Trailblazing Judge Helen Shores Lee Dies

BIRMINGHAM, AL - Judge Helen Shores Lee, the first African American woman to serve on the Jefferson County District Court, passed away Monday morning at the age of 77.

Lee was appointed to the bench in 2003, and elected to her first full term in 2004 and retired in 2015. She was the daughter of famed civil rights attorney Arthur Shores who defended Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955-56.

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"She was just a wonderful human being and there are not enough words for what she did for Birmingham and the Birmingham community," said U.S. Senator Doug Jones.

Lee was a graduate of Fisk University in Nashville, Tenn., received her M.A. in clinical psychology from Pepperdine University in Los Angeles, and her Juris Doctorate from Samford University, Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham.

Photo courtesy of Samford University

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