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Lisa Richette

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Lisa Aversa Richette
Judge of the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas
Incumbent
Assumed office
1971
Personal details
Born
Lisa Aversa

September 11, 1928
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
DiedOctober 26, 2007
Vitas Hospice, St Agnes' Continuing Care Center, South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Political partyDemocratic Party (United States)
Parent(s)Domenico Aversa and Maria (Giannini) Aversa
Alma materUniversity of Pennsylvania
Yale Law School

Lisa Aversa Richette (September 11, 1928 – October 26, 2007) was an American lawyer and judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia County. A lifelong Philadelphian, she was appointed to the bench in 1971 by Pennsylvania Governor Milton Shapp.[1] Noted for her outspokenness, she was a social activist, particularly in the areas of homelessness, child welfare, and juvenile justice.[2][3]

In 1973, she was honored with the Gimbel Philadelphia Award for outstanding service to humanity.[4]

During her funeral eulogy, Richette was described by Philadelphia Daily News staff writer Kitty Caparella as "a true Renaissance woman" who "wouldn't allow herself to be manipulated, intimidated, or marginalized," and who was also "a humanist who set her own agenda and mentored others, whether law students, homeless advocates, or defendants."[5]

Formative years

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Born as Lisa Aversa in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 11, 1928, Lisa A. Richette was a daughter of realtor Domenico Aversa and Maria (Giannini) Aversa, a native of Santa Caterina dello Ionio, Italy.[6][7] She grew up in that city's South Philadelphia neighborhood, in a household in which both English and Italian were frequently spoken. Her brother, Robert J. Aversa, followed their father into the family's real estate business.[8]

A graduate of the Philadelphia High School for Girls prior to earning her bachelor's degree as a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, she became one of the first female graduates of the Yale Law School in 1952.[9][10][11][12]

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Following her graduation from Yale, Richette returned to Philadelphia, where she opened a law practice. Appointed as an assistant district attorney, one of a handful of groundbreaking women in the local legal profession, along with the future, long-serving Philadelphia district attorney Lynne Abraham, Richette often wore pants and long dangling earrings in court at a time when it was considered almost risqué for a female attorney to do so, and was once thrown out of court for wearing a pantsuit. She also taught at Yale Law School and Villanova University as a visiting lecturer, and subsequently rose through the ranks to become chief of the Family Court Division of the Office of the District Attorney, a post which she held from 1956 to 1964.[13]

Richette, who authored the 1969 book on the juvenile justice system in Philadelphia, The Throwaway Children,[14] subsequently toured the United States, speaking about problems within America's judicial system. Sales of her book quickly resulted in her publisher issuing a second printing.[15] She then wrote a second book, The Now Generation.[16] During the early 1970s, she continued to practice law while also heading the Hiroshima Program, a peace advocacy organization that sponsored a protest against the Vietnam War in August 1971.[17]

In December 1971, she was appointed judge of the Court of Common Pleas for Philadelphia County by Governor Milton Shapp, becoming one of the first women to hold that office.[18][19][12]

During the summer of 1973, she presented a lecture regarding her recently published paper, "A Special Savor of Nobility: Confronting the Dehumanization in Children's Justice," at the Twentieth Summer Conference (“The Humanizing and Dehumanizing of Man”) of the Institute on Religion in an Age of Science, which was held from July 28 to August 4 on Star Island in New Hampshire.[20]

Later years

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During the 1980s Richette continued her juvenile justice advocacy, touring the United States as a guest lecturer. In January 1980, she delivered the Theleia Legal Society's second annual seminar address to female law students at the University of South Carolina.[21] In late March of that year, she was a key speaker at the 11th Annual Child Abuse Conference in Dallas, Texas.[22]

She also became more active in her advocacy of improving services for, and assistance to, homeless individuals and victims of child abuse.[23][24]

Late in her life, Richette made local headlines on three occasions as a result of being physically assaulted. She was mugged in 1987, while "scores of people watched without helping her".[25][26] In 2006, she was punched while waiting for her son to rent a video.[citation needed] In 2007, her son, Lawrence was charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, and reckless endangerment in connection with a domestic dispute that occurred on August 21, 2007.[27]

A sitting member of Pennsylvania's judicial system for the remainder of her life, Richette was still serving as a senior Family Court judge at the time of her death in 2007.[28]

Awards and other honors

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In 1971, Richette was awarded the Signum Fidei Medal, the highest award given by the LaSalle College Alumni Association.[29]

In 1984, she was awarded the Pearl S. Buck International Award.[30]

By 1988, she had also been honored with the Alice B. Paul Woman of Courage Award, the Gimbel Philadelphia Award, and the National Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution's Medal of Honor.[31][32]

Public service

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A member of Philadelphia's Consulting Committee on Children, she also served on the Council for Equal Job Opportunity and the Health and Welfare Council.[33] In 1973, she founded the Child Abuse Prevention Effort (CAPE).

Known for being a devout Catholic, Richette frequently delivered meals to homeless members of the community and also volunteered regularly for the Sisters of Mercy hospice in Center City Philadelphia.[34]

Death and interment

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Richette died from lung cancer at the Vitas Hospice in St Agnes' Continuing Care Center in South Philadelphia. She was seventy-nine. Her funeral mass was held at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Philadelphia on Friday, November 2. She was then interred at the Saints Peter and Paul Cemetery in Marple Township.[35][36]

In his homily during the funeral, the Rev. Robert Curry, her longtime spiritual advisor, described Richette as "an original," adding:[37]

"Lisa was not larger than life—no one is.... Lisa was full of life, which was better, a vivid woman full of grace. She knew who she was."

