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Without Precedent: The Life of Susie Marshall Sharp
The first woman judge in the state of North Carolina and the first woman in the United States to be elected chief justice of a state supreme court, Susie Marshall Sharp (1907-1996) broke new ground for women in the legal profession. When she retired in 1979, she left a legacy burnished by her tireless pursuit of lucidity in the law, honesty in judges, and humane conditions in prisons.
Anna Hayes presents Sharp's career as an attorney, distinguished judge, and politician within the context of the social mores, the legal profession, and the political battles of her day, illuminated by a careful and revealing examination of Sharp's family background, private life, and personality. Judge Sharp was viewed by contemporaries as the quintessential spinster, who had sacrificed marriage and family life for a successful career. The letters and journals she wrote throughout her life, however, reveal that Sharp led a rich private life in which her love affairs occupied a major place, unsuspected by the public or even her closest friends and family.
With unrestricted access to Sharp's abundant journals, papers, and notes, Anna Hayes uncovers the story of a brilliant woman who transcended the limits of her times, who opened the way for women who followed her, and who improved the quality of justice for the citizens of her state. Without Precedent also tells the story of a complicated woman, at once deeply conservative and startlingly modern, whose intriguing self-contradictions reflect the complexity of human nature.
Anna Hayes presents Sharp's career as an attorney, distinguished judge, and politician within the context of the social mores, the legal profession, and the political battles of her day, illuminated by a careful and revealing examination of Sharp's family background, private life, and personality. Judge Sharp was viewed by contemporaries as the quintessential spinster, who had sacrificed marriage and family life for a successful career. The letters and journals she wrote throughout her life, however, reveal that Sharp led a rich private life in which her love affairs occupied a major place, unsuspected by the public or even her closest friends and family.
With unrestricted access to Sharp's abundant journals, papers, and notes, Anna Hayes uncovers the story of a brilliant woman who transcended the limits of her times, who opened the way for women who followed her, and who improved the quality of justice for the citizens of her state. Without Precedent also tells the story of a complicated woman, at once deeply conservative and startlingly modern, whose intriguing self-contradictions reflect the complexity of human nature.
576 pages, Hardcover
First published August 19, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 19, 2014
This book is not only the biography of Susie Marshall Sharp (1907-1996), the first woman judge in the State of North Carolina and the first woman in the United States to be elected Chief Justice of a State Supreme Court. This book also provides an over view of the history of North Carolina.
Both side of Susie’s family were plantation –slave owner prior to the Civil War. They lost almost everything in the Civil War. The book covers briefly both sides of the family’s history from the Civil War to the birth of Susie in 1907. Then it covers Susie’s life in-depth from birth to death.
The author had unrestricted access to Sharp’s abundant journals, papers, correspondence both personal and professional. The biggest problem for the author was the diary, notes and journals were all in shorthand. The author had to take Griggs shorthand classes to be able to read the journals. I found the discussion interesting about how every document and letter had to be hand written twice to make the copy in the days before typewriters and carbon paper.
Hayes states that Sharp was viewed by her contemporaries as the quintessential spinster, who sacrificed marriage and family for a successful career. Sharp was the eldest child in a very large family and was responsible for helping with the chores and caring for her siblings. She told classmates at University she had all the child care chores she every wanted to do, therefore she planned on never getting married.
She was a Southern lady with gracious manners. She was quickly accepted by the men as she never challenged their egos. In today’s world she would be classified a racist but she provided equal justice to blacks and whites.
Sharp was in the first class at the University of North Carolina Law School after it had modernized its curriculum to the case style of teaching law. She was always in the top percentage of her class. After graduated and passing the bar Susie joined her father in his law practice in 1929. She gradually earned a reputation as a trial lawyer. Her first case as a judge was about what she called cruel and unusual punishment in the local prison. She developed a reputation as an advocate for prison reform.
I found this book most interesting not only in learning about some of the history of North Carolina but the history of the role of women in Southern society and in the law. I read this as an e-book via my Kindle app on my iPad. I did enjoy the pictures that were provided in the book.
Both side of Susie’s family were plantation –slave owner prior to the Civil War. They lost almost everything in the Civil War. The book covers briefly both sides of the family’s history from the Civil War to the birth of Susie in 1907. Then it covers Susie’s life in-depth from birth to death.
The author had unrestricted access to Sharp’s abundant journals, papers, correspondence both personal and professional. The biggest problem for the author was the diary, notes and journals were all in shorthand. The author had to take Griggs shorthand classes to be able to read the journals. I found the discussion interesting about how every document and letter had to be hand written twice to make the copy in the days before typewriters and carbon paper.
Hayes states that Sharp was viewed by her contemporaries as the quintessential spinster, who sacrificed marriage and family for a successful career. Sharp was the eldest child in a very large family and was responsible for helping with the chores and caring for her siblings. She told classmates at University she had all the child care chores she every wanted to do, therefore she planned on never getting married.
She was a Southern lady with gracious manners. She was quickly accepted by the men as she never challenged their egos. In today’s world she would be classified a racist but she provided equal justice to blacks and whites.
