Shirley Hufstedler

The Honorable Shirley Hufstedler
1st United States Secretary of Education
In office November 30, 1979 – January 20, 1981
President	Jimmy Carter
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Terrel Bell
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
In office September 12, 1968 – November 30, 1979
Appointed by	Lyndon B. Johnson
Preceded by	Seat established
Succeeded by	Robert Boochever
Personal details
Born	(1925-08-24) August 24, 1925 Denver, Colorado, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	University of New Mexico, Albuquerque Stanford University

Shirley Ann Mount Hufstedler (born August 24, 1925) is an American lawyer and judge who served as the first United States Secretary of Education, under President Jimmy Carter.

Biography

Shirley Mount Hufstedler was born August 24, 1925 in Denver, Colorado. As a teenager she was befriended by famed war correspondent Ernie Pyle after her father built the Pyle house in Albuquerque. She attended the University of New Mexico (B.B.A. 1945) and Stanford Law School (LL.B. 1949).

Hufstedler has had a distinguished career at the highest levels of legal and public service. She began in private practice in Los Angeles in 1950. From 1960 to 1961, she served as Special Legal Consultant to the Attorney General of California in the complex Colorado River litigation before the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1961, she was appointed Judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, a position to which she was elected in 1962.

In 1966, she was appointed Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeal. President Lyndon Johnson appointed her Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 1968. She was not the first woman to serve on a federal Court of Appeals, but for at least part of her tenure was the only woman serving among approximately 100 judges nationwide. She served on the Court of Appeals for eleven years before President Jimmy Carter appointed her to be the first U.S. Secretary of Education in 1979.

In 1979, the Supersisters trading card set was produced and distributed; one of the cards featured Hufstedler's name and picture.

In 1981, Hufstedler returned to private life, teaching and practicing law. She was a partner in the firm Hufstedler & Kaus, now merged into Morrison & Foerster. She is the recipient of 20 honorary doctoral degrees from American universities. She has served on boards of trustees, governing boards and visiting committees for numerous foundations, institutions, corporations and universities.

Hufstedler was considered to be a candidate for the Supreme Court if a vacancy had occurred under a Jimmy Carter presidency.

See also

• Presidency of Jimmy Carter
• Jimmy Carter Supreme Court candidates

External links

• Morrison & Foerster: Shirley M. Hufstedler
• Oral History of Shirley M. Hufstedler, series of interviews with Hufstedler conducted from 2005 to 2008, sponsored by the American Bar Association
• "While Husband Seth Marks Her Absent, Shirley Hufstedler Attends to Birth of D.O.E", People article published April 28, 1980

• Shirley Hufstedler at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.

Legal offices
New seat	Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit 1968–1979	Succeeded by Robert Boochever
Political offices
New office	United States Secretary of Education 1979–1981	Succeeded by Terrel Bell