Mercedes Deiz (December 13, 1917 – October 5, 2005) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

. She became the first

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

woman admitted to the Oregon State Bar, and was also the first black woman to serve as a district court judge and the first to be elected as a county circuit court judge.

Early years

The oldest of ten children, Mercedes Deiz (born Mercedes Francis Lopez)Collins 2005, p. 29 was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1917 to Czechoslovakian and

Cuban Cuban or Cubans may refer to: Related to Cuba * of or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban Americ ...

parents. Raised in a poor family, she credited her parents' pushing her to spend time at the

library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

and visiting the city museums for her intellectual development. She credited her father, particularly, for "insist ngthat each of his kids be unique to the best of our abilities."Collins 2005, p. 30 Deiz graduated high school at age 16, and worked as a maid, theater usher,

switchboard operator In the early days of telephony, companies used manual telephone switchboards, and switchboard operators connected calls by inserting a pair of phone plugs into the appropriate jacks. They were gradually phased out and replaced by automated syste ...

and ticket clerk, and attended

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City, United States. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools ...

. After moving to

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

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in 1948, she would receive her law degree while studying evenings at the Northwestern School of Law, while working as a legal assistant during the day. Before she entered law school, she was active in Portland's Urban League and the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

, partially as a result of her experiences with

discriminatory Discrimination is the process of making unfair or prejudicial distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong, such as race, gender, age, class, religion, or sexu ...

practices by her employers.

Legal career

Mercedes Deiz was admitted to the Oregon bar in 1960 as the first black woman with that honor. Some historical sources list

Beatrice Morrow Cannady Beatrice Morrow Cannady (January 9, 1890 – August 19, 1974) was a renowned civil rights advocate in early 20th-century Oregon, United States. She was editor of the ''Advocate'', the state's largest African-American newspaper. She was also co-fo ...

as the first black woman to practice law in Oregon; however, Cannady never passed the bar examination, having failed on five separate occasions. Mercedes Deiz worked as a litigator for several years, and also as an

administrative law judge An administrative law judge (ALJ) in the United States is a judge and trier of fact who both presides over trials and adjudicates claims or disputes involving administrative law, thus involving administrative units of the executive branch of go ...

for

worker's compensation Workers' compensation or workers' comp is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her emp ...

disputes. Deiz would also become the first black female district court judge in Oregon after she was appointed by Governor

Tom McCall Thomas Lawson McCall (March 22, 1913 January 8, 1983) was an American, politician and journalist in the state of Oregon, serving as the state's thirtieth governor from 1967 to 1975. A progressive Republican, he was known as a staunch environme ...

in 1969. In 1972, she became the first black woman to be elected as a County Circuit Court judge in Oregon, defeating seven other male candidates.

Lifetime of Service

Beginning in 1993, and in recognition of her service and impact on the legal profession, Oregon Women Lawyers, which represents women and minorities in the legal profession, has bestowed the Judge Mercedes Deiz Award upon "an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to promoting minorities in the legal profession and in the community." When she died in 2005, she was praised for her life of dedicated

public service A public service or service of general (economic) interest is any service intended to address the needs of aggregate members of a community, whether provided directly by a public sector agency, via public financing available to private busin ...

, and for her "legendary" mentoring of young lawyers. It was said of Judge Deiz that nearly "every African-American lawyer who entered practice between 1970 and 1992 sat with Judge Deiz in her chambers, receiving a few hours or more of private tutoring in career development." Deiz was posthumously honored by a

joint resolution In the United States Congress, a joint resolution is a legislative measure that requires passage by the Senate and the House of Representatives and is presented to the president for their approval or disapproval. Generally, there is no legal diffe ...

of the

Oregon Legislative Assembly The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the State legislature (United States), state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper house, upper and lower chamber: the Oregon State Senate, Sena ...

in 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deiz, Mercedes 20th-century African-American lawyers 1917 births 2005 deaths Oregon state court judges Lawyers from New York City Hunter College alumni Lewis & Clark Law School alumni 20th-century American judges 20th-century American women lawyers 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century African-American women 21st-century African-American lawyers 21st-century African-American women

Early years

Legal career

Lifetime of Service

See also

References