Judicial pioneers Evelyn Gobbie and Roberta Knowles broke legal glass ceiling

Though officially American women got the right to vote in 1920, it was not until 1972, that a woman was elected to serve as a judge in Manatee County.

In fact, at an election held on Sept. 12, 1972, not one, but two women were elected to judgeships in Manatee County. That day, Manatee County voters chose Roberta Padgett Knowles as a county judge and voters in the 12th Judicial Circuit, encompassing DeSoto, Sarasota and Manatee counties, elected Evelyn Gobbie as circuit judge.

In 1968, the revision of the Florida Constitution lead to Article V modernizing Florida’s Constitution and adding additional judicial seats in 1972. This change gave both Gobbie and Knowles the opportunity torun for judge.

In 1958, Gobbie was the first woman to join the Manatee County Bar Association and practice law in Manatee County. She worked for Grimes, Goebel and Grimes before opening her own law firm.

Gobbie, raised in Connecticut, but a native of England, returned to London during World War II and enlisted in the Royal Air Force during World War II. She attended school in England and in the United States, graduating summa cum laude from the University of Miami Law School in 1957 after beginning her la career as a legal secretary in Miami. She practiced in Palmetto and Sarasota and served as the cityprosecutor for the city of Palmetto from 1958-1963 and the city of Sarasota from 1966-1967 before being chosen as the Sarasota’s chief Municipal judge in 1967. At that time, there were only a few women judges in Florida and most served as juvenile judges.

Five years later, Gobbie was encouraged to run for circuit court judge. Her campaign slogan was“Justice is a Lady”. Ads promoted Gobbie’s experience in handling over 35,000 court cases and stated those cases were, “weighed with patience, compassion, and impartiality and tempered by the heart of a woman with an appreciation for the problems of others”.

Six months after her election, a newspaper called her the “lady judge”, highlighting the difference between previous judges and describing Gobbie, as “the smiling woman in her bright, fashionable dress.” However, Gobbie herself stated that she “found no discrimination due to sex duringher election campaign and certainly encounters none in her professional associations.”

Judge Gilbert Smith, Jr. recalled that Gobbie, “had a strong English accent and was delightful to be around. She was just fun. She married Fred Patterson in 1977, and they lived in Sarasota. They never had children, but were always entertaining all sorts of interesting people.”

He added, “Maybe because she was a circuit judge or was more social, Gobbie was recognized more than Knowles for breaking the glass ceiling for women in law. She received a lot of awards throughout Florida, not just in the Manatee/Sarasota area.”

In 1959, Knowles was a widow with two young children when her husband Gordon B. Knowles, Jr., also an attorney died in a car accident. She worked with her husband in his law firm, and when he died she went to law school with the support of family. Knowles graduated from Stetson University College of Law and was admitted to the Florida Bar on Nov. 16, 1962. The 1963 Bradenton City Directory shows Knowles working for the law firm of Goodrich, Hampton and Boylston.

Ten years later, Knowles ran for county judge. Her campaign ads held a similar theme as Gobbie’s.

When she ran for reelection in 1980, she was described as “a proven decision maker. Harsh when the occasion calls for it, yet, tempering justice with mercy when the situation demands.” She described the position of county judge as one of “little love” and reflected on the “long hours, weekend duty and earlymorning wake up calls.”

Despite the demands of her job, Knowles found time to be active in community affairs. In her obituary printed on July 23, 1982 (she died at the age of 61 on July 21), Knowles is listed as a member of the Manatee County Bar Association, a sustaining member of the Manatee County Service League, past president of Entre Nous and a past member of the Business Professional Women. She also attended Christ Episcopal Church.

Almost nine years prior to the election of 1972, on Feb. 7, 1963, the Bradenton Herald reported that Gobbie and Knowles served 800 Coca-Colas to those attending a legal forum sponsored by the Manatee Bar Association and the newspaper.

One wonders whether those present remembered that kindness during the election in 1972. Or whether the first female judges in Manatee County thought it was just part of the work required to make it in a formerly all male world.

This story was originally published August 16, 2016 at 3:18 PM with the headline "Judicial pioneers Evelyn Gobbie and Roberta Knowles broke legal glass ceiling."