Year Honored: 2006
Birth: 1954
Biography
The Honorable M. Jane Brady had dreamt of becoming a lawyer since elementary school and worked three jobs to put herself through Villanova Law School. She began her career as the Deputy Attorney General in the Delaware Department of Justice, from 1977 until 1990. She then worked as the Chief Prosecutor in Sussex County and did a short stint in private practice.
In 1995, she was the first woman to be elected as Attorney General of Delaware and served for three terms until 2005. She focused on several areas during her term, including the Senior Victim Task Force which helped to protect senior citizens from scams and fraud. She also helped to found the Disabilities Forum, which helps to educate those with disabilities on their rights and responsibilities as citizens. Brady also worked on policies as a child advocate, creating a task force on child victims to help prevent bullying in schools and founded the KINfolk program which provides free laptop and internet to chronically ill children in need, especially those in hospitals to allow them to keep in touch with loved ones. Brady also sits on the boards of the Delaware Children’s Trust Fund and the Big Brothers / Big Sisters in Sussex County. In terms of law enforcement, Brady helped to pass a 2003 reform that increased the penalties for violent criminals and make restitution order enforceable by victims as civil judgement, and promoted ongoing training for law enforcement officers to increase sensitivity and effectiveness when working with those with disabilities. From 2005 until 2017, Brady served as an associate judge of the Superior Court of Delaware.
Brady has served on the Board of the National Organization of Victim Assistance, the American Bar Association’s Standards Task Force on Biological Evidence, the American Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Section Council, the American Bar Association’s Advisory Committee on the National Symposium on the American Justice System, and the Terry-Carey American Inn of Court.
In recognition of her work, Brady has been awarded the President’s Award from the Association for the Rights of Citizens with Cognitive Disabilities of Delaware; the AARP Fraud Fighter of the Year Award (1998); inducted onto the University of Delaware Alumni Wall of Fame (1996); the Woman of the Year Award from the Delaware Federation of Business and Professional Women; listed in the Who’s Who of American Law; and the Delaware Mother of Achievement Award (2015).
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Sources and Additional Readings
About Us. The Honorable M. Jane Brady, Judge - About Us - Superior Court - Delaware Courts - State of Delaware. (n.d.). Retrieved January 13, 2022, from https://courts.delaware.gov/superior/aboutus/judges_profile_jbrady.aspx
Hoey, K. (2015, April 2). Lewes mom is Delaware Mother of Achievement. The Daily Times. Retrieved January 13, 2022, from https://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/local/delaware/2015/04/02/lewes-mom-delaware-mother-achievement/70822326/
Jerome O. Herlihy political campaign ephemera collection. Manuscript and Archival Collections Finding Aids. (n.d.). Retrieved January 13, 2022, from https://library.udel.edu/special/findaids/view?docId=ead%2Fmss0896.xml%3Btab
M. Jane Brady. Ballotpedia. (n.d.). Retrieved January 13, 2022, from https://ballotpedia.org/M._Jane_Brady
Who, M. W. (n.d.). Who's Who in American Law, volume 11, parts 2000-2001. Google Books. Retrieved January 13, 2022, from https://books.google.com/books?id=INU6AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA89
- Collections: 2006