From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
Firsts in state history
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
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
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
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
Felicia Toney Williams:
[21] 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):
[22]
[23] 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):
[24] First female elected as the Judge for the Fourteenth Judicial District Court in Louisiana (1995)
Patricia Hedges:
[25] First female appointed as a Judge of the Twenty-Second Judicial District Court in Louisiana (1995)
Lori Landry:
[26] First African American female appointed as a Judge of the Sixteenth Judicial District in Louisiana (2002)
Jane Margaret Triche-Milazzo:
[27] First female appointed as a Judge of the Twenty-Third Judicial District in Louisiana (2008)
Bernadette D'Souza :
[28] First Indian American female judge in Louisiana (2012)
Monique F. Rauls (1993):
[29] First African American female appointed as a Judge of the Ninth District Court in Louisiana (2015)
Amy Burford-McCartney:
[30] First female judge elected in the Forty-Second Judicial District in Louisiana (2016)
Marissa Hutabarat (2010):
[31]
[32] First Indonesian American (female) judge in Louisiana (2020)
Marla M. Abel:
[33] First female judge elected in the Seventeenth Judicial District in Louisiana (2019)
Federal judges
Attorney General
Assistant Attorney General
United States Attorney
Stephanie A. Finley:
[39] First female to serve as a U.S. Attorney in Louisiana (2010)
District Attorneys
Keva Landrum-Johnson:
[40]
[41]
[42]
[43] First female (and African American female) to serve as a District Attorney in Louisiana (2007)
Bridget A. Dinvaut:
[42]
[44]
[45] First African American female elected as a District Attorney in Louisiana (2015)
Assistant District Attorney
Lori Landry:
[26] First African American female to serve as an Assistant District Attorney for the Sixteenth Judicial District in Louisiana (c. 1993)
Bar Association
Marta-Ann Schnabel:
[46] First female to serve as the President of the Louisiana State Bar Association
Kim M. Boyle:
[47] First African American female to serve as the President of the Louisiana State Bar Association (2009-2010)
Firsts in local history
Jane Margaret Triche-Milazzo:
[27] First female appointed as a Judge of the Twenty-Third Judicial District in Louisiana (2008) [
Ascension ,
Assumption , and
St. James Parishes, Louisiana
Carrie Keller (c. 1915):
[48] First female lawyer in Shreveport, Louisiana [
Bossier and
Caddo Parishes, Louisiana
Donna Y. Frazier:
[49] First female
Caddo Parish attorney (equivalent to a County Attorney) in Shreveport, Louisiana (2013)
Pammela Lattier:
[50] First (African American) female to serve as the Chief Judge for the Shreveport City Court (2020)
Alwine Louise Smith Ragland (1935):
[13] First female to become a Judge of the Sixth Judicial District in Louisiana (1974) [
East Carroll ,
Madison , and
Tensas Parishes, Louisiana
Ann B. McIntyre (1977):
[19]
[20] First female lawyer in Franklin Parish, Louisiana (specifically Winnsboro, Louisiana) and Judge of the Fifth Judicial District in Louisiana [
Franklin ,
Richland and
West Carroll Parishes, Louisiana
Catherine D. Kimball (1970):
[17] First female elected as a Judge of the Eighteenth Judicial District Court (1983) [
Iberville ,
Pointe Coupee , and
West Baton Rouge Parishes, Louisiana
Patricia Hedges:
[25] First female appointed as a Judge of the Twenty-Second Judicial District Court in Louisiana (1995) [
St. Tammany and
Washington Parishes, Louisiana
Amy Burford-McCartney:
[30] First female judge elected in the Forty-Second Judicial District in Louisiana (2016) [
DeSoto Parish, Louisiana
Jo Ellen Grant and Martha E. Sassone:
[51] First female judges respectively in
Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
June Berry Darensburg:
[52]
[53] First African American female elected to a judgeship in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana (2006)
Diana Simon:
[54] First female litigator in
Lafayette, Louisiana [
Lafayette Parish, Louisiana
Vanessa Harris :
[55]
[56] First African American (female) to serve as a Judge of the
Lafayette City Court (2021) [
Lafayette Parish, Louisiana
Kristine Russell:
[57] First female District Attorney for the
Lafourche Parish, Louisiana (2018)
Marla Abel:
[58] First female judge in
Lafourche Parish, Louisiana (upon her appointment as a Judge of the 17th Judicial District Court in 2020)
Bernette Joshua Johnson (1969):
[22]
[23] First female (and African American female) to serve as a Judge of the
Orleans Parish Civil District Court (1984) and its Chief Judge (1994)
Angelique Reed:
[59] First African American (female) to serve as a Judge of New Orleans' First City Civil District Court (1998) and its Senior Judge
Miriam Waltzer:
[60] First female judge to be elected to Orleans Parish Criminal District Court, Louisiana
Kim M. Boyle:
[47] First African American female (and African American overall) to serve as the President of the New Orleans Bar Association (2003)
Keva Landrum-Johnson:
[40]
[41]
[42]
[43] First female District Attorney for the Orleans Parish, Louisiana (2007)
Marissa Hutabarat (2010):
[31]
[32] First Indonesian American (female) to serve as Judge of the First City Court in New Orleans, Louisiana (2020)
Tammy Lee:
[9] First African American female to serve as
Monroe City Prosecutor and Judge of the
Monroe City Court (2000) [
Ouachita Parish, Louisiana ].
Monique F. Rauls (1993):
[29]
[61] First African American female judge in
Rapides Parish, Louisiana
Rae Swent:
[18] First female appointed as a Judge of the Ninth Judicial District in Louisiana [Rapides Parish, Louisiana]
Jeanne Juneau:
[62] First female judge in
St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana (2013)
Bridget A. Dinvaut:
[42]
[44]
[45] First African American female elected as the District Attorney for
St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana (2015)
Vanessa Harris :
[55]
[56] First (African American) female to serve as a Judge of the
Opelousas City Court (2009) [
St. Landry Parish, Louisiana
Dixie Brown:
[63] First female prosecutor in
Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana (1979)
See also
Other topics of interest
References
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