On February 27, partner Chelsea Crawford moderated a presentation entitled, “Shattering Barriers: A conversation with the Hon. Willie J. Epps, Jr.” as part of the Maryland Chapter of the Federal Bar Association’s Trailblazer Series. The discussion was hosted on Zoom.
Judge Epps discussed his article, “The Jackie Robinsons of the Federal Judiciary: Examining the Appointment of the First Black Federal Judges,” which was published in the University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender, and Class. While at Maryland Carey Law, Chelsea served as the Executive Articles Editor of the Journal.
In his article, Judge Epps collects and analyzes an unmatched wealth of information about the Nation’s first Black judges appointed for life tenure to federal courts of general jurisdiction. He focuses on nine barrier-breaking judges, confirmed between 1950 and 1966, and the obstacles they overcame and legacies they created.
A journalist-turned-litigator, Chelsea Jones Crawford joined Brown, Goldstein & Levy in September 2015 and has extensive experience representing individuals and entities in complex civil matters, including federal civil rights litigation, commercial disputes, and serious personal injury and wrongful death cases. At Brown, Goldstein & Levy, Chelsea has obtained some of the largest settlements in the State of Maryland. Learn more about Chelsea here.
Founded in 1982, Brown, Goldstein & Levy is a law firm based in Baltimore, Maryland, with an office in Washington, D.C. The firm is nationally recognized in a wide variety of practice areas, including complex civil and commercial litigation, civil rights, health care, family law, and criminal defense. Above all else, Brown, Goldstein & Levy is a client-centered law firm that brings decades of experience and passionate, effective advocacy to your fight for justice.