Barbara Babcock Obituary and Cause of Death

Barbara Babcock, a pioneer in law and government and a beloved teacher at Stanford, died on April 18 of this year at the age of 81. She was the author of numerous books, including “Woman Lawyer” (2011), a highly regarded biography of Clara Foltz, an early 20th-century West Coast legal pioneer and public defender. In addition to her writing and teaching, Babcock also served on the board of the Women’s Legal Rights Foundation and was a founder of the East Palo Alto Community Law Project.

Babcock was born in Washington in 1938 and grew up in Hyattsville, Maryland. After graduating from Yale Law School on a full scholarship and completing her Phi Beta Kappa degree, she clerked for Judge Henry W. Edgerton on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and then joined a private firm in Washington, D.C. During her time at the firm, she became involved with the Equal Justice League and helped to develop its national civil rights litigation, eventually becoming the president of the organization.

In 1966, Babcock was hired to run the federal defender office in Washington, where she fought for better conditions for criminal defendants. In 1972, she led the effort to expand that office into the Public Defender Service, a position she held until her retirement in 1980. In that time, she persuaded Congress to appoint more minorities and women — including future Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg — to the federal bench.

At Stanford, Babcock brought practical legal experience and a commitment to clinical education to the law school, creating the student-initiated East Palo Alto Community Law Project, which was the forerunner of today’s Stanford Community Law Clinic. She was also a co-founder of the Women’s Legal Rights Foundation and worked with the United States Civil Liberties Union to defend prisoners in the Vietnam War.

Babcock also strove to promote the overlooked histories of women in the legal profession, starting an online biography project and writing “Woman Lawyer,” which focused on the trials of Clara Foltz, a pioneer of public-defender work who was widely considered the first woman lawyer in the West. “She was an extraordinary lady, a great lawyer and a wonderful teacher,” says SLS professor John Donohue.

Outside the classroom, Babcock was a dedicated and loving mother, grandmother and great grandmother. She loved bowling and dancing, working in her flower garden and travelling abroad with her late husband. She was a very kind, compassionate person who would help anyone in need. She will be missed by her family and many friends. Rest in peace Barbara.