Catherine Roraback

Catherine Gertrude "Katie" Roraback (September 17, 1920 – October 17, 2007) was a civil rights attorney in Connecticut, best known for representing Estelle Griswold and Dr. C. Lee Buxton in the famous 1965 Supreme Court case, Griswold v. Connecticut, which legalized the use of birth control in Connecticut and created the precedent of the right to privacy. She is also known for such cases as the New Haven Black Panther trials of 1971, in which she defended Black Panther member Ericka Huggins after she was accused of murder. Roraback dealt with issues such as women's rights and racial discrimination and lived her life to defend the rights of the "dissenters and the dispossessed".

Roraback, commonly known as "Katie", was born in Brooklyn, New York to Reverend Albert Edward Roraback and Gertrude Remsen Ditmars on September 17, 1920.[1] Her parents were married in Brooklyn on June 24, 1914. Her father, Albert Roraback was a Congregational Minister of the Church of the Evangel in Brooklyn. Albert Roraback graduated from Yale Divinity School in 1905 and became a pastor at the Church of Evangel in 1910. Reverend Roraback was initially from Canaan, CT, where his father, Alberto T. Roraback, was the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Connecticut.

Among Catherine's well-known relatives was her uncle, political boss J. Henry Roraback, who controlled the Connecticut Republican Party from 1912 to 1937, serving as the party's chairman. The Republican Party successfully unified and controlled most affairs throughout the state in the 1920s under Roraback's leadership. At the time, J. Henry Roraback was considered the most influential man in Connecticut. He was a strong influence in the creation of Connecticut's Candlewood Lake, which is used today to generate electricity. Ironically, amidst the struggle for suffrage at the beginning of the 20th century, J. Henry Roraback opposed the bill that would grant women's suffrage in the United States. This stance contrasted significantly with Catherine's deep involvement in women's rights and her promotion of feminism that came to be her legacy. Catherine Roraback was also a cousin of Senator Andrew Roraback of Connecticut. Senator Roraback is a Republican State Senator who represents the 30th district communities. He also served in the Connecticut House of Representatives from 1994 to 2000 and serves as Minority Caucus Chairman and Deputy Minority Leader Pro Tempore. Catherine Roraback's family ties to political leaders in Connecticut are extensive and were a powerful influence on her career, as was the influence of her parents, both of whom were social activists.

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