In Memory of Mary V. Orozco | September 24, 1928 – June 5, 2019

It is with our deepest sorrow that the Latina Lawyers Bar Association informs the legal community of the passing of Mary V. Orozco.

The prestigious LLBA Abriendo Caminos Award was created to honor Ms. Orozco’s legacy:

Ms. Orozco was the first Latina admitted to the California State Bar, in 1962. Ms. Orozco’s parents taught her she could transcend poverty through education. That lesson motivated her to attend college and to graduate from Loyola Law School in 1961. Soon after being admitted to the California State Bar in 1962, but before receiving her bar card, Ms. Orozco sat in a Los Angeles courtroom. When the court recessed, Ms. Orozco stood to leave, but a bailiff stopped her and told her that she was not free to leave. When asked “Why?” the bailiff responded, “because I must handcuff all defendants before they leave the courtroom.” Without her bar card, the bailiff refused to take Ms. Orozco’s word that she was an attorney. As the bailiff moved to place handcuffs on Ms. Orozco, an attorney convinced the bailiff that Ms. Orozco was indeed a member of the California State Bar. As the bailiff let go of Ms. Orozco’s wrists, he said, “I have never seen a Mexican-American female attorney.”