California’s First Female Lawyer
“I am Mrs. Clara Foltz, the owner and editor of the San Diego Daily Bee. I must have access to your wagon.”
The Deadly Stingaree, Chapter 7, The Bank Mob
So begins the introduction of Johnny Cong, the protagonist of The Deadly Stingaree, to a remarkable and important figure in California’s history. Clara Shortridge Foltz (July 16, 1849 – September 2, 1934) was a crusading journalist and the first female lawyer on the West Coast of the United States. She pioneered of the idea of a public defender’s office.
Abandoned by her husband and raising five children, Mrs. Foltz moved to San Diego during the land rush of the late 1880s. Here in San Diego she worked as an attorney and political orator. She founded, published and wrote for one of the city’s leading newspapers, the San Diego Daily Bee.
Her time in San Diego was short-lived, but her later life in California included many historic firsts:
- first female clerk for the State Assembly’s Judiciary Committee
- first woman appointed to the State Board of Corrections
- first woman named director of a major bank
- first woman to run for Governor of California
I first learned about Mrs. Foltz and her achievements when I started my research for The Deadly Stingaree. I knew from the start she would play a key part in the book.
Foltz first proposed the idea of a public defender system during a speech at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. She wrote a number of articles on why the costs should be shouldered by the government and felt that the public defender should act as a mirror to the public prosecutor, with a similar selection process and salary. Her efforts paid off in 1913 when the state of California established the first public defender’s office in Los Angeles.
For the conviction of the accused every weapon is provided and used, even those poisoned by wrong and injustice. But what machinery is provided for the defense of the innocent? None, absolutely none.
Clara Shortridge Foltz, from her speech at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.
In honor of her important contributions to the justice system, The Criminal Courts Building in downtown Los Angeles is now known as the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center.
