Wikipedia

List of first women lawyers and judges in Nevada

This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Nevada. 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 Nevada's history edit

 
Miranda Du: First Asian American female judge in Nevada

Lawyers edit

Law Clerk edit

State judges edit

Federal judges edit

  • First female (U.S. Magistrate Judge of the District of Nevada): Phyllis H. Atkins (1966) in 1980[4][21]
  • First female (U.S. Bankruptcy Court): Linda B. Riegle (1978) in 1988[4][22][23]
  • First African American female (U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada):Johnnie B. Rawlinson (1980) in 1998[7]
  • First African American female (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit): Johnnie B. Rawlinson (1980) in 2000[7]
  • First Hispanic American female (U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada): Gloria Navarro (1994) in 2010[24]
  • First Asian American female (U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada): Miranda Du (1994) in 2012[13][14]

Attorney General of Nevada edit

Assistant Attorney General edit

  • First female: Felice Cohn (1902)[26]

Federal Public Defender edit

  • First female: Franny A. Forsman (1977) in 1989[4][21]

United States Attorney edit

  • First female: Kathryn E. Landreth (1981) from 1993-2001[4][21][27][28]
  • First Latino American (female) (Chief of the Criminal Division for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada):[29] Cristina D. Silva

Public Defender edit

  • First female: Terri Steik Roeser (1981) in 1987[4]

District Attorney edit

  • First female: Edna C. Plummer (1907) in 1918[4][21]
  • First females (elected): Eileen Barnett (1979) and Virginia R. Shane (1980)[4]
  • First female (serve for three counties): Patricia Dillon Cafferata[21]

City Attorney edit

  • First female: Patricia A. Lynch (1973) in 1987[4][30]
  • First African American (female): Sandra Morgan[31]

Political Office edit

Nevada State Bar Association edit

  • First female president: Margo Piscevich from 1994-1995[33][34]

Firsts in local history edit

  • Patricia Dillon Cafferata:[21] First female to serve as the District Attorney for Esmeralda, Lander and Lincoln Counties, Nevada
  • Sanaz "Sunny" K. Soltani:[35] First female to serve as the City Attorney for Carson City, Nevada
  • Emilie N. Wanderer (1947):[36][37] First female lawyer in Las Vegas, Nevada [Clark County, Nevada]
  • Miriam Shearing (1969):[9] First female elected Justice of the Peace in Las Vegas, Nevada (Clark County, Nevada; 1976)[4]
  • Camara Banfield:[38] First African American (female) to serve as a Judge of the Clark County Superior Court (2021)
  • Tsering Cornell:[39][40] First Asian American (female of Tibetan descent) judge in Clark County, Nevada (2022)
  • Sandra Morgan:[31] First African American female (and African American in general) to serve as a City Attorney in North Las Vegas [Clark County, Nevada]
  • Sally Loehrer:[21] First female President of the Clark County Bar Association in Nevada (1985)
  • Catherine Ramsey:[41] First female elected judge in Las Vegas, Nevada (Clark County, Nevada; 2011)
  • Diana Hampton:[42][43] First female elected Judge of the Henderson Municipal Court (Clark County, Nevada; 2005)
  • Tierra Jones:[16][17] First African American female to serve on the Clark County District Court (2017)
  • Dee Butler:[17] First African American (female) judge in Clark County District Court’s Family Division
  • Bita Yeager:[44] First Asian American (female) appointed to the Las Vegas Justice Court [Clark County, Nevada]
  • Leah Chan Grinvald:[45] First Asian American (female) to serve as the Dean of the William S. Boyd School of Law (2022)
  • Nancy Rey Jackson:[46] First female to sit as a sworn judge of a Douglas County court (2004)
  • Nancy Porter (1989):[47] First female judge in Elko County, Nevada
  • Edna C. Plummer (1907):[4][21] First female District Attorney of Eureka County, Nevada (1918)
  • Gemma Greene Waldron:[48] First African American female lawyer in Reno, Nevada [Washoe County, Nevada]
  • Deborah A. Agosti and Robin A. Wright:[49][50][51] First females elected as Judges of the Washoe County District Court (1985)
  • Shirley Smith:[21] First female President of the Washoe County Bar Association in Nevada (1985)
  • Patricia A. Lynch (1973):[4][30] First female to serve as the City Attorney for Reno, Nevada (1987) [Washoe County, Nevada]

See also edit

Other topics of interest edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Laura May Tilden Wilson". www.unr.edu. Retrieved 2016-10-06.
  2. ^ a b "Attorney at Law Magazine Las Vegas Vol 2 #1 Page 14". Retrieved 2017-10-25.
  3. ^ "Nevada State Journal from Reno, