As we wind down Women’s History month, the role women played in Supreme Court cases is pivotal in understanding the huge impact of women on the laws of this country. For centuries, women advanced the law in cases involving civil rights, women’s right, marriage equality, health care and a myriad of other issues. For all that remains to be done in the area of women’s rights, we have largely come from the second class status barring women from practicing professions, attending schools and marrying the person of their choosing without infringement of the government. Beginning in 1869, Myra Bradwell applied for admission to the Illinois bar in accordance with a state statute that permitted any adult of good character and with sufficient training to be admitted to the practice of law. Because she was a woman, however, the Illinois Supreme Court denied her admission, noting that the "strife" of the bar would surely destroy femininity. Chief Justice Charles B. Lawrence of the … [Read more...] about Women’s History Month and the Supreme Court