Vaino Spencer, American judge, Died at 96

  Law

Vaino Hassan Spencer was born on July 22, 1920, and died on October 25, 2016.

She was an American judge, the first African-American woman appointed to a judgeship in California.

Spencer co-founded the Black Women Lawyers Association in 1975, and the National Association of Women Judges in 1979.

She practiced as a lawyer in Los Angeles.

During 1961, Spencer was appointed as a municipal court judge in Los Angeles, the first black woman in California appointed to a judgeship.

During 1976, Spencer became a Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge, and in 1980 she was named a Presiding Judge of the Division One California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District.

Vaino Hassan Spencer retired in 2007 as “one of the longest-serving judges in California history.

She married real estate agent Lorenzo V. Spencer.

The couple divorced in 1967.

And the National Association of Women Judges presents the Justice Vaino Spencer Leadership Award for outstanding leadership.

Spencer died at her home in Los Angeles.

Vaino Spencer passed away at 96 years old.