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BRADWELL V.

ILLINOIS
83 U.S. 130 (1872)
Justice Joseph Bradley’s concurring opinion

Parties
Myra Bradwell (π) is a female who applied for a law license.

Legal Claim/Defense
Bradwell argues that her right to practice law was protected by the Privileges and Immunities
Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Procedural History/Facts
Because Bradwell was a woman, the Illinois supreme court denied her admission for a law
license. π appealed the decision.

Issue
Whether the right to practice law was among the privileges and immunities protected by the
Fourteenth Amendment?

Holding
No, the privileges and immunities clause of the Fourteenth Amendment does not give women the
right to join any career/profession.

Reasoning
 The Fourteenth Amendment declares that no State shall make/enforce any law which shall
abridge the privileges & immunities of citizens in the US.
 π’s claim assumes that it is one of the privileges & immunities of women as citizens to
engage in any and every profession, occupation, or employment in civil life.
 Women and men are intended to occupy different “spheres” – man is (or should be) woman’s Commented [BM1]: Men & women have different
protector & defender. strengths
 Many maxims exist, stating that a woman has no legal existence w/o her husband. “The
paramount destiny and mission of woman are to fulfil the noble and benign offices of wife
and mother.”
 Not a woman’s fundamental right and privileges to be admitted into every office and
position—it is not every citizen of every age, sex, and condition that is qualified for every
calling and the position.
 The power to determine whether women are qualified to join any profession is within the
police power of the state  “legislature can make rules founded on nature, reason, and
experience.”

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