Leah Ward Sears facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Leah Sears
27th Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court
In office June 28, 2005 – June 30, 2009
Appointed by	Zell Miller
Preceded by	Norman Fletcher
Succeeded by	Carol Hunstein
Associate Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court
In office July 21, 1992 – June 28, 2005
Appointed by	Zell Miller
Succeeded by	David Nahmias
Personal details
Born	Leah Jeanette Sears (1955-06-13) June 13, 1955 (age 70) Heidelberg, West Germany
Spouses	Love Collins (divorced 1994) Haskell Ward
Education	Cornell University (BA) Emory University (JD) University of Virginia (LLM)

Leah Ward Sears (born June 13, 1955) is an American judge. She was the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia.

Leah Sears made history as the first African-American woman to be a chief justice of a state supreme court in the United States. When she was first chosen as a justice in 1992, she became the first woman and the youngest person ever to serve on Georgia's Supreme Court.

Early Life and Education

Leah Ward Sears was born in Heidelberg, Germany. Her father, Thomas E. Sears, was a United States Army Colonel. Her mother was Onnye Jean Sears.

Her family later moved to Savannah, Georgia. Leah graduated from Beach High School there.

Sears went to Cornell University and earned a degree in 1976. She then studied law at Emory University School of Law, finishing in 1980. Later, she earned another law degree from the University of Virginia in 1995.

While at Cornell, she joined the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority and the Quill and Dagger society. She also has special honorary degrees from several colleges.

Professional Career

After law school, Leah Sears worked as a lawyer at Alston & Bird in Atlanta from 1980 to 1985. She also taught law at Emory University School of Law and the University of Georgia School of Law.

Becoming a Judge

In 1985, Mayor Andrew Young appointed Sears to the City of Atlanta Traffic Court. She then became a Superior Court judge in 1988. This made her the first African-American woman to hold that position in Georgia.

Sears was appointed as a state Supreme Court justice in 1992. In 2004, she ran for re-election and won easily. She became the Chief Justice of the Court in June 2005.

In October 2008, Sears announced she would leave the state Supreme Court. She resigned at the end of June 2009, when her term as Chief Justice ended.

After the Court

After leaving the Supreme Court, Sears continued to teach law. She taught courses at the University of Georgia Law School. She also joined a special group called the Institute for American Values.

In May 2009, Sears announced she would join the law firm Schiff Hardin in Atlanta. She focused on cases that go to higher courts and white-collar crime (crimes committed by business people).

In September 2016, Justice Sears moved to another law firm, Smith, Gambrell & Russell. She continued to work on cases that go to higher courts and business disagreements. She has been a partner at this firm since October 2016.

In December 2016, Sears was featured in a film called Balancing the Scales. This film looked at the history of women in law. It talked about challenges like unfair treatment and balancing work and life.

Personal Life

Leah Sears lives in Atlanta, Georgia. Her husband is Haskell Ward, who used to be a Deputy Mayor of New York City. She has two children, Addison Sears-Collins and Brennan Sears-Collins. She was previously married to Love Collins III, and they divorced in 1994.

Sears is friends with Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas. They both grew up in southeastern Georgia.

She supports allowing same-sex marriages by law.

The Georgia Historical Society keeps a collection of Leah Ward Sears's papers. These include photos, awards, and writings from 1980 to 2009. A book about her life, "Justice Leah Ward Sears: Seizing Serendipity," was published in 2017.

Important Decisions

During her time as a judge, Leah Sears made many important decisions. She often wrote opinions that explained her legal reasoning.

Protecting Rights

Sears often focused on protecting people's rights. She wrote about the importance of the First Amendment, which protects freedom of speech. She also wrote about the Fourth Amendment, which protects people from unfair searches.

For example, in one case, she believed that searching a person's home without a proper warrant was against the rules. She also argued that police should not have too much power during traffic stops.

Fairness in Law

Sears also focused on fairness in the legal system. She believed that people accused of serious crimes, especially those facing the death penalty, should have good lawyers. She argued that the government must be very careful when making decisions that affect someone's life.

She also spoke out against the death penalty by electrocution. She believed it was not fair and went against modern standards.

Government and Taxes

Sears also made decisions about how the government works and how taxes are used. She believed that courts should protect people's rights against laws that might be unfair.

Career History and Awards

Career History

• Lawyer at Alston & Bird, Atlanta, Georgia: 1980–1985
• Traffic court judge, City Court of Atlanta: 1985–1987
• Judge, Fulton Superior Court, Atlanta: 1988–1992
• Justice, State Supreme Court of Georgia: 1992–2009
• Founder of the Battered Women's Project of Columbus, Georgia

Organizations

Leah Sears has been part of many important groups:

• National Association of Women's Judges
• Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys (founding president)
• Chair of the Chief Justice's Commission on Professionalism
• Chair of the Supreme Court Commission on Civil Justice
• Chair of the Supreme Court's Commission on Marriage, Children and Families
• Georgia Tech Advisory Board
• Links, Incorporated
• Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority
• Georgia Historical Society Board of Curators
• The Carter Center, Board of Trustees
• Emory University, Board of Trustees

Awards

• NAACP award for community service
• 2006 Trumpet Award-Law
• 2008 Honoree—Second Annual Wayne A. McCoy Memorial Historymaker's Program
• 2007–2009 Rosalynn Carter Fellow in Public Policy
• Leadership Atlanta

Images for kids

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  Leah Ward Sears

See Also

• Barack Obama Supreme Court candidates
• Troy Davis case
• Savannah Women of Vision
• List of female state supreme court justices
• List of African-American jurists