Alpern felt right at home in the courtroom
Courtesy of Washington County Historical Society
Anne Alpern poses for a photo in 1960.
Courtesy of Washington County Historical Society
A painting of Anne Alpern in 1950.
Courtesy of Washington County Historical Society
Anne Alpern, center, poses for a picture with her daughter, Marsha Swiss, and husband Irwin Swiss.
Courtesy of Washington County Historical Society
From left, David Lawrence, Anne Alpern, Lynda Harper and William McClelland are seen in a 1961 photograph.
Anne Alpern once wrote, “The greatest compliment to a professional woman is when she is finally taken for granted like the furniture in a room.”
Alpern is known as a woman with many great accomplishments, but would have vastly preferred be remembered simply as a person with many great accomplishments.
Anne X. Alpern was born in Russia in 1903. But at the age of 3, her family immigrated to the United States and settled in Scenery Hill.
In 1919, she entered the University of Pittsburgh and earned a bachelor’s degree in 1923. At the urging of her father, she applied and was accepted to the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Law, from which she earned a degree in 1927. After graduating law school, she began working as an attorney for a local law firm.
In one of her early cases, the presiding judge questioned her interpretation of the law as too feminine.
“There is no such thing as a feminine interpretation of the law, only the correct one,” Alpern responded.
In another instance, while arguing a case before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the presiding judge, John Kephart, questioned Alpern’s interpretation of the law and wanted to know where she had obtained her idea of what constituted a lawful claim in this case.
Alpern recited the legal citation, adding it was Justice Kephart who had written the interpretation. He ruled in her favor.
In 1939, Alpern married attorney Irwin Swiss. Their daughter, Marsha, was born the following year. Swiss was also an attorney, and Marsha would follow in her parents’ footsteps and become an attorney as well.
In 1942, after serving as an assistant in the Pittsburgh solicitors office, Alpern was promoted to become city solicitor. She was the first woman to hold that position in any major U.S. city.
As city solicitor, Alpern fought against steep rate increases in gas and electricity. She put the issue of rate increases into personal terms when she stated that her own house had both a gas and electric broiler.
“We use the gas broiler when I’m fighting the electric company, and the electric broiler when I’m fighting a gas company rate increase,” Alpern said.
She was elected to Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas in 1954.
Gov. David Lawrence appointed her state attorney general in 1959, making her the first woman to hold that position in the country.
She would serve as Pennsylvania attorney general for two years when, on July 26, 1961, Lawrence appointed her to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of Chief Justice Charles Alvin Jones.
Becoming the first female Supreme Court Justice in Pennsylvania was the pinnacle of Alpern’s legal career. However, since Alpern was appointed to the court rather than elected, the law required her to run for a full term in a special election that November. Her opponent was Henry O’Brien.
During the election, O’Brien stated, “Anne Alpern is not qualified, and she should not try take jobs that men ought to have.”
“It does not matter if it is a man or a woman, you are either competent or not. And you sir, are not,” Alpern responded.
Although she was narrowly defeated in the election by O’Brien, Alpern was recognized at the time as true pioneer in her profession.
Nearly three decades would pass before the next woman would serve on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
After Alpern’s defeat, Lawrence appointed her to the seat in the Court of Common Pleas in Allegheny County that had been vacated by O’Brien. In that role, she presided over the “Stop Skybus” lawsuit and issued a court order that stopped the Port Authority from moving ahead with its plans to build the controversial mass transit system.
Many awards and honors were bestowed upon Alpern during her life, as well as after her passing in 1981. These include an honorary degree of doctor of Llaws from the University of Pittsburgh.
In 1994, the Pennsylvania Bar Association established the Anne X. Alpern Award, which is given annually to a female jurist who demonstrates excellence in the legal profession and makes a significant professional impact on women in the law.
“Throughout her long career in the Pennsylvania justice system and even after her death, she served as a role model for women lawyers and judges, and she has impacted so many women in Pennsylvania and the United States,” said Judge Joy Flowers Conti, Senior United States District Judge and second recipient of the award.
When asked about her mother’s remarkable legacy, Marsha Swiss responded, “There are so many people that make a difference in this world and not all of them will be remembered in history. It makes me so proud that my mother is not one that has been forgotten and is being celebrated for all that she has accomplished.”
Clay Kilgore is executive director of Washington County Historical Society.