When did Texas have its first woman juror? If you are like most people, your answer ranges somewhere from the 1890s to the 1930s. Perhaps this reflects the facts that Texas 1) was the first state to allow women property rights; 2) had one of the first woman governors; and 3) actually had its first full-time woman judge in 1935. Very few people come close to guessing that Texas did not have its first woman juror until 1954. We’ve come a long way, baby.

On May 18, 1953, the Texas Legislature passed House Joint Resolution 16, which proposed an amendment to the Texas Constitution providing that qualification for service on a jury should “not be denied or abridged by reason of sex.” Passage of the resolution was not unanimous – it passed the Texas House by a vote of 123 to 16 and the Texas Senate by a vote of 23 to 7. The proposed Constitutional amendment was presented to the voters of Texas on November 2, 1954. The amendment passed by a vote of 302,850 to 224,730—only 57 percent of the voters favoring the change.

Less than a month later, on November 22, 1954, R.E. Hayes v. Texas & New Orleans Railroad Co. was called to trial in the 152nd District Court of Harris County, Texas. The parties had requested a jury, and when the panel was seated for voir dire, Miss Louise Summers was jury panel member number 1. Miss Summers, a bookkeeper at Cameron Iron Works, listed her age on the juror information form as “over 21.”

Miss Summers, an ancestor of a soldier who fought at the Battle of Yorktown in the American Revolution, was described by her nephew, James Summers (a partner in the San Antonio office of Fulbright & Jaworski), as follows: “She was a true pioneering spirit. She got on a train in Newman, Georgia, in 1919 and moved to Houston as a single woman with no contacts and no friends here. A year later, she wrote the family and said that ‘Houston is the place to be.’ Her parents and five siblings all moved here shortly thereafter.”

The lawyers on the case were Shirley Helm of Helm & Jones, for the plaintiff, and John F. Heard with Baker, Botts, Andrews & Shepherd, for the defendant. For unknown reasons, neither side struck Miss Summers and thus, she became the first woman to sit on a jury in Texas. After the close of the evidence and final arguments, her fellow jurors even selected her as foreperson. The jury rendered a verdict in favor of the plaintiff in this personal injury case involving an employee of the railroad defendant.

A newspaper article commemorating the historic event had interesting remarks from her fellow jurors: “It was decidedly different having a woman in there,” said R.M. Templeton. “We couldn’t do any cussin.’”1

“I don’t argue with women,” said Charlie Burton.2

“It was mighty nice,” said Vernon Bosley, “but my wife doesn’t like the idea.”3

Miss Summers commented, “I enjoyed the case. Women won’t have any trouble on juries unless they cause it.”4 James Summers indicated that his aunt was very proud of being the first woman juror in Texas, although at the time she just thought she was doing her civic duty.

Jury service is critical to our system of justice, and the participation of all is the cornerstone of this system. As recently as 60 years ago, jury panels consisted of only Caucasian males. The newly restored file of Hayes v. Texas and New Orleans Railroad Company will be in our court records for decades to come to remind us how times have changed, and to honor Louise Summers, an ordinary citizen who performed a task that is at once both commonplace and extraordinary – citizen participation in our system of justice.

Sarah Duckers is a solo practitioner in civil litigation, a former partner at Vinson & Elkins LLP, and a member of the State Bar of Texas Pattern Jury Charge Committee for business and civil litigation.

 

Endnotes

1. Houston Press, December 1, 1954   2. Id.   3. Id.   4. Id.