Camille Kelley. This portrait that hangs in the Shelby County Juvenile Court building in Memphis, TN.
Camille McGee Kelley (1879–January 28, 1955) was an American
juvenile court judge and author. She was investigated by the state of
Tennessee for using her judgeship to aid
Georgia Tann's ongoing
adoption fraud operation conducted under the auspices of the
Tennessee Children's Home Society and resigned shortly after this information became public.
History
Camille Kelley was the juvenile court judge in
Shelby County,
Tennessee from 1920 to 1950. Known as the "Little Irish Judge," she
never wore a judicial robe in court, opting instead for colorful
dresses, jewels and always a flower pinned to her shoulder. She was
quoted as saying, "Robes would scare the children to death. They're not
so timid when they appear before me and see that I am wearing a flower".
Kelley's formula in dealing with
delinquents
was simple: "We try the boy, not his offense. We seek to take away from
him nothing but his mistakes." She was often quoted as saying that
juvenile justice should be tempered with a sympathetic understanding of
human problems. Shortly after she retired, she said favorable results
were obtained in 85-90% of the 50,000 cases that she had handled.
Kelley authored three books inspired by her experiences at juvenile court.
Scandal
Hallmark Productions was producing a movie based on her book,
Delinquent Angels,
but suspended production after her resignation from the bench in
November 1950, in a storm of controversy and charges after the results
of a special investigation ordered by
Governor Gordon Browning were released.
The investigation surrounded illegal adoptions-for-profit by Georgia
Tann and the Tennessee Children's Home Society. It charged that
approximately 20% of the illegal adoptions at the home were funneled
through Kelley's court, where she would remove parental rights and
provide Tann with documents to place the children as she deemed
appropriate. Kelley was never prosecuted for any crimes associated with
the home. She died at her son's home over four years after the scandal
first broke, from complications due to a
stroke.
Judge Kelley with a child in her court room. Notice the famous Tiffany Stained Glass Window behind her.
Publications
- A Friend in Court (Dodd, Mead & Company, 1942)
- Delinquent Angels (Brown-White-Lowell Press, 1947)
- Kelleygrams (Self-published, 1949)
Sources
- Report to Governor Gordon Browning on Shelby County Branch,
Tennessee Children's Home Society. 1951, [Nashville] : State of
Tennessee, Dept. of Public Welfare.
Obiturary
Birth:
| Oct. 13, 1879
Trenton
Gibson County
Tennessee, USA |
| Death: | Jan. 28, 1955
Little Rock
Pulaski County
Arkansas, USA |
Author,
Juvenile Court Judge. She wrote three books regarding handling problem
children in the juvenile court system, "Kellygrams" , "A Friend in
Court" and "Delinquent Angels". She was the Juvenile Court Judge in
Shelby County, Tennessee from 1920 to 1950. Known as the "Little Irish
Judge", she never wore a robe in court, opting for colorful dresses,
jewels and always a flower pinned to her shoulder. She was quoted as
saying "Robes would scare the children to death. They're not so timid
when they appear before me and see that I am wearing a flower".
Her
formula in dealing with delinquents was simple: "We try the boy, not his
offense. We seek to take away from him nothing but his mistakes". She
was often quoted as saying that juvenile justice should be tempered with
a sympathetic understanding of human problems. Shortly after she
retired, she said favorable results were obtained in 85 to 90 percent of
the 50,000 cases she had handled.
Hallmark Productions was
producing a movie based on her book, "Delinquent Angels", but suspended
production after her resignation from the bench in November, 1950, in a
storm of controversy and charges after the results of a special
investigation ordered by Governor Gordon Browning of the State of
Tennessee was released. The investigation surrounded illegal
adoptions-for-profit by Miss Georgia Tann
and the Tennessee Children's Home Society. It charged that
approximately 20% of the illegal adoptions at the home were funneled
through Kelley's court, where she would remove parental rights and
provide Tann with documents to place the children as she deemed
appropriate.
Judge Kelley was never prosecuted for any crimes
associated with the home. She died at her sons home, Little Rock
Arkansas attorney Heiskell Kelley, after complications due to a stroke.
Family links:
Parents:
John Preston McGee (1835 - 1890)
Virginia Candace Elder McGee (1844 - 1889)
Spouse:
Thomas Fitzgerald Kelley (1873 - 1928)
Children:
Heiskell B. Kelley (1904 - 1979)*
Thomas Fitzgerald "Gerald" Kelley (1906 - 1939)*
Evelyn Camille Kelley (1910 - 1922)*
Siblings:
Howard Hawthorne McGee (1867 - 1895)*
Babbington McCauley McGee (1869 - 1926)*
Genevieve McGee McGehee (1871 - 1897)*
Camille McGee Kelley (1879 - 1955)
*Calculated relationship |
| |
Burial:
Forest Hill Cemetery Midtown
Memphis
Shelby County
Tennessee, USA
Plot: Section 11, Plot 138 |
Created by: Neil Loftiss
Record added: Jun 25, 2009
Find A Grave Memorial# 38731655 |
External Links
Source wikipedia.com
