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List of first women lawyers and judges in Louisiana

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This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Louisiana. It includes the year in which the women were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are women who achieved other distinctions such becoming the first in their state to graduate from law school or become a political figure.

LaLeshia Walker Alford made history as the First African American elected to Shreveport City Court bench in 1997.

Firsts in state history

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Shelly Deckert Dick: First female Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana (2013)
Nannette Jolivette Brown: First African American female appointed as a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana (2011)

Lawyers

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  • Bettie Runnels and Rose Cara Falls Bres (1898):[1][2] First female lawyers in Louisiana. Bres would become the first female lawyer to plead cases before the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of Louisiana.
  • Irene J. Barrios (1922):[3] First Latino American female lawyer in Louisiana
  • Marian Berkett (1937):[4][5][6] First female lawyer hired by a law firm in Louisiana[7]
  • Mary Gloria Lawson (1956):[8] First African American female lawyer in Louisiana

Law clerks

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  • Tammy Lee:[9] First African American female to serve as a law clerk for the Fourth Judicial District Court (1993)
  • Veronica Odinet Koclanes:[10] First female to serve as the clerk of the court for Louisiana Supreme Court (2021)

State judges

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  • Anna Judge Veters Levy (c. 1922):[11][12] First female judge in Louisiana (1941)
  • Alwine Louise Smith Ragland (1935):[13] First female elected judge (1974)[14]
  • Joan Armstrong (1967):[15][16] First African American female judge in Louisiana (1974) and serve on the Louisiana Court of Appeals (1984)
  • Catherine D. Kimball (1970):[17] First female elected to the Eighteenth Judicial District Court (1983) and serve on the Supreme Court of Louisiana (1992)
  • Rae Swent:[18] First female to serve on the Ninth Judicial District Court in Louisiana
  • Ann B. McIntyre (1977):[19][20] First female to serve on the Fifth Judicial District Court in Louisiana
  • Madeline Jasmine:[21] First African American (female) appointed as a Judge of the Fortieth Judicial District Court in Louisiana (1991). She also the first African-American (female) Assistant District Attorney in the 29th and 40th Judicial Districts.
  • Felicia Toney Williams:[22] First female (and African American female) elected to the Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeal (1992) and serve as its Chief Judge (2018)
  • Bernette Joshua Johnson (1969):[23][24] First African American female to serve as the Associate Justice (1994-2013) and Chief Justice for the Supreme Court of Louisiana (2013)
  • Patricia Minaldi (1983):[25] First female elected as the Judge for the Fourteenth Judicial District Court in Louisiana (1995)
  • Patricia Hedges:[26] First female appointed as a Judge of the Twenty-Second Judicial District Court in Louisiana (1995)
  • Lori Landry:[27] First African American female appointed as a Judge of the Sixteenth Judicial District in Louisiana (2002)
  • Jane Margaret Triche-Milazzo:[28] First female appointed as a Judge of the Twenty-Third Judicial District in Louisiana (2008)
  • Bernadette D'Souza:[29] First Indian American female judge in Louisiana (2012)
  • Monique F. Rauls (1993):[30] First African American female appointed as a Judge of the Ninth District Court in Louisiana (2015)
  • Amy Burford-McCartney:[31] First female judge elected in the Forty-Second Judicial District in Louisiana (2016)
  • Marissa Hutabarat (2010):[32][33] First Indonesian American (female) judge in Louisiana (2020)
  • Marla M. Abel: [34] First female judge elected in the Seventeenth Judicial District in Louisiana (2019)

Federal judges

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Attorney General

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Assistant Attorney General

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United States Attorney

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  • Stephanie A. Finley:[40] First female to serve as a U.S. Attorney in Louisiana (2010)

District Attorneys

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  • Keva Landrum-Johnson:[41][42][43][44] First female (and African American female) to serve as a District Attorney in Louisiana (2007)
  • Bridget A. Dinvaut:[43][45][46] First African American female elected as a District Attorney in Louisiana (2015)

Assistant District Attorney

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  • Lori Landry:[27] First African American female to serve as an Assistant District Attorney for the Sixteenth Judicial District in Louisiana (c. 1993)

Bar Association

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  • Marta-Ann Schnabel:[47] First female to serve as the President of the Louisiana State Bar Association
  • Kim M. Boyle:[48] First African American female to serve as the President of the Louisiana State Bar Association (2009-2010)

