CWL Posthumously Honors Judge Isabella Horton Grant with the Rose Bird Memorial Award
On March 25, 2011, California Women Lawyers posthumously honored the Honorable Isabella Horton Grant with the 2011 Rose Bird Memorial Award. Judge Grant’s niece, Judge Elizabeth Allen White, Los Angeles Superior Court accepted the award on her behalf.
Judge Grant epitomized the characteristics of excelle
nce, integrity and exemplary judicial courage for which Rose Bird is so acclaimed. Judge Grant’s many years as a family law judge and a probate judge during her tenure on the San Francisco Superior Court gave her ample opportunity to pioneer judicial change. Most importantly, Judge Grant became an icon for young female externs, paralegals, attorneys and judges for nearly the entirety of her long career.
Isabella Grant, a former employee in the Office of Strategic Services during World War II, pursued a distinguished path in higher education during a time when few women were even encouraged to attend college. Graduating with high honors from Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania in 1944, Ms. Grant obtained a Masters degree in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles. After studying abroad at Oxford University in Political Science, Ms. Grant graduated from Columbia University Law School in 1950. She returned to academia to teach at Hastings College of Law in San Francisco in 1971 until her appointment to the bench, and was also a member of the Columbia Law School Board of Visitors in the late nineties.
Following her appointment to the San Francisco Municipal Court in 1979, Judge Grant dedicated her life to public service. She was appointed to the Superior Court in 1982, serving as the Presiding Judge in the Family Law Department and later as the Presiding Judge of the Probate Department. She retired from Superior Court in 1996 but continued to work with the American Arbitration Association. She is a past President of the California Chapter of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts and of the Northern California Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. After retirement, she served the First District Court of Appeal, volunteering her time as a mediator in the Appellate Mediation Program. With her high standard of personal integrity, she truly exemplifies the qualities represented by The Rose Bird Memorial Award.
Judge Grant's public service career is highlighted by numerous contributions to the field of probate law, her main practice area for 26 years prior to her appointment to the bench, in addition to family law. She consistently exhibited her passionate drive for the betterment of the legal process and simultaneously increased awareness of sensitive domestic issues. She was particularly concerned for children of divorced households. She served on the Board of Kids’ Turn Honorary Committee for many years, an organization offering assistance for children impacted by divorce, including psycho-educational workshops for children being raised in two households. She also pioneered the first Guardian Mentorship Program for children being raised in alternative homes.
Judge Grant is largely regarded as one of the first judges in the State to be sensitive to the victim in domestic violence cases. She analyzed the regular divorce calendar and saw that victims of domestic violence who were coming before the court for restraining orders were usually pro per and were inhibited in presenting their cases and discussing their circumstances. She felt that their cases were not being given the attention they deserved. So, Judge Grant took action. She established a Domestic Violence calendar where the victims of domestic violence could be heard, with litigants who had similar issues. Bringing oft-overlooked domestic abuse situations to the foreground allowed Judge Grant to oversee the study and implementation of a variety of services supporting victims of domestic violence. This included special training for the court mediators as well as legal help for parties in filling out and processing restraining orders. She distinguished herself as an author of California’s Family Law Act in 1970, which became a model for reform. Additionally, when Judge Grant served on the Probate bench, she worked tirelessly to revise the San Francisco Probate local rules. These remarkable achievements, among many, are evidence of Judge Grant’s passion for fairness, progress and legal scholarship.
Judge Grant’s dedication to open and sometimes candid interaction had a profound effect on those in all levels of the legal community. Even at the outset of her career, over 50 years ago, she was a model female attorney in a very nearly all-male environment. She immediately recognized the cumulative power of mentorship and consistently opened her doors to many aspiring female lawyers. On the bench, male and female attorneys alike commend her for giving counsel ample opportunities to be respectfully heard and acknowledged, even to an unfavorable outcome. They all knew her judgment was thoughtful and fair. Many current female judges count Isabella Horton Grant as a critical role model throughout their careers. Several of us in California Women Lawyers count ourselves lucky to have such a woman as an inspiration.
Judge Isabella Horton Grant, in her tenure as a pioneering female judge, manifests the courage and compassion that Rose Bird embodied. Judge Grant took many aspiring hopefuls under her wing and passed on a legacy of ‘paying it forward’, a concept her mentees will not forget. She taught by example that a woman does not need to imitate a man to be a judge, and she commanded her courtroom with an understanding as one human to another. California Woman Lawyers was proud to name her as the 2011 Rose Bird Memorial Award recipient.
