by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Dorothy Pate admits she’d never heard of law school in 1959 when she and her husband Bob moved to Jacksonville.
She also never saw herself as an attorney working in the State Attorney’s Office at the behest of then-State Attorney Ed Austin.
However, after several years and many trips to the courtroom, Dorothy Pate did see herself sitting on the bench. So, in 1974 she ran against three others and lost the race to current Circuit Court Judge Lawrence Haddock.
“I lost by a few votes,” she said.
Two years later a new Circuit Court judgeship was created and Pate ran again. This time she won and on Jan. 3, 1977 Dorothy Pate became the first elected female judge in the Fourth Judicial Court. (It should be noted that Susan Black was the first female judge in the Circuit, but she was appointed. Today, she’s a federal judge.)
Eighteen years later, Pate retired and next Thursday the Board of Trustees of daniel will throw her a 75th birthday party at the River Club. Serving as MC is no less than former Florida Bar President Hank Coxe. Pate said the party will be more of a legal reunion and absolutely expects Coxe to turn the event into a quasi-roast.
“I worked with him and his wife Mary back when we were with the State Attorney’s Office,” she said. “They were just little kids.”
Pate wasn’t just a ground breaker in Jacksonville. She was an exception to the rule in law school while at the University of Florida. When she started law school in 1968, the line to the women’s bathroom wasn’t very long.
“At the beginning of the class there were seven women out of 230-something,” said Pate, who still gets around thanks to a neighbor and is still active on several boards across the city. “Two of us graduated in 1970. The other was Rosemary Barkett who went on to become a Circuit Judge and a member of the Florida Supreme Court.”
After graduation, Pate said she figured she’d work in real estate or family law. She didn’t get many offers and would up at Legal Aid, which has now become Jacksonville Area Legal Aid. After about a month, Austin called and she moved to the State Attorney’s Office where she made what she estimated was between $8,000 and $10,000 a year.
“After a couple of years, I got hooked on jury trials,” said Pate, who eventually transferred to criminal court.
Pate said being a woman in what was a male dominated profession was never an issue.
“Some (women) felt discriminated against,” she said. “I never did.”
After losing the election in 1974, Pate went back to the State Attorney’s Office. However, she had a taste of politics and enjoyed campaigning. When the opportunity arose again in 1976, Pate entered the race.
“By then, I wanted to be a judge,” she said. “I beat them in the primary. That was wonderful. It was a lot cheaper. I did not advertise on TV. I just beat the streets.”
Once again, Pate found herself in the minority. Although she was a Circuit Judge, being a woman was still different and difficult in that setting. However, just as when she was on the other side of the bench, Pate said she found the transition fairly easy and most of the practicing attorneys welcomed her.
“A majority of them were great,” said Pate. “A couple did not like female prosecutors and they didn’t like female judges. I knew that, but I lived with it. I never felt prejudiced. That’s their right.”
Longtime attorney Jim Cobb found himself in front of Pate many times over the years.
“I think she was one of the good judges,” said Cobb. “She was always courteous and treated us as equals.”
Pate said she enjoyed the career she never foresaw.
“It was wonderful,” said Pate, who was also a teacher, counselor and social worker at one point. “I’ve been really lucky in that I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve done.”