Amalya Kearse


Amalya Lyle Kearse is an American lawyer and judge. She is a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, having been appointed to the court in 1979 and assuming senior status in 2002. She is also a world-class bridge player.

Education and legal career

Kearse was born in Vauxhall, New Jersey to physician Dr. Myra Lyle Smith Kearse of Lynchburg, Virginia, and postmaster Robert Freeman Kearse; her maternal grandparents were schoolteachers Clara Roberta Alexander Smith and Theodore Parker Smith. She attended Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey. A philosophy major and 1959 graduate of Wellesley College with a Bachelor of Arts degree, she was the only black woman in her law school class at the University of Michigan Law School. She was an editor of the law review and graduated with a Juris Doctor cum laude in 1962. She entered private practice in New York City and rose to become a partner in the respected Wall Street firm of Hughes Hubbard & Reed. She was an adjunct lecturer at New York University Law School from 1968 to 1969.

Federal judicial service

Kearse was nominated by President Jimmy Carter on May 3, 1979, to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, to a new seat authorized by 92 Stat. 1629. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 19, 1979, and received her commission on June 21, 1979. At the time, she was the first woman and only the second black person on the court. She assumed senior status on June 11, 2002.
Kearse was the author of the 1984 decision McCray v. Abrams, a case in which she developed a test that made it much harder for jurors to be struck because of their race. The Supreme Court would develop a test similar to Kearse's in Batson v. Kentucky.

Supreme Court shortlist

Kearse was considered a potential Supreme Court candidate almost immediately upon her confirmation to the Second Circuit, first as a potential nominee for President Jimmy Carter. In 1981, Kearse became the first African-American woman to be shortlisted for an appointment as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States; President Ronald Reagan eventually nominated Judge Sandra Day O'Connor of the Arizona Court of Appeals for the position instead. In 1993, Kearse was considered a listed as a potential Supreme Court nominee for President Bill Clinton.

Consideration for United States attorney general

In 1993, Kearse was considered by President Bill Clinton for appointment as United States Attorney General; the job eventually went to Janet Reno.

Bridge career

Kearse is also known as a world-class bridge player. In 1986, playing with longtime partner Jacqui Mitchell, she won the World Women Pairs Championship, which earned her the title of World Bridge Federation World Life Master. She is also a seven-time U.S. national champion of the game.

Honors

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