Catharine Roraback sits in the center frame, facing the viewer and smiling. She has gray and wavy hair, as well as blue eyes and a rounded face. She is wearing a dark blue shirt. To her left, a candelabra sits on a table. To her right, a white placemat sits on another table.

Catherine Roraback Defends the "Dissenters and Dispossessed"

Presented by the Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area

By Abigail Adam

December 18, 2023

“Are you asking me as a single woman or as a lawyer?” Catherine Roraback responded to her friend and former law professor, Fowler Harper. He had just called her to ask her if she would be interested in taking on a new and important court case. He asked her to defend Estelle Griswold and Dr. C. Lee Buxton in court as they challenged Connecticut’s birth control restrictions. Harper responded in a fit of laughter to her comment, saying that the approach was a great idea. Roraback turned Harper down before saying “But if you’re asking me as a lawyer, I’d be happy to.” Catherine Roraback agreed to what would become her most famous legal case: Griswold v. Connecticut. Nevertheless, her contributions to social and legal reform extended beyond this case. North Canaan’s famous lawyer partook in many additional trials within Connecticut. Besides Griswold v. Connecticut, Roraback fought for her clients in the New Haven Black Panther Trials, Abele v. Markle (Women v. Connecticut), and Peter Reilly's murder trial.

Catherine Roraback was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York to a Congregationalist minister. Still, her family retained ties to the legal profession. Her grandfather, Alberto T. Roraback, started the family's North Canaan practice in 1873. He reached high aspirations in his legal career, even serving as Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court. Yet this is where the similarities between Roraback and her forebears ended. The rising lawyer's family consisted of staunch conservatives, while she was a radical liberal. In some of her first cases, she defended communists during the Red Scare. Roraback was so radical that the FBI even developed a case file on her.

Catherine Roraback's FBI File

Catherine Roraback graduated from Yale Law School as the only woman in her class. Later, she inherited the firm from her Uncle Clint in 1955. It was here that Roraback took her cases and organized her evidence. This building served as Roraback’s base of operations for the rest of her life.

Challenging the State in Griswold v. Connecticut

After ending the call with Harper, Roraback sprung into action in 1958. Griswold and Buxton planned on breaking and challenging the Barnum Act of 1879. Introduced by state representative and showman P. T. Barnum, this act outlawed all forms of birth control. Yet the law did not stop there. It also forbade people from spreading information about contraception and abortion. People who violated the act would be arrested, imprisoned, and fined $100. By the 1960s, it remained as one of the harshest birth control restrictions in the United States.

Griswold, Buxton, and Roraback felt it was time to challenge the law. Estelle Griswold was the director of Connecticut’s Planned Parenthood. She believed that it was vital for families to have access to birth control. As the head of Yale University’s OB/GYN, Dr. C. Lee Buxton felt the same. Roraback herself believed birth control to be a right. She also believed that the Barnum Act was a class inequality issue, as it harmed the poor more than the wealthy. She later reflected in 2002:

It was not that women couldn’t get this advice … It was that poor women couldn’t. If you had enough money, you could go where contraceptives or abortions were available, but poor women didn’t have that option. … I have always felt that being a woman is a radicalizing experience and the Planned Parenthood women were radical on this point. It was not poor women who brought it about, it was an upper-middle-class WASP organization.
Catharine Roraback, interview by Marilyn Kuberka, Oral History Archive of the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame, February 14, 2003.

To showcase their beliefs, Griswold and Buxton started their own Planned Parenthood clinic. It soon became flooded with women asking for advice on birth control.

Even as the clinic operated, the three activists figured it would be soon shut down. They anticipated that the police would arrest Griswold and Buxton and try them in court. If Connecticut’s law deemed them guilty, they hoped to bring their case before the Supreme Court. That way, they could change the law at the highest possible level.

P. T. Barnum sits in an ornate chair for this studio portrait. He sits to the left but faces the viewer. He wears a dark suit and bowtie. He has a rounded face. Barnum is also balding, with curly hair framing the side of his head.

