Stanley, Winifred Claire, 1909-1996

<p>During her one term as a New York Congresswoman, Winifred Stanley tirelessly championed women’s rights. The former prosecutor and the first female assistant district attorney in Erie County, New York, urged Americans to contemplate and begin planning for the imperatives of peacetime demobilization and new international responsibilities after World War II.</p>

<p>Winifred Stanley was born on August 14, 1909, in the Bronx, New York. The eldest of six children, she was raised by her mother, Mary, who once was an English and a music teacher, and her father, architect John Francis Stanley, in Buffalo, New York. Winifred Stanley graduated from Lafayette High School and earned her bachelor’s degree with honors from the University of Buffalo in 1930. Stanley went on to receive her LLB and JD from the same institution in 1933, graduating first in her class. In 1934 she commenced her law practice.</p>

<p>Stanley’s reputation as a lawyer was impeccable, but her greatest precongressional accomplishment proved to be the root of her future defense of women’s rights while serving in Congress. When going to court one morning, she found the courtroom closed to women because of the nature of the crime being tried. She considered this an intolerable affront to women, especially because her gender also had been barred from New York juries, regardless of the crime. Stanley considered jury duty “second in importance only to the right to vote” and mobilized women’s clubs, church societies, and political organizations to press for women’s right to participate in the courtroom as citizen peers. Her actions not only won the right for participation on a jury panel for women in New York but also caught the attention of then District Attorney Leo J. Hagerty. He subsequently named 28-yearold Stanley the first female assistant district attorney of Erie County.</p>

<p>Winifred Claire Stanley (August 14, 1909 – February 29, 1996) was an American politician and attorney from New York affiliated with the Republican Party. Stanley is known for her vigorous women's rights advocacy during the WWII war time period, her work as a prosecutor, and for being the first female assistant district attorney in Erie County. Although Stanley served only one term before her constituency was redistricted, she used her legislative standing to champion peacetime demobilization and equal pay regardless of sex.</p>

<p>Winifred C. Stanley was born to Mary and John Francis Stanley on August 14, 1909 in Bronx, NY, the eldest of six children. Stanley's mother was an English and music teacher, and her father was an architect. Although she was born in Bronx, she and her family spent her childhood in Buffalo, NY.</p>

<p>Following graduation from Lafayette High School, Stanley pursued her undergraduate degree at the University of Buffalo, eventually graduating with honors in 1930. Stanley returned to the University of Buffalo to pursue her L.L.B. and J.D., which she earned in 1933, graduating first in her class.</p>