Genevieve R. Cline

Genevieve Rose Cline (July 27, 1877 – October 25, 1959) was a judge of the United States Customs Court (now the Court of International Trade) and the first woman to serve in the United States federal judiciary, serving as an Article I federal judge.

Education and career

Born on July 27, 1877, in Warren, Ohio, Cline was the daughter of Edward B. Cline and Mary A. (Fee) Cline. She graduated from Warren High School and attended Cleveland's Spencerian Business College. She later attended Oberlin College, then transferred to Baldwin Wallace College, from which she graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree in 1921. She entered private practice in Cleveland, Ohio from 1921 to 1928. President Calvin Coolidge nominated her to an Associate Justice seat on May 4, 1928. (Judge from June 17, 1930) on the United States Customs Court vacated by Associate Justice William C. Adamson. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 25, 1928, and received her commission on May 26, 1928. becoming the first American woman ever appointed to the federal bench, serving as an Article I federal judge. Cline retired on March 1, 1953, when she was 75