Though the clinic generated interest, not all felt happy with its services. New Haven resident James Morrison picketed the practice for days in what Roraback called a "one-voice operation." He contacted the governor, senators, the Chief State’s Attorney, and the state prosecutor to shut the clinic down. Ultimately, the police arrived to end the practice ten days after it opened. Buxton and Griswold turned themselves in. Later, they appeared in court to defend themselves. Buxton claimed that as a doctor, he was responsible for teaching his patients how to be healthy and safe. He argued that since childbirth was often dangerous, birth control constituted medical care. Yet the court did not agree. Buxton and Griswold were declared guilty in Connecticut’s Circuit Court. The case moved to the state's Superior Court, but it resulted in the same verdict with a 5-4 vote. Then, Roraback and her defendants appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

On June 7, 1965 the court ruled Connecticut’s Barnum Act as unconstitutional in a 7-2 vote. They argued that by denying birth control to married couples, the state interfered with these citizens’ right to privacy. No single amendment officially recognized that right. Nevertheless, Justice William O. Douglas argued that several constitutional laws reflected that intention. He cited the first, third, fourth, fifth, and ninth amendments. Roraback recalled celebrating when the news came out:

You know, you always know when the case is going to get decided. It was the last day of the court, and they left it until the last day to make the decision. So, we knew that day was here. We were all having lunch together at a restaurant, and heard the decision. And, needless to say, had a celebration.
Roraback, interview by Kuberka, The Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame.

Griswold v. Connecticut effectively legalized birth control for married couples in Connecticut and other states. It also determined that all U.S. citizens have a constitutional right to privacy.

Equality in the Courtroom

In 1971, Roraback defended Ericka Huggins in the New Haven Black Panther Trials. In these cases, several Black Panther members stood accused of torturing Alex Rackley for two days before killing him. The group suspected Rackley of spying for the FBI and betraying their organization. Warren Kimbro, Lonnie McLucas, and George Sams Jr. were quickly declared guilty. Yet the evidence against Bobby Seale and Erica Huggins was less solid. They were brought to court in an extremely high-profile case.

The Black Panthers Trial: Courtroom Sketches by Robert Templeton

Huggins felt intimidated by the male-dominated courtroom. This prompted Roraback to take a second look at their surroundings. She later recalled that

I looked at that courtroom and realized the court reporters were men, the clerks were men, the sheriffs were men, the Judge was a man, the prosecutor was a man, most of the other lawyers were men. And I just looked. And it was as though - I thought, ‘I’ve totally forgotten it.’ It was so much a part of my life I hadn’t even thought of it.
Roraback, interview by Kuberka, The Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame.

The two women used this to their advantage. During cross-examination, Arnold Marcall repeatedly interrupted and talked over Huggins. He did not give her enough time to defend herself before jumping onto another subject. Soon, Huggins grew fed up with his behavior. She stated that:

Well, you see, it’s very hard, first of all, for a woman to be heard by men.
“Catherine Roraback,” Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame, accessed August 9, 2023, https://www.cwhf.org/inductees/catherine-roraback.

Roraback remembered the power of Huggins’ words during an interview in 2003. She recalled that these words ignited the empathy of all four female jurors. As she stated,

It was one of those amazing moments of my life, I think because we had four women on the jury. And I would be willing to bet that any one of them - every one of them - was ready to reach out and hug her. I mean, you could feel it. Every woman in that courtroom - just - BINGO!
Roraback, interview by Kuberka, The Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame.

Roraback also believed that Huggins’ statement extended beyond the jury's women. She thought that this moment caused attending men to critically think about gender equality. Overall, Huggins' trial served as a powerful means of addressing inequality in the courtroom.

The trial lasted for four months as each side deliberated. The jury became deadlocked, as neither side acquired enough support to determine an outcome. Ultimately, Huggins became freed after the case was declared a mistrial. Huggins and Roraback were ecstatic at the news.

Revisiting New Haven's Black Panther Trials With Ericka Huggins

Ericka Huggins hugs Catharine Roraback outside of the courtroom. Several other people in suits and dresses also stand around. Huggins wears a sweater, a skirt, and has kinky hair. She is taller than Roraback. Roraback has shoulder-length, curled hair and wears glasses. She holds several documents, a purse, and her coat. Another woman faces the camera and smiles. She has short hair and wears a patterned dress. A church and another Victorian-era building stand in the background. Trees frame the image.

Overturning Abortion Restrictions

In 1972, Catherine Roraback took another major step for women's rights in Connecticut. That year, she litigated Abele v. Markle, otherwise known as Women v. Connecticut. This lawsuit aimed to overturn the state's abortion restrictions. Previously, the state only permitted a woman to have an abortion if her life was in danger.

