Login | April 27, 2024
1st African-American female common pleas judge remembered
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: May 25, 2017
She opened doors for African-American women in the legal profession several times, becoming Summit County’s first African American female common pleas judge, but on April 18 Judge Saundra Jean House Robinson Jackson passed away after several major health setbacks.
She was 77.
“My wife was a good-hearted person who really enjoyed helping people,” said her husband, Raymond Jackson. “She would never say no to anyone who needed help, whether it was legal or some other type of help.
“After she suffered a series of strokes and could no longer speak, she would provide advice using written notes,” said Jackson.
“Saundra was my best friend,” said sole practitioner Lydia Spragin. “She mentored me and treated me like her daughter. Just about everything I learned about the law, I learned from Saundra.”
Born in Louisville, Kentucky on Jan. 28, 1940 to Joe and Jamesetta McCord House, she was the older of their two children.
Judge Robinson Jackson attended Louisville Public Schools until eighth grade when her family moved to Cleveland.
In 1957, she graduated second in her class from East Technical High School. She then enrolled in Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, where she received a bachelor’s degree in medical technology.
Afterwards, Judge Robinson Jackson began what would be the first of her three careers as a hospital lab technician in Springfield and later in Akron, where she worked at Akron General and St. Thomas Hospital.
It was during her time at St. Thomas Hospital that she first met and got to know her second husband.
“At the time we were both married to other people, but we became friends and stayed in touch over the years,” said Jackson.
They got married in 2001 after Jackson’s wife passed away and she was divorced. They did not have any children of their own but the judge has two sons, Stephen and Gregory Washington, from her first marriage.
In 1971, Judge Robinson Jackson decided to leave the medical field and become a teacher. She earned a teaching certificate from The University of Akron and taught in Akron at Thornton Junior High School and Buchtel High School until 1977.
During that time, she also attended night school at The University of Akron School of Law. In 1977, she became the first African American female graduate of the law school.
She started her legal career as an attorney at the U.S. Department of Labor in Cleveland, becoming an assistant prosecutor for the City of Akron in 1978.
Two years later, she made history as the city’s first African American female chief prosecutor after being appointed by Mayor Roy Ray.
In the mid- to late-1980s, she opened her own practice, where she handled a variety of matters.
But her crowning historical moment came in 1990 when she became Summit County’s first African American female common pleas judge, presiding over the juvenile court.
While on the bench, the Republican judge handled many controversial cases, becoming known as an advocate for Akron’s disenfranchised youth.
Her husband said a number of her decisions conflicted with the desires of the Summit County Republican Party, but she refused to compromise on her core values.
“Under my wife’s leadership on the bench, juvenile offenses declined,” said Jackson.
The judge also reportedly hired more African American magistrates and staff than any other county judge before her.
Retired U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Randolph Baxter, who served in the northern district of Ohio, said she had a reputation as “a sharp lawyer and judge.”
The two first met in law school and while they did not sit on the bench together, they attended many of the same social functions over the years.
“She had a very engaging personality and was good to be around,” he said.
Retired Summit County Common Pleas Judge James Williams said her “no-nonsense attitude” made her “perfect for the juvenile bench.
“She was an outstanding person, who was always willing to lend a hand,” said Judge Williams.
Ken Teleis, now court administrator for the Summit County Domestic Relations Court, said the judge appointed him to his first juvenile court case.
“I was a young lawyer right out of law school,” said Teleis. “The judge appointed me to represent a client who was trying to maintain custody of her child.
“My client did not show up during the adjudicatory hearing and I started apologizing,” said Teleis. “The judge was so respectful to me. She told me it was not my responsibility that the client did not show up. She put me at ease and given that I was a new lawyer at the time, I can’t tell you how much I appreciated that.”
In 1996, she returned to private practice, opening an office in downtown Akron.
Not long after, Spragin stopped by to introduce herself and ask for assistance, beginning a long friendship.
“She gave me a lot of key advice that I follow to this day,” said Spragin, now a sole practitioner in Steubenville. “She would always tell me you have to find out what your client wants and then find a way to communicate that to the judge, ensuring that the judge has all the facts to come to the conclusion that you are seeking.”
Jackson said it was in the mid-1990s that his wife began having a series of strokes. “She came back 100 percent after her first stroke,” he said. “Each time it took a little more out of her. After the fifth stroke she lost the ability to speak, but that did not stop her from helping people,” said Robinson.
“Her mind was sharp until the end,” said Spragin. “I continued to contact her to assist me with cases.
“When we would talk I would speak and she would respond to my question or ask her own by writing me a note.”
“My wife never let her health problems dampen her spirit,” said Jackson. “She maintained a big smile on her face all the time.”
Judge Robinson Jackson was laid to rest on May 1 at Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery.
She leaves behind her husband, Raymond Jackson (Akron); brother, Michael House (Doris) (Chicago); children, Stephen Washington (Akron), Gregory Washington (Charlotte, N.C.); Lamont Yarbrough (Cleveland); Darnetta Osborn (Canton); Anita Montero (Belize, Central America); Kim Gill (Houston); Maurice Jackson (Canton), Anthony Jackson (Maine) and Raymond L. Jackson (Atlanta); grandchildren, DiCarlo Washington, Stephenie Washington (Joey Little), Morgan Starr Washington; along with 14 grandchildren by marriage and great-grandchildren, Halle Little and Joey Little IV.
Judge Robinson Jackson also leaves a host of cousins, nieces, nephews, sorority sisters, colleagues and many special friends.
Her mother, Jamesetta Hodges, father, Joe House and stepfather, William T. Hodges all preceded her in death.