Rita Charmatz Davidson
compiled a long list of firsts in her distinguished public service
career. She was the first woman on the Maryland Court of
Appeals. She was also the first woman to serve in the
cabinet of a Maryland governor. As significant as those
accomplishments are, it is what she achieved while serving in each
of those positions that truly merits our respect and
admiration. She was a champion of the poor, minority
populations and those whose individual civil liberties seemed
threatened.
Rita Davidson began her career in private law practice in the
District of Columbia and Montgomery County, while also becoming
involved in county politics and government. In 1970, she
was named Secretary of the State Department of Employment and
Social Services, the highest position in Maryland government
occupied by a woman at that time. She focused public
attention on the needs of our poor and forgotten citizens and
the inadequacies of the governmental programs designed to help
them. Much of the progress those programs have made is a
direct result of the attention she gave them during her term as
department secretary. In 1973, Rita Davidson was appointed
a judge on the Court of Special Appeals. Six years later,
she was appointed to the Court of Appeals, the state's highest
court. On both courts, she distinguished herself as a
brilliant, strong, compassionate and thorough jurist. Her
legal legacy touches areas of law such as family relations,
administrative behavior, capital punishment, gender equity and
land use planning.
By her intellect, commitment and compassion, Rita Davidson
moved the State of Maryland in very important ways and is a
shining example to today's and tomorrow's leaders. She was
an accomplished career woman who shared generously of her
soul.
Biography courtesy of the Maryland Commission for Women,
1985.
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