Alwine Mulhearn Smith Ragland - Submitted for the USGenWeb Archives by Imogene Pollard 7/9/06

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Alwine Mulhearn Smith Ragland - Madison Parish, Louisiana 

From Tallulah Madison Journal, May 18, 2006

Judge Ragland was born in 1913 in Monroe, Louisiana. She is the fifth child of seven 
siblings. Her parents, Alwine Louisa Johanna Peters and Peter Sherlock Mulhearn were 
of German descent and in the year 1935, Judge (Mulhearn) Ragland found herself in Madison 
Parish ready to practice her craft at the recommendation of her father. She found a 
place of refuge in which to live and a lasting friendship in Mrs. Minnie Murphy who 
served as a mentor and acquainted her with the rich and exciting history of Tallulah 
and Madison Parish. Unable to find work as a lawyer when she arrived in Tallulah, she 
chose to work with a Mr. Menger from Vicksburg, whose company, Northern Wholesale, 
collected accounts from people who had not paid their bills. Her job was to track the 
people down and collect the monies owed. Her collection route included the parishes of 
Madison, Tensas, Franklin, Concordia, Richland, and Catahoula.

Since no pay was given for her services, Mr. Menger listed her name among the attorneys 
in the annual publication of the Wholesale Accounts Directory. From this listing she 
would be in a position to secure additional accounts on her own. Not to be discouraged 
by the obstacles in her path, such as not being able to establish a practice, Judge 
Ragland was relentless in her pursuit of competing with her male colleagues and making 
a decent living as a lawyer.

Determined to be the best female lawyer, which was a novelty at that point in time, 
she found herself on the outside looking in. She related to me some of those early and 
trying times of practicing law in Madison Parish. Being a female lawyer had its 
downside (gender discrimination) and it was not as profitable due to the fact that she 
had few clients, most of whom were unable to pay the price for the services rendered. 
In many instances, the art of bartering was used for compensation. Being the maverick 
that she is, Judge Ragland was one of the first lawyers in Madison Parish who provided 
services to the Afro-American community, with many of those cases dealing with the 
landlord -tenant issues. The fact that this occurred did not necessarily endear her 
to those who were a part of the "landlord tenant " system.

Judge Ragland has always been involved in community activities. Upon her arrival in 
Tallulah in 1935, she immediately became active with the Girl Scout Troop, serving 
the organizations in various capacities from 1935 until 1950. She, along with C. E. 
Hester and Sarah Folk, assisted in writing the Charter of the Silver Water (Indian 
name for Ouachita River) Girl Scout Council. Her interest and dedication to the Girl 
Scouts grew out of the fact that she was a member of the Camp Fire Girls as an adolescent.

In 1947, she married Leroy Smith, a cattle rancher. From this union two children were 
born, Leroy, Jr. and Carolyn. Even though establishing a career in her chosen profession 
was important and has always been her goal, she never neglected her responsibilities as 
a wife and mother. She is proud of the fact that throughout her career she took her 
children to the different meeting and conferences in which she attended as part of her 
chosen profession. While working nights in the clerk of courts office she often had one 
of her two children with her.

After the death of her husband in 1971, Judge Ragland found herself alone for the first 
time in 23 years. Seven years later she married Percy Ragland and moved to Lake 
Providence where she continued to serve as a Judge over the Sixth District. At the 
death of Mr. Ragland, she moved back to Tallulah in 1991.

In my research on Judge Ragland I discovered an article written October 14, 1990 in 
the Monroe New Star by reporter, Eleanor Rushing, that painted a clear picture of the 
lady, who at that time was holding the record as the oldest sitting judge in the state 
at 77 years of age. Her description of the Judge was that "Alwine Mulhearn Ragland 
doesn't run from challenges," and Judge Ragland responded by saying, " I try to face 
the music, whatever it is. If you can't change it, you might as well live with it."

Judge Ragland had hoped to extend her judicial career until she reached the age of 80. 
However, that was not to be. She was defeated in her fourth bid for re-election in the 
October 6 election of 1990 by Felicia Toney Williams, who was the Assistant 6th District 
Attorney at the time. Even though Williams' victory ended Ragland's career, she failed 
in her efforts to force her out of the race by challenging her age. Having done her 
homework, Judge Ragland knew her seat was protected by the 1921 Constitution, so she 
ran as any maverick would. She took the case to the State Supreme Court anyway, and 
the court confirmed what she already knew by ruling that she could serve until her 
80th birthday (July 28, 1993).

Her 16 years on the bench has been described as controversial and confrontational. 
According to the article by Ms. Rushing, Buddy Caldwell, the District Attorney, said, 
"Civilly, she is a major hazard. She is one of the most revered judges in Louisiana. 
She decides cases before they get started. You can see her get on one side of the case 
and stay there. I've had her reversed many times in higher courts." Caldwell felt that 
the Judge could have been a bit more courteous to the people who came before her and 
that she did have her favorite lawyers. To Caldwell, Judge Ragland could very well have 
been a prototype of the Jekyll and Hyde personality. He observed that outside of the 
courtroom she was very likable and social as a person and was pleasant to be around 
whereas inside she was callous and demeaning.

Her reaction to such statements were that her courtroom decorum was not intentional, 
that she was merely trying to do a good job, one that would serve as an example for 
children and those who would come after her. Needless to say, Judge Ragland demanded 
one's undivided attention when court was in session. She was known for running a strict 
court. Deputy sheriffs in attendance would readily escort any one out of court who failed 
to follow the Judge's rules. Lawyer Samuel Thomas, a longtime supporter, was of the 
opinion that critics would have fewer issues about her courtroom decorum if they were 
to live within her rules.

Based upon the following description provided by Thomas, I would venture to say that 
the Judge may also be characterized as a feminist in the purist sense. "She is hard on 
crime and triple hard on drugs. In cases involving women and non-support. Don't take 
your (male) client before her. If you do, take a checkbook. She does not tolerate men 
not taking care of their kids or men beating up on women." Thomas further describes her 
as being fair, tough, and a champion of women and the downtrodden.

Lake Providence lawyer, Captain Jack Wyly described the Judge as "one who made her own 
way." Even though they were of conflicting viewpoints in the courtroom, that is where 
it stayed. He described her as being an innovator and an independent operator.

Judge Ragland has continued to play an active role in the community since her departure 
from the bench in 1990. She has worked briefly with the Hermione Museum and Historical 
Society. She has served as the presiding judge over city court and President of the 
Friends of the Civil War Association where she worked unrelentingly to restore the 
Dalkeith Plantation home in the replica a dollhouse. As President and Director of 
the Madison Parish Tourism Commission, Judge Ragland strived to put Tallulah on the 
map as a place where tourist seek us out. Her hope and vision for a better Tallulah 
became her passion. There seems to be no end to her imagination when it comes to 
helping make Tallulah a better place to live.

This article first appeared in the Madison Journal on March 31, 2005.

http://files.usgwarchives.net/la/madison/bios/raglandams.txt