Oakland County Circuit Court's three women judges are Jewish . . . and determined DISTAFF JUSTICE Judge Hilda Gage RONNA HALL Special to The Jewish News I Judge Jessica Cooper he number of women judges isn't an oddity. We've become commonplace," says Judge Alice Gilbert of the Circuit Court of Oakland County. "What's much more visible, though, is the number of women trial attorneys today. At the time I started practicing (in the late 1950s), I was the only woman member of the Oakland County Bar Association." When the ballots were counted after last November's election, Judge Jessica Cooper, formerly the Chief Judge of Southfield's 46th District Court, was elected to the 6th Circuit Court in Oakland County, joining Alice Gilbert and Hilda Gage on a bench containing a total of 14 judges. It is a significant number when con- sidering that in all of Michigan, only the 3rd Circuit Court (Wayne County) has a slightly higher percentage of women on the bench, with nine women and 26 men. Attorneys say that they don't think of judges in terms of gender. "Male or female is not an issue," re- ports one Birmingham attorney. "At- torneys look for consistency and you have to know that each judge is differ- ent, with their own style." Gilbert, Gage and Cooper readily admit that they are very different in many ways. However, one • common factor is that they are all Jewish as well as being women in a profession that is still predominantly male. Judge Alice L. Gilbert, 54, began her career in the court system as a justice of the peace in 1961. She was nine months pregnant when she won that election. "I saw a need to upgrade the judicial system at the lower level, so I ran for the bench," says Gilbert. In 1968, she was elected to the 48th District Court in Birmingham with more votes than any other dis- trict candidate in the state. She was instrumental in forming the Michigan District Judges Association and served as its president from 1969-71. "When I started, we didn't put a label on what we did," says Gilbert. "That was before the women's move- ment and the ERA. I had more battles to get here. I am also not a member and do not approve of any women's profes- sional associations. They perpetuate a sex difference which becomes diluting to the profession." In 1976, when she was elected to the 6th Circuit Court as its first female judge, she was readily accepted by her colleagues. "They were apprised of my career-and they knew I had lots of prior experience in the court system. Being a woman has never been a factor. Aside from the politics of elected office, Judge Gilbert serves her profes- sion and community in other direct ways. She is a member of the Ameri- can Bar Association's Criminal Jus- tice. Committee and its White Collar Crime Committee, and she continues to serve as a trustee of the Michigan