Otherwise, the only way for women to have this procedure was through unregulated and unsafe measures. Many people who performed abortions were not medically trained to do so. One woman who worked with Roraback recalled traveling to New York City to have an abortion. She paid a man $500 before he brought her into an apartment for the procedure. After the surgery concluded, the doctor admitted that he had been previously arrested for malpractice. One of his abortion patients had died post-procedure. This news caused Roraback's client extreme anxiety. Her fears only worsened after her post-surgery pain worsened. After returning to Connecticut, she scheduled an appointment with a local OB/GYN. Her doctor helped her recover, but the patient realized she had almost died trying to get an abortion.Organizations such as New Haven Women’s Liberation did what they could to provide access to safe abortions. Law students organized the group in 1968. Members coordinated with a healthcare clinic in Montreal, Canada. After verifying the practice's safety, they referred women in need of abortions.

Organizations such as New Haven Women’s Liberation did what they could to provide access to safe abortions. Law students organized the group in 1968. Members coordinated with a healthcare clinic in Montreal, Canada. After verifying the practice's safety, they referred women in need of abortions.

The organization kept tabs on national abortion news as it assisted women. Its leaders soon decided to challenge Connecticut's abortion restrictions in court. Well-aware of Catherine Roraback’s role in Griswold v. Connecticut, the group decided to enlist the lawyer's help. She worked tirelessly with the group to secure 858 plaintiffs in support of the case. Her youngest client was eleven years old and her oldest was eighty-three. The case represented women of all ages, races, and backgrounds. Roraback filed the lawsuit on March 2, 1971. Two out of three acting judges in the state's Circuit Court voted in favor of the plaintiffs. They argued that restricting abortion was unconstitutional. Conservative governor Thomas J. Meskill appealed to the United States Court of Appeals. The court delayed the case by signing a temporary stay of execution. Nevertheless, the Connecticut General Assembly held an emergency meeting at Meskill’s request. The government passed a new anti-abortion bill titled Public Act No. 1, which Meskill signed into law on May 23, 1972.

This new law prompted Roraback to file a motion for contempt. She argued that the state defied court orders by passing the new abortion laws. Once again, the Circuit Court ruled the new abortion law as unconstitutional on September 20, 1972. Conservatives within Connecticut continued trying to appeal their case. Nevertheless, the outcome of Roe v. Wade ultimately shut down their arguments. In this decision, the Supreme Court ruled that women had the right to get abortions. Still, the state appealed to the Supreme Court to have their case personally heard. The court denied this appeal and sent the case back to the Circuit Court. Once again, it deemed the state’s anti-abortion law unconstitutional. Governor Meskill ultimately gave in, stating:

It is our opinion that the United States Supreme Court has already made its position irrevocably clear on the issues involved. For this reason, and subject to your concurrence or disapproval, we do not intend to file a further appeal.
Allen Ramsey, “RG 009:006, Abele vs. Markle: Inventory of Records,” Connecticut State Library, 2010.

The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 6, 2022. Yet abortion remains legal in the state of Connecticut.

This photograph showcases a blue button. Its centrally-placed pink text states "abortion rights for ALL women." Smaller white text states "A woman's life is a human life: end sterilization abuse."

Justice for Peter Reilly

On September 28, 1973, a shocking turn of events prompted Roraback to defend Peter Reilly in court. That night, Barbara Gibbons relaxed in her home in Falls Village, Connecticut. What likely started as a regular evening soon became a nightmare. Attacker(s) invaded the home and brutalized Gibbons in a murder that shook the community to its core. Gibbons’ unsuspecting son, Peter Reilly, arrived home later that evening. The student had been at a local church’s youth meeting. Once home, he found his mother’s corpse. After invaders stabbed, stomped, and mutilated her, Gibbons lay dead in her own blood. Reilly called emergency services, who promptly launched an investigation.

Peter Reilly stands in the center of this photograph. He sports long hair and wears a jacket, a sweater vest, bell-bottom jeans, and sneakers. He holds a fishing pole in his hands. He is standing on the rocky bank of a river. Two large barns are present in the background, as well as a small white house. — Peter Reilly fishing in the Blackberry River

Police believed that Reilly murdered his mother due to his lack of outward emotion. As such, they treated him as their prime suspect. However, they did not follow proper procedure during their investigation. Instead, the police decided to extract a confession out of Reilly by any means necessary. Investigators spent twenty-four hours interrogating their suspect before suggesting a polygraph test. Reilly agreed, as he had nothing to hide. After the procedure finished, investigators lied to him about their findings. They told Reilly it revealed that he had killed his mother. The police also determined that a mental blackout caused him to forget his actions. The trauma of finding his mother’s body combined with twenty four hours of interrogation proved too much for Reilly. Confused and exhausted, he confessed to killing Barbara Gibbons. In 2023, Reilly recalled what he endured:

The officers assumed I was guilty from the start. They isolated me from the community members who were trying to help me. Despite no evidence tying me to the crime, having a clear alibi and no motive, they were determined to use any means necessary to prove that I had done it instead of investigating the crime.
Peter Reilly, “Opinion: An Obvious Reform, 50 Years in the Making,” CT Post, March 16, 2023.

