FILE - This 1977 file photo shows Cornelia Kennedy, the first woman to become a federal judge in Detroit. Kennedy died Monday, May 12, 2014 at the age of was 90 according to Verheyden Funeral Homes. Kennedy was appointed by President Richard Nixon in 1970. Seven years afterwards, she became chief federal judge in eastern Michigan — the first woman in that role in the country. In 1979, Kennedy was promoted by President Jimmy Carter to the federal appeals court in Cincinnati. She retired in 2012. (AP Photo)