Overview

• Edward Garrison Draper, a Dartmouth graduate who was denied admission to the Maryland Bar in 1857 due to his race, has been posthumously admitted by the Supreme Court of Maryland, over a century after his rejection.
• This decision, marking the state's first posthumous admission to the bar, signifies a significant act of restorative justice, acknowledging the racial discrimination endured by Draper.
• Despite being found 'qualified in all respects' by Judge Z. Collins Lee in 1857, Draper was denied admission due to his race, underscoring the racial prejudices prevalent at the time.
• After his rejection in the U.S., Draper emigrated to Liberia with the intention to practice law there, but unfortunately passed away a year later due to tuberculosis.
• The posthumous admission highlights the progress society and the legal profession have made and signifies Maryland's leadership in restorative justice, remarked Maryland Supreme Court Justice Shirley M. Watts.
• The move to rectify this historical injustice was spearheaded by former appellate Justice John G. Browning, among others, proving the adage that 'justice delayed is not necessarily justice denied'.