{"id":168,"date":"2014-10-13T02:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-10-13T02:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=168"},"modified":"2014-12-21T04:22:36","modified_gmt":"2014-12-21T04:22:36","slug":"anne-alpern-first-woman-on-pennsylvanias-high-court","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/10\/13\/anne-alpern-first-woman-on-pennsylvanias-high-court\/","title":{"rendered":"Anne Alpern, first woman on Pennsylvania\u2019s high court"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"In <\/a>
In March 1972, Anne X. Alpern rode on the Monongahela Incline with Harold Geissenheimer, assistant director of operations for the Port Authority Transit. (Edward A. Frank\/The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div>
\"October <\/a>
October 1961: The opening of Democratic headquarters in the Frank & Seder Building in Pittsburgh. From left, Gov. David L. Lawrence, Justice Anne X. Alpern, Lynda Harper and Wm. McClelland. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"In <\/a>
In December 1960, Anne X. Alpern is shown holding the agreement that allowed the public to view the art collection of Dr. Albert Barnes of Philadelphia. (Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"In <\/a>
In March 1972, Common Pleas Judge Anne X. Alpern took her long awaited ride on the Skybus at South Park. (Edward A. Frank\/The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"This <\/a>
This photo shows Anne X. Alpern, her daughter, Marsha Ellen and Irwin A. Swiss, husband of the judge. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Anne X. Alpern had planned to be a teacher but she took her father\u2019s advice and studied law at the University of Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n

In her 40-year legal career, she sought justice, demonstrated a flair for courtroom drama and had a knack for simplifying issues in complex cases.<\/p>\n

The pinnacle of her career came in 1961 when Governor David Lawrence appointed her a justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, making her the first woman to serve on the state\u2019s highest court.<\/p>\n

Even as a lawyer, Anne X. Alpern attracted attention. While a city solicitor, she gained statewide recognition in rate battles with the Public Utility Commission. She called it \u201cthe Public Futility Commission\u201d and labeled its rate increases \u201cthe Overcharge of the Light Brigade.\u201d<\/p>\n

After 12 years as an assistant in the city solicitor\u2019s office, she was named city solicitor in 1942, becoming the first woman to hold that position in a major U.S. city.<\/p>\n

In his 1946 profile of her for Collier\u2019s Magazine, Victor Rubin wrote: \u201cWhere other women with a fraction of her physical charms employ their wiles to win orchids, slender, serious Anne X uses her high legal and forensic skill to win decent housing, fair taxes, lower gas rates and other social objectives for the people of Pittsburgh.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Rubin was clearly enamored of his subject: \u201cHer dark eyes shining, her black hair combed in an extremely becoming page-boy bob, her contralto voice ringing out, she might have been another Tallulah Bankhead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Judge Alpern was born in Russia but moved with her family to Scenery Hill in Washington County when she was still a child.<\/p>\n

Two of her famous cases involved mass transit and art. She presided over the \u201cStop Skybus\u201d lawsuit and issued a court order that stopped the Port Authority from moving ahead with its plans to build the controversial mass transit system. \u00a0She was elected to the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas in 1954.<\/p>\n

In 1959, Governor Lawrence appointed her state attorney general, making her the first woman to hold that job in Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

In 1960, Attorney General Anne Alpern was instrumental in opening to the public the $500 million art collection at the Barnes Museum in suburban Philadelphia. The priceless art collection had been closed to public view for 38 years.<\/p>\n

After her appointment to the state Supreme Court, she ran for election but lost to Henry X. O\u2019Brien.<\/p>\n

Gov. Lawrence appointed her to the Allegheny County Common Pleas bench and she served there until 1974, when she returned to private practice. She died in 1981.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The pinnacle of her career came in 1961 when Governor David Lawrence appointed her a justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesAnne Alpern, first woman on Pennsylvania\u2019s high court<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":172,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1066],"tags":[1185,991,1184,1034],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/tumblr_nd3awn06lS1rr5swxo5_1280.jpg?fit=1280%2C881&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1096,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/01\/03\/pioneer-judge-sara-soffel\/","url_meta":{"origin":168,"position":0},"title":"Pioneer judge Sara Soffel","date":"January 3, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Sara Mathilde Soffel was the first woman to be a county judge in Pennsylvania.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/tumblr_mys7acZbR51rr5swxo3_1280.jpg?fit=1087%2C1080&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1626,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/07\/05\/barbara-feldon-and-the-64000-question\/","url_meta":{"origin":168,"position":1},"title":"Barbara Feldon and ‘The $64,000 Question’","date":"July 5, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Actress Barbara Anne Hall Feldon and Gene Kelly, who could sing, dance and act, both grew up in Pittsburgh and achieved fame.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/tumblr_mpbsutiLTv1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C923&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1312,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/10\/11\/feb-3-1958-michael-a-musmanno-shouts-i-will\/","url_meta":{"origin":168,"position":2},"title":"Michael A. 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