Patricia Wald
Patricia Ann Wald (September 16, 1928 – January 12, 2019) was an American lawyer and judge who helped break barriers for women in the legal field. Born in Torrington, Connecticut to a working‑class family, she earned a scholarship to Connecticut College and then studied at Yale Law School, where she was one of just a few women in her class and an editor of the Yale Law Journal.
She began her career clerking for Judge Jerome Frank, worked briefly in private practice, and spent years in public service, contributing to various commissions and criminal justice reform efforts. She helped co‑author Bail in the United States, a book that influenced bail reform.
In 1977, Wald became Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs under President Jimmy Carter. In 1979, she was nominated and confirmed as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, becoming its first female member. She served as Chief Judge from 1986 to 1991, the first woman to hold that position on the court, and wrote more than 800 opinions.
After leaving the federal bench in 1999, Wald served as a Justice on the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, handling cases related to genocide and war crimes. She remained active in human rights and constitutional work, including a term on the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board from 2012 to 2017, and involvement with various commissions on national security and intelligence.
Wald received many honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013, and numerous honorary degrees. She dedicated herself to expanding opportunities for women in law and protecting the rights of the underprivileged. She was married to Robert L. Wald, with whom she had five children. She died in Washington, D.C., in 2019 from pancreatic cancer at age 90.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 06:33 (CET).