In this newspaper clipping, Peter Reilly stands on the left in a prison jumpsuit. He has long hair and an indiscernible expression. On the right, a police officer escorts him. The photograph is captioned "Escorted to Court: Peter Reilly of Falls Village is escorted into Circuit Court 18 in Torrington Monday for arraigment on charges of murdering his mother, Barbara Gibbons (Courant Photo by Jerry Williams).

In prison, Reilly rested and reflected on the investigation. While awaiting trial, he withdrew his confession. His home community also recognized that the police had treated him unfairly. They knew that investigators forced him to confess, ignoring evidence pointing to a different killer. Friends and family raised $50,000 for Reilly's bond so he could finish high school. Catharine Roraback also agreed to defend him in court. The trial itself proved less fruitful. Jurors felt conflicted. They deliberated for over fifteen hours and asked for clarification several times. The overseeing judge even urged them to come to a decision. At the end of the day, the court declared Reilly guilty due to his confession. Still, Roraback and the rest of northwest Connecticut refused to give up. As local newspaper editor Robert Estabrook stated,

We were as astonished as anyone else at the outpouring of Peter's friends and neighbors and we became early on convinced that this young many could not have done what he was accused of doing.
Kathryn Boughton, “Peter Reilly Speaks at a Forum In Salisbury; Case Still Haunts,” CT Insider, September 14, 2005.

Roraback appealed the verdict and worked with a private investigator to help Reilly. His next trial started out poorly. Prosecutor John Bianchi felt that other evidence could not overshadow Reilly’s confession. After Bianchi died during the investigation, the replacement prosecutor took a different stance. Dennis Santore focused on evidence placing Reilly miles away from home at the time of the murder. In the end, the court declared Peter Reilly innocent.

Through this trial, Catherine Roraback illustrated the importance of ethics in criminal investigations. She fought against the mishandling of justice by refusing to give up on Peter Reilly’s case. Through this process, she saved her client and brought attention to larger problems in the police force.

This newspaper clipping features three images and a small body of text. The first image is of Peter Reilly. He sports long hair, wears sunglasses, and smiles. The centermost image features Judge Maurice Sponzo, a middle-aged man. He has short hair and wears glasses. The image on the right features Thomas McDonnell. He is a middle-aged man with gray or white hair and thick eyebrows. In this image, he looks downward. These images are accompanied by a small paragraph. This paragraph states: "Peter A. Reilly's four years of legal limbo ended when Superior Court Judge Maurice J. Sponzo ruled that he cannot ever be prosecuted for manslaughter — and probably not any other charge — in the 1973 slaying of his mother, Barbara Gibbons. The day after the decision—made in spite of public insistence by state police that their 10-month reinvestigation proved Reilly's guilt — Capt. Thomas J. McDonnell, who headed that probe, was reassigned from command of the criminal investigations bureau to an unspecified, newly created job at headquarters. Found guilty of manslaughter in a 1974 murder trial, Reilly, of Falls Village, was granted a new trial in 1976 and then the charge was dismissed later a year after disclosure of additional evidence."

Over her long career, Roraback served in many other important roles. She became the legal counsel for Planned Parenthood of Connecticut. She was president of the National Lawyers Guild from 1973 to 1985. During that time, Roraback also served on the board of the American Civil Liberties Union. Additionally, she helped young aspiring lawyers as a board member of the Connecticut Women's Education and Legal Fund. Roraback won awards and recognition for her service to marginalized people. Today, several awards are named in her honor. The Litchfield County Bar Association awards law students with scholarships in Roraback’s name. Connecticut’s branch of NARAL Pro-Choice America grants the Catherine Roraback Award to leaders fighting on behalf of abortion and reproductive rights. In her will, Roraback also donated her law practice to the Canaan Foundation. In 2015, the building became the Canaan History Center. It is now run by town historian Kathryn Boughton, who was one of Roraback's personal friends.

Roraback won awards and recognition for her service to marginalized people. She became inducted into the Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame in 2001.

Catherine Roraback Tribute Film by the Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame

Today, several awards are named in her honor. The Litchfield County Bar Association awards law students with scholarships in Roraback’s name. Connecticut’s branch of NARAL Pro-Choice America grants the Catherine Roraback Award to leaders fighting on behalf of abortion and reproductive rights.

