Montgomery County’s first female judge retires

“The employees are amazing,” she said. “This is a solid, solid court system with solid employees with people who go the extra mile.”

She says she plans to spend time with family and volunteer during retirement.

Gorman became a judge in 1987. She said a woman had served as a judge in domestic relations court before her, but not in the general division, where felony level cases are heard.

She said she felt accepted for the most part as the first female judge in the general division as it was becoming more common for women to join the legal field. She also said that as a judge, it was her job to apply the law and not worry how others felt about her being on the bench.

“If you’re a judge, there’s not going to be blatant discrimination against you because you’re the judge. So actually, it was fine, and I didn’t go look for that, and if anybody had a problem with me being a female on the bench, that was their problem, not mine,” Gorman said. “One thing about being a judge is you have to deal with everyone fairly. And whether you like the lawyer or not, the defendant in a criminal case or parties in a civil case, you have to treat them according to the law.”

She said as she looks back on her career, she hopes the people who came into her courtroom found her to be a just jurist.

“I always thought ‘do your job’ and I never thought what people would think about it. When you’re a judge, a lot of times at least half the people are not going to like what you did. I hope they think I was fair .”

And many local attorneys do, Dayton Bar Association President and Green & Green lawyer Fred Young said.

“Judge Gorman is an important part of not just our legal community, but the community as a whole,” he said. “She has been and continues to be an educator and an inspiration to so many. Judge Gorman’s service has not only earned the respect of our local practitioners, she is a major reason our legal community is admired for its collective professionalism and collegiality by attorneys outside of our area.”

He said Gorman has been a vital member of the Dayton legal community.

Gorman also said it was a pleasure working with the area lawyers and noted that, even during a pandemic, attorneys have worked together.

“The lawyers make the judge’s job either easy or hard, and in Montgomery County, by and large with some exceptions, I think the lawyers in Montgomery County make it easier for us to judge,” she said.

Gorman said one thing that may make it easier for her to leave is knowing that Susan Solle, who was elected into the position in November, will be taking her place. During an interview leading up to the election, Solle said that Gorman is a role model and that it would be an honor to fill her seat.

Gorman had kind words for Solle as well.

“I think she’ll be terrific. She’s smart, she’s ethical,” Gorman said. “She’s amazingly well rounded when it comes to law and very involved with the community.”