She was the first black female graduate of the University of Akron law school.
She was the first black female chief prosecutor in Akron.
She was the first black female judge to serve at the Common Pleas level.
And, Saundra Jean House Robinson Jackson accomplished these milestones in the third career in her lifetime.
Judge Robinson, 77, died April 18. She may be best remembered for the upset she scored against John Vuillemin, an incumbent Democrat, in 1990 to become Summit County Juvenile Court judge, a post that is part of the Common Pleas bench.
“Any man who wants to run for judge better put his track shoes on,” longtime county Republican Chairman Alex Arshinkoff is remembered for saying after her victory. “We’re only recruiting women.”
Arshinkoff followed through with his promise, with the party recruiting and appointing numerous female candidates in the decades after this, helping to contribute to Summit County’s current judicial makeup in which women outnumber men on the bench.
The party had a moment of silence in honor of Judge Robinson on Saturday during its annual Lincoln Day Dinner.
Bryan Williams, the county GOP’s Executive Committee chairman, ran Judge Robinson’s campaign in 1990 and then, at the age of 26, served as her court administrator, helping to jump start his political career.
“She put a lot of confidence in a young person to supervise the court,” Williams said. “I learned a lot from her. She was a very, very good boss.”
Judge Robinson also gave attorney Belinda Hinton a chance, tapping her as a magistrate. As a judge, Hinton said her friend of 30 years was a kind and giving person
“When I think about her court, she provided a lot of opportunities for a lot of people that they wouldn’t have had,” she said.
Hinton thinks Judge Robinson helped blaze a trail for other Summit County women who followed in her footsteps and ran for judge.
“It helps when you see others who look like you, whether in gender or color,” she said. “It gives incentive that this is possible.”
Hinton and Judge Robinson shared a law office after Robinson left the bench in 1996 and the two remained close friends. She said her friend loved her family, enjoyed playing cards and craved warm Krispy Kreme doughnuts.
Before Judge Robinson entered the legal field, she was a hospital lab technician and then a teacher in the Akron Public Schools. She earned her UA law degree in 1977 by taking classes at night while raising her two sons.
She is survived by her husband, Raymond Jackson, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at 330-996-3705 or swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @swarsmithabj and on Facebook: www.facebook.com/swarsmith.