Judge Florence Murray

2000

Judge Florence Murray, a Newport native, was the only female lawyer in Newport in 1947 when she opened her law office on Thames Street. She was the first woman appointed a judge to the Superior Court in Rhode Island (1956), the first female presiding judge of the Superior Court (1978), and the first woman appointed to the Rhode Island Supreme Court (1979). The Newport County Court House is named in her honor - the first time that a major court facility in the United States was named in honor of a female jurist. Entering the Women's Army Corps in World War II, she became the youngest woman to achieve the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. President Clinton appointed her to the State Justice Institute and she served on many other local and state Boards and committees, including the Rhode Island Foundation, the Preservation Society of Newport County, and Salve Regina University. She helped found the Boys and Girls Club of Newport, as well as the the Rhode Island Committee for the Humanities.

oil paint on canvas

H-60.325 W-50.8 cm

Gift of Paul Murray from the estate of Judge Florence Murray

PA.149