May 31,2009 - Breaking News:
Susan B. Jordan Killed in Plane Crash
Memorials for Susan
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Legendary trial lawyer and Redwood Valley resident Susan B. Jordan, died in a plane crash on Friday, May 29, 2009 near Boulder, Utah. Ms. Jordan, age 67 and her partner of 28 years Ronnie Wong were visiting John Austin and Jacqui Smalley at their Boulder Creek Canyon ranch at the time of the accident. Ms. Jordan and Mr. Austin, who shared a passion for aviation, were both killed when the plane Mr. Austin was piloting crashed after colliding with electrical wires.
Sorrow swept the country after news spread of Ms. Jordan's death. The magnitude of her contributions to society and the zeal with which she lived life will be long remembered. Born in Chicago in 1941, she earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1963. She then acquired a Master's Degree in Education in 1965 from Yeshiva University in New York City. After teaching in public schools in New York City and becoming active in the civil rights movement in Mississippi, she was inspired to commence a career in law. In 1970 she graduated with her J.D. from Northwestern School of Law in Chicago.
Ms. Jordan remained in Chicago practicing law as one of the13 members of the People's Law Collective until she moved to San Francisco in 1973. In a 1972 interview published in the St. Paul Minnesota Dispatch, she described her practice as "a straight criminal practice . . . our clients are almost always underdogs, poor people, people who have been arrested before, people arrested for their political views." At the time Ms. Jordan and other women lawyers and women criminal defense lawyers in particular, were an anomaly in the profession. In that same interview she remarked, " judges try not to be condescending . . . but I have judges who call me "Susie" instead of "counsel" and flirt with me instead of listen to me." She never let them get away with it.
Such experiences shaped Ms. Jordan's distinguished career. She was a hallmark litigator with a special importance to women litigators who followed in her wake. She firmly believed that the style and content brought to the courtroom by a woman litigator changed the face of the law. Perhaps her most notable case, People v. Inez Garcia brought to the forefront of public discussion the plight of the any woman who defends herself against her aggressor. The case is famous as the first trial in which the Battered Woman's Syndrome was first recognized as an affirmative defense. Ms. Jordan and her co-counsel prevailed on behalf of their client, setting in motion an era where the rights of woman in the law were first recognized. In an interview in 1979 in The Daily Iowan, Ms. Jordan stated, "we're urging law to develop [an understanding] that a woman caught in a violent situation stands in a very different position than a man." "It is viewed as understandable if a man shot a guy who raped his wife, but the woman who [shot her rapist] was viewed as cuckoo. Until 1974, women were defended in such cases as being crazy for acting in this way. And then came women criminal lawyers and said let's not defend these cases as insanity, let's defend them as reasonable."
Ms. Jordan represented Judy Bari of EarthFirst, Bill and Emily Harris, and Sara Jane Olsen of SLA fame, as well as members of the Black Panther Party. She remained grounded by describing herself though, as "your basic all-purpose criminal lawyer representing jewel thieves, bank robbers, prostitutes and murderers, to name a few," she said in an interview in 1980. Ms. Jordan's career also included representing victims of sex harassment and sex discrimination in civil cases.
In 1972 Ms. Jordan bought a small cabin in the mountains outside of Laytonville California.. This event heralded decades of living in Mendocino County with her partner and husband Ronnie Wong and their daughter Jennifer. Ms. Jordan kept that Laytonville cabin for over fifteen years and would alternate wearing cowboy boots and jeans to court in Mendocino County with her more chic attire that she reserved for federal court in San Francisco and elsewhere. She delighted in the juxtaposition of her life in Mendocino County with her life in the Bay Area. She moved to Redwood Valley, in 1985 where she and Ronnie maintained a beautiful home and garden on their 80 acres until her untimely death.
Since 1972 she maintained an active law practice based in Ukiah, California most recently defending the rights of medical marijuana users and cooperatives in federal court. Among the cases of which she was most proud, was her representation of Board of Supervisor candidate Liz Henry in contesting the election results in 2000. In the end Henry was declared the winner by one vote. She also defended the ballot initiative known as Measure H, passed by Mendocino County voters in 2004, which restricted the use of genetically modified organisms after it was attacked by corporate agribusiness in the Mendocino County Superior Court.
Ms. Jordan had been a licensed pilot since 1980. She was dedicated to aviation and shared her love of flying with others. A fit body, healthy mind and awakened spirit were also important to her. A devoted practitioner of yoga, she enjoyed teaching yoga at Yoga Mendocino in Ukiah. Along side her yoga practice was her meditation practice which she considered a significant part of her personal growth and awareness. She regularly participated in Saturday evening dharma activities at Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery in Redwood Valley. A practicing Buddhist in the Theravada tradition, Ms. Jordan in recent years shared the benefits of a spiritual practice by organizing meditation practices for lawyers and others.
Ms. Jordan is widely published in the legal arena. A Forever Family co-authored by her daughter Jennifer Jordan Wong and Rosalyn Banish is first on the list of required reading for families considering adoption. Ms. Jordan has received numerous awards for her professional and personal achievements. More information is available on her web site: www. susanbjordan.com.
A memorial to her life is scheduled for June 21, 2009 at Dark Horse ranch in Ukiah California. A separate memorial dedicated to Susan shall be held in Berkeley in July, details to follow.
Any donations in honor of Ms. Jordan should be sent to either the Everyday Zen Foundation, 431 Belvedere Street, San Francisco, CA 94117 or Save Our Local Economy (SOLE) P.O. Box 1530, Ukiah, CA 95482 or the Sanghapala Foundation at 16201 Tomki Road, Redwood Valley, CA 95470.
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SUSAN B. JORDAN is a well-known criminal defense lawyer and
civil litigator. She has distinguished herself in many areas.
She is most well known for her work defending women charged
with violent crimes, as well as her work in defense of civil
liberties. She is credited with the creation of the battered
spouse defense.
She is a licensed pilot who uses her aircraft to make court
appearances statewide.
SUSAN B. JORDAN currently defends
all types of criminal cases in State and Federal Court. She
is also a civil litigator in cases involving real estate and
business disputes. Susan is well known in many California counties,
and appears in Court in all the Northern California Counties
as well as in Federal Court in California and the Western States.
She writes frequently on topics in the law and is a sought after
public speaker.
SUSAN B. JORDAN
is listed in Best
Lawyers of America, and maintains an “AV” rating
in Martindale
Hubbell.
515 South School Street
Ukiah CA 95482
(707) 462-2151
FAX (707) 462-2194
s.b.jordan@sbcglobal.net
Copyright © 1977
- 2003 Susan B. Jordan
All Rights Reserved
Photos by Roslyn Banish
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