Bar Association Scholarship

In her will, Roraback also donated her law practice to the Canaan Foundation. In 2015, the building became the Canaan History Center. It is now run by town historian Kathryn Boughton, who was one of Roraback's personal friends.

Canaan History Center

Roraback continued studying legal developments for the rest of her life. She died in 2007 at the age of 87. Her incredible legal presence in the courtroom had won both awe and enemies. At any rate, she forever challenged and changed the law. She remained a steadfast ally to marginalized people by defending them in the courtroom. She truly lived as a defender of the “dissenters and the dispossessed.”

Bibliography

ACLU Connecticut. “Catherine G. Roraback Dies at 87.” Last updated October 21, 2007. https://www.acluct.org/en/press-releases/catherine-roraback-dies.

Boughton, Kathryn. “CT Lawyer Won Crucial Women’s Rights Case Targeted by Clarence Thomas.” CT Mirror, July 4, 2022. https://ctmirror.org/2022/07/04/ct-lawyer-won-crucial-womens-rights-case-targeted-by-clarence-thomas/.

Boughton, Kathryn. “Peter Reilly Speaks at a Forum In Salisbury; Case Still Haunts.” CT Insider, September 14, 2005. https://www.ctinsider.com/news/article/Peter-Reilly-Speaks-at-a-Forum-In-Salisbury-Case-16864271.php.

Boughton, Kathryn. “Women's History Month: The FBI Even Had a File on Canaan Attorney Catherine Roraback.” CT Insider, March 6, 2012. https://www.ctinsider.com/connecticut/article/Women-s-History-Month-The-FBI-Even-Had-a-File-on-16894619.php.

Connecticut History. “Taking on the State: Griswold v. Connecticut.” Last updated November 9, 2021. https://connecticuthistory.org/taking-on-the-state-griswold-v-connecticut/.

Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame. “Catherine Roraback.” Accessed August 9, 2023. https://www.cwhf.org/inductees/catherine-roraback.

Connery, Donald. “Barbara Gibbons and Peter Reilly: 35 Years After that Tragic Night.” The Lakeville Journal, October 16, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20110716194258/http://www.tcextra.com/news/publish/canaan/Barbara_Gibbons_and_Peter_Reilly_35_years_after_that_tragic_night/691800.shtml.

Encyclopedia.com. “Peter A. Reilly Trial: 1974 & 1976.” Great American Trials. Last updated July 25, 2023. https://www.encyclopedia.com/law/law-magazines/peter-reilly-trial-1974-1976.

McCutcheon, Michael. “From Murder Exoneration to Advocate – the History of Peter Reilly in His Retelling.” The Davis Vanguard, March 25, 2023. https://www.davisvanguard.org/2023/03/from-murder-exoneration-to-advocate-the-history-of-peter-reilly-in-his-retelling/.

Ramsey, Allen. Connecticut State Library. “RG 009:006, Abele vs. Markle: Inventory of Records.” 2010. https://cslarchives.ctstatelibrary.org/repositories/2/resources/547#:~:text=Historical%20Note-,The%20Abele%20vs.,anti%2Dabortion%20law%20was%20constitutional.

Reilly, Peter. “Opinion: An Obvious Reform, 50 Years in the Making.” CT Post, March 16, 2023. https://www.ctpost.com/opinion/article/opinion-an-obvious-reform-50-years-in-the-making-17840745.php.

Roraback, Catherine. Interview by Marilyn Kuberka. Oral History Archive of the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame. February 14, 2003. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5d7121a2621fa50001fc829f/t/6260790e3503bc0f67af1ef2/1650489643036/Oral+History_Catherine+Roraback+Interview+Transcript.pdf.

Slate.com. “Women vs. Connecticut.” Slow Burn: Roe v. Wade. Last updated August 9, 2023. https://slate.com/transcripts/R1lCTHVGOVZISEFXVjF6ZlBtRVI0NnEyV3ZJS1ZSNzhFeUhlTmJtN09Edz0=.

The National Registry of Exonerations. “Peter Reilly.” Accessed August 9, 2023. https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetailpre1989.aspx?caseid=268.

Weisberg, Jonathan T. “In Control of Her Own Destiny: Catherine G. Roraback and the Privacy Principle.” Yale Law Report 51, no. 1 (Winter 2004): 39-43. https://ylr.law.yale.edu/pdfs/v51-1/Roraback.pdf.