Women's Voices

Colonel Linda Strite Murnane (U.S. Air Force, Retired) is an Associate Justice serving on the High Court of the Republic of the Marshall Islands.  Among her previous positions, she was "Of Counsel" with Cusack Law Office, LLC in Beavercreek, Ohio.  She served as the Chief, Court Management Services Section at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon located in Leidschendam, The Netherlands, from August 2014 until May 2017.  Between 2013 and 2014,  Ms. Murnane served as the Judicial Bailiff for the Honorable Anne Taylor, Franklin County Municipal Court, Columbus, Ohio. Ms. Murnane served as the Chief, Court Management and Support Services  for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague, Netherlands from 2009 until 2012.  In that position, she led teams totaling about 40 staff involved in the daily operation of the courtrooms in which the trials of alleged war criminals are being tried under the mandate of the United Nations Security Council.  She also was responsible for leading a team responsible for implementing three components of the European Union-funded War Crimes Justice Project, providing training to court professionals and others in the Balkans, transcribing verbatim local language transcripts and providing translation of the ICTY’s Appeals Chamber Case Law Research Tool in Balkan languages.  In 2011, she also spent three months as the Acting Head of Chambers for the Tribunal and in 2011 – 2012 she spent four and one half months as the Acting Deputy Registrar for the Tribunal. She had  previously spent two years as one of the four Senior Legal Officers assigned to Trial Chambers in the ICTY.  While a Senior Legal Officer, Colonel Murnane was responsible for preparation of orders, decisions, judgments and support for the international judiciary.  Colonel Murnane specifically had responsibility for the cases of Milutinovic, et al. (six accused charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity in Kosovo), Prlic, et al. (six accused charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity involving the Herceg-Bosna leadership), and Vojislav Seselj.  She was also responsible in the pre-trial phase for the cases of Rasim Delic, Stanisic and Simatovic, Momcilo Perisic, Lukic and Lukic, Vladimir Djordjevic and Radovan Karadzic. While at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Ms. Murnane served as the Independent Commissioner, investigating allegations of misconduct lodged against defence counsel and the legal representative for victims.  While at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Ms. Murnane was the senior legal officer assigned to support the Disciplinary Board, and later was appointed to chair the Disciplinary Panel to address allegations of misconduct by non-staff counsel at the institution. Colonel Murnane served as the Senior International Attorney for the Defense Institute of International Legal Studies from November 2008 until her return to the ICTY in August 2009. Based in Newport, Rhode Island, the Institute is the Department of Defense’s lead agency providing seminars and programs to military personnel and civilian government officials throughout the world dealing with the legal complications of the strategic, operational, and tactical decisions faced by military personnel and civilian professionals as they work to accomplish their missions.  She served as the Executive Director for the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights in the United States, a gubernatorial executive cabinet commission, from February 2005 until July 2007.  Prior to that, she served for nearly 30 years on active duty with the United States Air Force.  In her Air Force career, Colonel Murnane served in a variety of positions, including ten years as a chief circuit military judge, or military judge.  She was the Chief Circuit Judge for Europe and the Eastern Judicial Circuit, Bolling AFB, Washington, D.C.  She presided at the first criminal trials for the U.S. Air Force during Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom in the war zone, deploying five times in support of those operations between 2001 and 2003. Colonel Murnane served as the Chief, Military Justice, and Chief, International, Operations and Civil Law while assigned at U.S. Forces Japan/Fifth Air Force from 1988 – 1991.  She was the Deputy Staff Judge Advocate at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, from 1991 – 1993, and the Staff Judge Advocate at Bitburg Air Base, Germany from 1993 to 1994.   In addition to her other roles, Colonel Murnane worked with Lexis Nexis and with Western Governors University following her military retirement. She is a past chair of the ABA Judicial Division, past chair of the National Conference of Specialized Court Judges, and past chair of the ABA Standing Committee on Armed Forces Law.  She received the ABA Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award in 2008 and the ABA International Law Section's Mayre Rasmussen Award in 2019.  In 2003, she received the Ohio State Bar Association's Nettie Cronise Lutes Award. Renee Dopplick is an attorney and an experienced senior executive with a background in global nonprofits and the corporate sector, working in the areas of policy, technology, and the law. Renee began her career working with Fortune 500 companies in the technology and financial sectors. Her legal practice expanded into digital tech law, including artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. She has worked in Africa, Asia/Pacific, Europe, and North America. Renee is the ABA Representative to the United Nations Economic and Social Council, the Rule of Law Officer for the ABA International Law Section, a fellow of the American Bar Foundation, and previous Editor in Chief of International Law News, published by the ABA International Law Section. She has published and been a frequent speaker on tech law-related topics to a variety of domestic and international audiences. Among her publications, Renee was co-author of the chapter on AI and Legal Practice Management in the DRI AI Working Group report. Renee earned her JD degree with honors and an award from Georgetown University Law Center, an MS degree from Michigan State University, and a BS degree from the University of California, Los Angeles. She is licensed to practice law before the U.S. Supreme Court and in the courts of Washington, D.C., and Maryland. Caryl Ben Basat is a corporate lawyer with more than 25 years of experience in mergers and acquisitions and complex cross-border equipment finance transactions worth billions of dollars. Before establishing her own firm, she spent many years practicing in large top-tier international law firms and in-house with two European aircraft leasing companies. Caryl earned her JD degree cum laude from Pace University School of Law where she served as Editor in Chief of the Pace International Law Review and where she also earned certificates in international law and international trade law. She earned her BA degree in English magna cum laude from San Francisco State University. Caryl currently serves as the ABA International Law Section’s Publications Officer, with responsibility for overseeing the publication and promotion of books, International Law News, and two law reviews published by the International Law Section in cooperation with SMU Dedman School of Law, The International Lawyer and The Year in Review. Caryl is committed to using her skills and expertise to assist in the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. She is also passionate about promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion generally and about expanding the role of women in leadership in both the public and private sectors.

