Sylvia Pressler (April 10, 1934 – February 15, 2010)[1] was an American judge who served in a number of positions within the New Jersey judicial system.
Pressler was born as Sylvia Diane Brodsky in New York City, the daughter of Jewish immigrants from Belarus and Poland.
[3] In 1973, when serving as a Hearing Examiner for the New Jersey Department of Civil Rights, Pressler ruled on the landmark case that opened Little League baseball to girls.
She ruled in a strongly worded decision that the girl should have been allowed to play, writing:[3] The institution of Little League is as American as the hot dog and apple pie.
The following year, the organization changed its charter nationally to allow girls to play on its teams anywhere in the United States, and created a softball division as well.
[3] In 1997, Pressler became the first woman to be appointed as Presiding Judge of the state's appellate division, and took on additional administrative responsibilities.
In 1983, State Senator Gerald Cardinale attempted to block her reappointment to the Superior Court by invoking senatorial courtesy.
[2] Judge Pressler died on February 15, 2010, following a battle with lymphoma at her home in Sparta Township, New Jersey, at the age of 75.