References

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  1. ^ "Shapp Names 25 Men, 4 Women to Bench." Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Philadelphia Daily News, December 31, 1971, p. 6 (subscription required).
  2. ^ "Judge Lisa A. Richette 1928-2007 Ground-breaking jurist was caring, controversial". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 30 October 2007. Retrieved 18 April 2016.[dead link]
  3. ^ Anderson, Peggy. "Philadelphia Woman on Top Court ... Who Would It Be?" Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Philadelphia Inquirer, September 29, 1971, p. 16 (subscription required).
  4. ^ Lione, Louise Hickman. "Judge Lisa Richette Wins the Gimbel Award." Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Philadelphia Inquirer, January 12, 1973, p. 10 (subscription required).
  5. ^ Shaw, Julie. "Bidding farewell to 'an original,'" Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Philadelphia Daily News, November 3, 2007, p. 8 (subscription required).
  6. ^ "Maria Giannini Aversa," in "Deaths here." Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Philadelphia Inquirer, December 4, 1981, p. 70 (subscription required).
  7. ^ "Engagements Announced." Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Philadelphia Inquirer, March 2, 1958, p. 127 (subscription required).
  8. ^ Nicholson, Jim. "Robert Aversa, a Realtor Who Helped People." Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Philadelphia Daily News, July 6, 1988, p. (subscription required).
  9. ^ "Lisa Richette to Receive LaSalle's Highest Award." Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Philadelphia Inquirer, January 28, 1971, p. 54 (subscription required).
  10. ^ Anderson, "Philadelphia Woman on Top Court ... Who Would It Be?", in The Philadelphia Inquirer, September 29, 1971.
  11. ^ "Judge Lisa A. Richette 1928-2007 Ground-breaking jurist was caring, controversial". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 30 October 2007. Retrieved 18 April 2016.[dead link]
  12. ^ a b "Turmoil stalks a longtime judge in Phila". September 5, 2007.
  13. ^ Anderson, "Philadelphia Woman on Top Court ... Who Would It Be?", in The Philadelphia Inquirer, September 29, 1971.
  14. ^ "Judge Lisa A. Richette 1928-2007 Ground-breaking jurist was caring, controversial". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 30 October 2007. Retrieved 18 April 2016.[dead link]
  15. ^ Thran, Sally. "Woman Lawyer Pushes for Improved Juvenile Court System." St. Louis, Missouri: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 11, 1969, p. 40 (subscription required).
  16. ^ "Lawyer-Author Will Give Speech." Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Philadelphia Inquirer, November 23, 1969, p. 2(subscription required).
  17. ^ "100 at Rally Protest War." Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Philadelphia Daily News, August 5, 1971, p. 6 (subscription required).
  18. ^ "Shapp Names 25 Men, 4 Women to Bench," Philadelphia Daily News, December 31, 1971.
  19. ^ "Judge Lisa A. Richette 1928-2007 Ground-breaking jurist was caring, controversial". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 30 October 2007. Retrieved 18 April 2016.[dead link]
  20. ^ "A Special Savor of Nobility: Confronting the Dehumanization in Children's Justice," in Zygon: Journal of Religion & Science, Vol. 9, No. 2, June 1974, pp. 139-155. Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley Online, retrieved online April 21, 2023.
  21. ^ Kapsidelis, Tom. "Speaker Pleads for Juveniles' Rights." Columbia, South Carolina: The State, January 27, 1980, p. 28 (subscription required).
  22. ^ "Speaker named for conference on child abuse." Fort Worth, Texas: Fort Worth Star-Telegram, March 23, 1980, p. 67 (subscription required).
  23. ^ Young, Masco. "Her Honor Still Cares About the 'Throwaways.'" Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Philadelphia Daily News, December 21, 1984, p. 84 (subscription required).
  24. ^ Porter, Jill. "The Journalist and the Judge." Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Philadelphia Daily News, November 6, 1989, p. 36 (subscription required).
  25. ^ "Judge Attacked In Center City". The New York Times. February 12, 1987. Retrieved 2007-08-28.
  26. ^ Porter, Jill. "Judge Richette Fights Back." Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Philadelphia Daily News, February 11, 1987, p. 43 (subscription required).
  27. ^ "Phila. Judge Lisa Richette's Son Charged with Assaulting Her; Later, He Flashes Reporter". KYW-AM 1060 Newsradio. August 22, 2007. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-28.
  28. ^ "Judge Lisa A. Richette 1928-2007 Ground-breaking jurist was caring, controversial". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 30 October 2007. Retrieved 18 April 2016.[dead link]
  29. ^ "Lisa Richette to Receive LaSalle's Highest Award," The Philadelphia Inquirer, January 28, 1971.
  30. ^ "Judge Lisa A. Richette 1928-2007 Ground-breaking jurist was caring, controversial". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 30 October 2007. Retrieved 18 April 2016.[dead link]
  31. ^ "Judge Lisa Richette will address conference." Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Morning Call, February 21, 1988, p. 105 (subscription required).
  32. ^ Lione, "Judge Lisa Richette Wins the Gimbel Award," The Philadelphia Inquirer, January 12, 1973.
  33. ^ Anderson, "Philadelphia Woman on Top Court ... Who Would It Be?", in The Philadelphia Inquirer, September 29, 1971.
  34. ^ "Judge Lisa A. Richette 1928-2007 Ground-breaking jurist was caring, controversial". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 30 October 2007. Retrieved 18 April 2016.[dead link]
  35. ^ "Judge Lisa A. Richette 1928-2007 Ground-breaking jurist was caring, controversial". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 30 October 2007. Retrieved 18 April 2016.[dead link]
  36. ^ Shaw, "Bidding farewell to 'an original,'" Philadelphia Daily News, November 3, 2007.
  37. ^ Shaw, "Bidding farewell to 'an original,'" Philadelphia Daily News, November 3, 2007.
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