Contents



Foreword vii



U.S.
Ambassador Prudence Bushnell (retired)



Preface xi



Colonel Linda
Strite Murnane



Acknowledgments xv



Colonel Linda
Strite Murnane



About the Editors
xvii



About the
Contributors xix



Introduction xxvii



Lisa Ryan



1



The Americas:
Advances, Persistent Obstacles, and New Challenges
1



Alejandra
Mora Mora






2



Australia:
Citizenship, Participation, and Reality 17



The Honorable
Margaret Beazley, AC, KC, and Elizabeth Chapman






3



Brazil: Impacts, Barriers,
and Gender Equality 33



Carla Amaral
de Andrade Junqueira






4



Guatemala: Securing
Equality and Full Political Participation by
Women and Indigenous People 39



María Isabel
Luján Zilbermann and Fernanda Monzón Arroyo






5



India: The
Electoral Landscape and the Glass Ceiling in the World’s
Largest Democracy 47



Arya Tripathy
and Priti Suri






6



Iran: Culture,
Political Participation, and Continuing Efforts 61



Shima Rostami






7



Japan: Pushback
against Pushbacks—Why We Need More Women in
Parliament in Japan 71



Hayashi Yoko






8



Kenya: Reflections
on Preventing Sexual and Gender-Based
Election Violence 75



Rachel Irura






9



United Kingdom: The
Legacy and Impact of Women’s Suffrage on the
Legal Profession 85



Christina
Blacklaws






10



United States: Our
Sheroes Have Always Been Clan Mothers: What
America Learned about Suffrage from Native Women
93



The Honorable
Lisa Atkinson






11



United States:
Unresolved Accomplishments and Trailblazing
Sheroes 111



Paulette
Brown






12



United States:
Personal Reflections on Lessons from the 19th
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution 125



Gail Heriot
Silverman