeles in 1984.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lahey, Darlington May 1889 births 1984 deaths 20th-century Australian lawyers Australian emigrants to the United States University of Sydney alumni USC Gould School of Law alumni 20th-century Australian women lawyers People educated at Brisbane Girls Grammar School