Sharp was in the first class at the University of North Carolina Law School after it had modernized its curriculum to the case style of teaching law. She was always in the top percentage of her class. After graduated and passing the bar Susie joined her father in his law practice in 1929. She gradually earned a reputation as a trial lawyer. Her first case as a judge was about what she called cruel and unusual punishment in the local prison. She developed a reputation as an advocate for prison reform.
I found this book most interesting not only in learning about some of the history of North Carolina but the history of the role of women in Southern society and in the law. I read this as an e-book via my Kindle app on my iPad. I did enjoy the pictures that were provided in the book.
January 24, 2015
Extremely well written and fascinating on so many levels. First, the description of North Carolina politics which seem to have really modernized very little now, even with the development of a viable two-party system in the state. Second, the realities of the time - North Carolina greats now held up as extraordinary liberals (be that praise or condemnation, depending on who is calling them such), were invested in maintaining segregation, in Sharp's case not just for politics but because of the racism in her heart.
While it is very interesting that Sharp managed to maintain such a reputation of untouched virtue despite her several overlapping affairs, it is also interesting that so many varieties of family are represented as the wives of her lovers surely knew of her relationship with their husbands. The lifetime overview prompting Sharp to state and the writer to re-state the comment that live is lived forwards and understood backwards, is fascinating from a biographical level, and prompts one (me at least) to imagine how my relationships might appear to myself when I am 80.
Note: This is a shoebox size book, about a quarter of which is endnotes. Recommend getting the electronic version!
While it is very interesting that Sharp managed to maintain such a reputation of untouched virtue despite her several overlapping affairs, it is also interesting that so many varieties of family are represented as the wives of her lovers surely knew of her relationship with their husbands. The lifetime overview prompting Sharp to state and the writer to re-state the comment that live is lived forwards and understood backwards, is fascinating from a biographical level, and prompts one (me at least) to imagine how my relationships might appear to myself when I am 80.
Note: This is a shoebox size book, about a quarter of which is endnotes. Recommend getting the electronic version!
September 3, 2013
This book was exceptionally well researched and written. Having lived in North Carolina for almost 30 years, I was fascinated by how well Hayes constructed the political milieu for the decades of Sharp's professional years. My husband served in the Holshauser administration and remembers the Chief Justice well. I was thrilled that the politicos of the 50's, 60's, and 70's were so clearly rendered and Sharp's own political maneuvering was woven seamlessly into the events of the day. The contradiction between her very formal and traditional persona and her romantic life is truly remarkable. Hayes does an excellent job of recounting the Chief Justice's various roles in her ascent to the State Supreme Court and the plethora of cases she influenced, and clarifying for the reader the importance to the judicial system or the general public. Of particular interest was the tale of Sharp's rejection of the ERA and how her influence played a great part in the demise of the Amendment in NC, and, it may be argued, the nation.
October 17, 2012
Would this biography be so fascinating to me if I hadn't grown up in Judge Susie Sharp's hometown? Maybe not, but this book was well written and superbly researched. Susie Sharp was an admirable, complicated woman who had to overcome many social obstacles to rise among the ranks of North Carolina's legal Good Ol' Boys' network. Especially recommend this to female lawyers and other professionals -- it's shocking to see what women had to go through only two generations ago.
January 20, 2013
This book is well researched and well written. I am a feminist, lobbyist and a 24-year resident of NC and I could not put down this book.
December 8, 2019
As one with interest in the social and legal history of North Carolina, I found this book rewarding. The subject was the first woman to serve as Chief Justice of a State Supreme Court of the United States. The book
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 18, 2017
Fascinating biography of one of North Carolina's true "characters"
April 30, 2009
A long read, some skimable parts, but highly entertaining and enlightening. Having lived in Raleigh when the ERA was voted on several times, I had been unsure why this powerful woman had not been in favor of an equal rights amendment for women. The book answers that question and provides a fairly balanced view of one of the first women in the nation to participate in state politics and what it was like for a good ol' southern girl to be administering justice for all. Favorite quote:
"like the turtle, it's hard to get anywhere without sticking your neck out."
"like the turtle, it's hard to get anywhere without sticking your neck out."
July 10, 2010
A compelling book about a fascinatingly complex woman. I learned a great deal about the legal system in NC as it developed in the 20th century. And was amazed to learn that Susie Sharp was almost the first woman on the US Supreme Court. Congratulations to Anna Hayes for taking what must have been an overwhelming amount of primary source material and turning it into a completely accessible account of the life of Justice Sharp that reads almost like a novel.
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December 12, 2009How persistent and interconnected political power is in North Carolina. Influential families remain so for generations. How one woman was quietly able to change her world with little fuss. How Anna Hayes was able to distill a lifetime and ten years' of work into an accessible and engaging biography.
February 10, 2013
Very interesting book. Highly recommend but especially recommend for my friends who are female lawyers.
April 5, 2015
This was a fascinating and well-researched insight into one of the most influential characters in North Carolina law in the last 100 years. I found it to be both entertaining and illuminating.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews