Margaret Connors Driscoll '35

Alumnae Achievement Awards 1978

Chief Justice, Juvenile Court of Conneticut

Margaret C. Driscoll, a native of Connecticut, graduated from Wellesley in 1935. She obtained a law degree from Yale University, as one of only five women in her class. Judge Driscoll was the first woman to be named chief judge of the Connecticut Juvenile Court.

In 1944, Judge Driscoll ran for a seat in Congress as the Democratic candidate from Fairfield County. She was defeated by the Republican incumbent, Clare Boothe Luce. In 1960, Judge Driscoll was named to the juvenile court in Connecticut, where she served as the chief judge from 1976 to 1978. She was the president of the Council of Juvenile Court Judges in 1976 and 1977. For eight years, Judge Driscoll was a judge with the Connecticut Superior Court.

Judge Driscoll was known to be an opponent of mandatory sentences and long confinement for juveniles. Her husband was the president of the Connecticut State Labor Council for 24 years. Judge Driscoll died in May 2000.