Woman in Law: Stephanie Jones

By Loretta Feller

Half the people casting a ballot for their favorite legislators and administrators at election time do not vote for judges, according to Stephanie Tubbs Jones, a first-time candidate for Cleveland Municipal Court judge. While judicial candidates traditionally have not made much effort to become acquainted with the electorate other than through campaign advertisements, Stephanie feels the voters are unconcerned because they are uninformed both about the court and the candidates. Yet the municipal court is the only court with which most people will come in contact. The thirteen Cleveland Municipal Court judges handle traffic offenses and civil litigation (ŝuch as personal injury, breach of contract, and damages) up to $10,000. They also conduct preliminary hearings on felonies in the city, set bail, and decide if the accused should be bound over to a grand jury. The grand jury determines whether the accused should be. indicted. The case then passes to the jurisdiction of the Common Pleas Court of Cuyahoga County.

Cleveland Municipal Court judges must be residents of the city who have practiced law for at least six years. They are elected to 6-year terms. One of the thirteen judges is elected to hear only those cases involving housing code violations. The Municipal Court also appoints a referee to hear cases in Small Claims Court. At this level, a person can

LETTER

Dear WSW:

When I discovered there was such a field as engineering and decided to pursue that path, it secmed everyone said to me (and still do), "I hear that is supposed to be an excellent, open field, especially for women these days". Although that fact is nice to know, it is only one reason I decided to look in that direction for something I could make a career of.

I was aware then, as I am now, that many of the

bring a case before the referee without legal representation in matters which involve no more than $500.

Stephanie, a trial attorney for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and previously an Assistant Prosecutor (Criminal) for Cuyahoga County, points out that few women practice in the field of criminal law and often lack judicial experience. Women need this kind of background, she feels, as they move to take their place among judges on higher level courts. Presiding on the Municipal Court, she notes, is a good starting point, since it is the lowest level court.

A member of the Black Women Lawyers' and Cleveland Women Lawyers' Associations and of the Cuyahoga Women's Political Caucus, Stephanie has given women's legal rights workshops at

CLEVELAND WOMEN

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WomenSpace and for the Women's Law Caucus at Cleveland State University. She advises women that a law career is very versatile since it allows moving from one area of specialization to another without returning to school. She also suggests that a law degree can be helpful to women in business.

Stephanie is licensed to practice law before the Supreme Court of Ohio, the Northern District of Ohio Federal District Court, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court of the United States. She believes that the appointment of Sandra O'Connor to the U.S. Supreme Court will help the credibility of women attorneys and judges. As a result, she feels, other forums will more readily recognize that women are qualified and will follow the trend.

Take Back the Night

Cleveland Women Take Back the Night will sponsor its third annual march against violence against women on Saturday, October 24, 1981, beginning at 7:00 p.m. Gather at the University Center, Cleveland State University, 2121 Euclid Avenue for the march, which will be followed by a rally at the CSU Law School, Euclid at 18th Street. Killing Us Softly and the Women Against Pornography Slide Show. will be shown at the rally by Women Against Violence Against Women. Childcare will be provided. Call 566-9326 for further information.

practices and views of the people in my workplace Women At Work Exposition

very likely conflict with mine, such as toward

the way the environment is treated (with little reverence) and the entire corporate structure (often cold and unfair).

I am on my first cooperative education assignment, a program many colleges have with companies

who hire and re-hire students full-time for a period of one semester or quarter in between a semester or quarter of full-time school classes.

The company I am with hires, I'd say, at least 50 coops at a time. At a meeting intended to be an educational lecture and discussion, I found it interesting to note that almost half the coops were women and a significant portion, maybe a third of us, were black. Clearly, the company is attempting affirmative action. How long it will take for the progress (and feminist influence) to filter up and out into the practices of the company is hard to say, but at least it's a start. -RP

I. A

Cleveland's 2nd annual Women At Work Exposition will be held Thursday, October, 22nd from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the Bond Court Hotel (East 6th and St. Clair). This year's conference theme suggests that for working women of the 80's, being aware of the problems women face in the world of employment is not enough...the Women At Work Exposition is a unique opportunity for Cleveland women of diverse interests to seek solutions together!

The 1981 Expo will again offer a meeting place to explore critical and controversial issues affecting women in today's work force. The conference will include speeches, more than 'thirty workshops throughout the day and open exhibits by business, agencies and women's organizations. Workshop topics range from working women and alcoholism, dual career family concerns and the issues of sexual harrassment and equitable pay...to five 'nontraditional' job workshops and eleven 'how-to' workshops.

Keynote speakers include Alexis Herman, former Director, Women's Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor, who will address the critical issue of Affirmative Action; Kate Rand Lloyd, Editor-in-Chief, Working Women Magazine, who will discuss ways women can utilize their economic power; and Carol Kleiman, Chicago Tribune columnist and author of Women's Networks, who will speak on the benefits of networks in career and personal achievement.

The Women At Work Exposition is co-sponsored by WomenSpace and more than twenty local corporations and foundations. Full day registration (9 a.m. to 9 p.m.) is $32 and includes lunch and one

year subscription to Working Women Magazine. Evening only registration (5 p.m. to 9 p.m.), for those who cannot attend during the day, is $10. Child care is available for children between ages six months and five years for an additional fee. Pre-registration for either full day or evening sessions and for child care is required. Mail payment to WomenSpace, 1258 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115. For more information, call 696-6967.

Editorial (continued from page 1)

that some female city employees earned little more than half of what males earned in city jobs judged comparable in problem-solving, know-how, and accountability. As a result, the city agreed to a new pay package which allots nearly $1.5 million to narrow the gap between men's and women's salaries.

In a related development, a landmark bill that would require the State of California to study the comparable worth issue before setting state salaries has passed that state's legislature and currently awaits the governor's approval.

Now that the National Academy of Science has spent so much time and money to state that no absolute way of determining job worth exists, we will continue to do what we were doing before. We will organize, strike, demonstrate, write letters, hearings, and press for legislation to insist that our jobs be valued by the task performed rather than the sex of the worker who performs them.

hold

2/What She Wants/October, 1981