Firsts in local history

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See also

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Other topics of interest

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References

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  1. ^ Norgren, Jill (2016-05-01). Rebels at the Bar: The Fascinating, Forgotten Stories of America's First Women Lawyers. NYU Press. ISBN 9781479835522.
  2. ^ "Mrs. Rose Falls Bres Brings Out "Maids, Wives and Widows."". St. Tammany Farmer. 1918-08-03. p. 5. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
  3. ^ Atencio, Dolores S. (2023). "Luminarias: An Empirical Portrait of the First Generation of Latina Lawyers 1880-1980". Chicana/o Latina/o Law Review. 39 (1). doi:10.5070/cllr.v39i1.61869. ISSN 1061-8899.
  4. ^ Advocate, Kimberley Singletary Special to The. "State's first female lawyer turns 100, will speak at Tulane". The Advocate. Retrieved 2018-02-11.
  5. ^ "Oldest lawyer in LA., Marian Berkett, succumbs at 104 « Crescent City Jewish News". www.crescentcityjewishnews.com. Retrieved 2018-02-11.
  6. ^ "Tulane University Law School - News Item Detail". www.law.tulane.edu. Retrieved 2018-02-11.
  7. ^ She was the oldest attorney in Louisiana at the time of her death in 2017.
  8. ^ Ph.D, Rachel L. Emanuel, Ph D., Ruby Jean Simms, Ph D., Charles Vincent (2015-06-01). Scotlandville. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9781467113144.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ a b Robinson, Ian (3 February 2023). "Here are some Black firsts in Ouachita Parish". News-Star. p. A.1. ProQuest 2771844487.
  10. ^ "Louisiana Supreme Court Appoints Veronica O. Koclanes Clerk of Court; First Female Clerk in Court's 208-Year History - Press Release - Louisiana Supreme Court". www.lasc.org. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  11. ^ "Picture of the Past 1949: First woman judge in Louisiana loses post". NOLA.com. Retrieved 2017-10-25.
  12. ^ "Women's Legal History | Biographical Search". Women's Legal History. Retrieved 2017-10-25.
  13. ^ a b "Tallulah's first woman judge dies at age 92". The Vicksburg Post. 2 May 2006. Retrieved 2018-12-30.
  14. ^ Upon Alwine Ragland becoming a Judge of the Sixth Judicial District in Louisiana
  15. ^ "Chief judge of 4th Circuit to retire in 2011 after 37 years on the bench". NOLA.com. Retrieved 2018-01-12.
  16. ^ "State of Louisiana Court of Appeal, Fourth Circuit". www.la4th.org. Retrieved 2018-01-12.
  17. ^ a b "Notable Alumni". www.lsu.edu. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  18. ^ a b "District News" (PDF). National Association of Women Judges - COUNTERBALANCE. 2009.
  19. ^ a b "Ann McIntyre | McIntyre Law Office". mcintyrelawonline.com. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
  20. ^ a b Thompson, Marcy. "McIntyre first female judge in 5th District". The Sun. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
  21. ^ "Chief Judge Madeline Jasmine, Ret. | Louisiana Judicial Council". louisianajudgesnoir.org. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
  22. ^ "Williams named chief judge". Hanna Newspapers. Retrieved 2018-12-17.
  23. ^ a b "Bernette Johnson sworn in as Louisiana Supreme Court's first black chief justice". NOLA.com. Associated Press. Archived from the original on February 4, 2013. Retrieved 2018-12-17.
  24. ^ a b Miriam Childs, "Chief Honored at SULC 70th Anniversary", De Novo (Newsletter of the Law Library of Louisiana), Vol. 14, Issue 3, Fall 2017; accessed 18 June 2018
  25. ^ "Judge Patricia Minaldi obituary". Retrieved 2018-12-07.
  26. ^ a b "Patricia Hedges, the first-ever female judge of the 22nd Judicial Court, is being led to travel the world". Tammany West. 2014-02-10. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  27. ^ a b Farzan, Antonia Noori (2019-10-31). "A judge spoke out about racial bias. Now prosecutors are trying to get her removed from hundreds of cases". Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
  28. ^ a b Tilove, Jonathan. "Jane Triche-Milazzo secures Senate's confirmation for federal judgeship". The Times-Picayune. Archived from the original on July 19, 2013. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  29. ^ DuBos, Clancy (2012-02-27). "Addressing Domestic Issues". NOLA.com. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
  30. ^ a b "Division "A" - Judge Rauls". www.9thjdc.org. Retrieved 2018-01-08.
  31. ^ a b Welborn, Vickie. "New judge takes oath of office in DeSoto Parish". KTBS. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  32. ^ a b "Loyno Magazine Fall 2020". Issuu. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
