Ruby Kless Sondock

Ruby Kless Sondock (born April 26, 1926) is a former Associate Justice of the Texas Supreme Court. She was the first woman to serve on the Texas Supreme Court.

Brett Busby
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas
In office
June 25, 1982 – December 31, 1982
Appointed byGreg Abbott
Preceded byBill Clements
Succeeded byWilliam W. Kilgarlin
Personal details
Born (1926-04-26) April 26, 1926
Houston, Texas, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationCottey College (A.A.)
University of Houston (B.A., LL.B.)

Sondock initially attended the University of Houston Law Center in order to become a legal secretary, but she was admitted to the state bar a year before her graduation as valedictorian of her class (1962).[1] Sondock was appointed to the Harris County Domestic Relations Court No. 5 in 1973 and to the 234th District Court in 1977. Sondock was the first woman to be appointed as a State District Judge in Harris County, Texas.

Sondock was appointed to the Texas Supreme Court following the death of Associate Justice James G. Denton on June 10, 1982. Sondock served from June 25 to December 31 of that year, completing Denton's term. Sondock declined to seek election to the Supreme Court and instead ran successfully for reelection to her District Court seat the following year. Sondock was the court's first female justice, with the exception of a special all-woman court convened in 1925 to hear a single case.[1] Sondock formed part of the majority of the Texas Supreme Court in the landmark case of Helicopteros Nacionales de Colombia, S. A. v. Hall.

A distinguished legal mind, Sondock has received a number of accolades, including an annual lecture series on legal ethics. Former speakers at the Sondock Lecture on Legal Ethics at the University of Houston Law Center include U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch and Helen Thomas. On November 11, 2015, the Litigation Section of the State Bar of Texas inducted Sondock as a "Texas Legal Legend."[2]

See also

References
  1. "Ruby Kless Sondock (b. 1926)". Justices of Texas 1836-1986. Tarlton Law Library, The University of Texas at Austin. October 16, 2009. Archived from the original on June 12, 2008. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
  2. Center, The State of Texas and The University of Houston Law. "Former Texas Supreme Court Justice Ruby Kless Sondock, UHLC '62, to be inducted as "Texas Legal Legend"". www.law.uh.edu. Retrieved 2017-03-07.
Legal offices
Preceded by
James G. Denton		 Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas
1982		 Succeeded by
William W. Kilgarlin


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