  33. ^ a b "American 'Batak' takes office as New Orleans judge". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
  34. ^ Writer, Halle Parker Staff. "Lafourche's first female judge takes the bench". The Courier. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
  35. ^ "Diversity Trailblazers | Eastern District of Louisiana | United States District Court". www.laed.uscourts.gov. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  36. ^ "La.'s first Black female federal judge, Nannette Jolivette Brown, honored". www.louisianaweekly.com. Retrieved 2018-01-20.
  37. ^ "Dick, Shelly Deckert | Federal Judicial Center". www.fjc.gov. Retrieved 2018-01-20.
  38. ^ Williams, Kourtney (2023-11-20). "Republicans secure all statewide offices in Louisiana". WDSU. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  39. ^ "Executive Director Constance "Connie" Koury | Louisiana Association for Justice". www.lafj.org. Retrieved 2018-12-17.
  40. ^ "United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley retiring after 25 years of federal service". www.justice.gov. 2017-03-10. Retrieved 2018-12-30.
  41. ^ a b Simerman, John. "For prosecutors, Louisiana's split-verdict law produces results". The Advocate. Retrieved 2019-03-25.
  42. ^ a b "Sioux of 1990 Makes History as Chief Judge". Ursuline Academy of New Orleans. 2018-01-03. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
  43. ^ a b c d Bacon-Blood, Littice (2014-11-11). "For the first time in Louisiana, an African American woman is elected district attorney". nola.com. Archived from the original on March 26, 2019. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
  44. ^ a b "People on the Move – The New Orleans Tribune". Retrieved 2019-03-26.
  45. ^ a b "Bridget A. Dinvaut Biography - 40th". www.stjohnda.com. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
  46. ^ a b Bacon-Blood, Littice (2015-01-13). "New DA takes office in St. John Parish, with re-elected judges". nola.com. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
  47. ^ "Calogero Justice Award". www.raisingthebar.org. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  48. ^ a b "Phelps Dunbar's Kim Boyle, One of Four Louisiana Women Named to Benchmark Litigation's Top 250 Women in Litigation". www.phelpsdunbar.com. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  49. ^ "First Woman Lawyer Dies At Home Here". Newspapers.com. October 10, 1927. Retrieved 2019-03-27.
  50. ^ "Leading and Guiding: Women Government Lawyers". www.americanbar.org. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
  51. ^ "Judge Pammela Lattier sworn in as the First Female and First African American Chief Judge for the Shreveport City Court! | Louisiana Judicial Council". 2020-06-03. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  52. ^ Credo III, William C. (April 2009). "The Changing Face of the Jefferson Parish Judiciary" (PDF).
  53. ^ "Judge June Berry Darensburg | Louisiana Judicial Council". Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  54. ^ "Little Known Black History Fact: Judge June Berry Darensburg". Black America Web. 2014-01-10. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  55. ^ "2017 Hall of Fame Honorees". www.lafayettebar.org. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  56. ^ a b Gremillion, Bria. "La. Supreme Court appoints first African American judge, Southern alum to Lafayette City Court". KSLA. Retrieved 2022-05-18.
  57. ^ a b "A woman of many firsts". Daily World. 2009-01-04. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-05-18.
  58. ^ Arenstam, Julia (January 14, 2019). "Local officials begin service on higher-ed boards". Daily Comet. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
  59. ^ Parker, Halle. "Lafourche's first female judge takes the bench". Daily Comet. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  60. ^ "Angelique Reed, first African American judge for First City Court, dies at 59". WWL. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
  61. ^ "LCCR : Former judge: Time to stop sentencing children to death by prison". www.laccr.org. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  62. ^ KALB. "Judge Monique Rauls honored". www.kalb.com. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  63. ^ Vega, Nicole (October 22, 2013). "Juneau Makes History as St. Bernard's First Female Judge" (PDF). The St. Bernard Parish Post.
  64. ^ Copp, Dan. "Terrebonne's first female prosecutor retires". Daily Comet. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
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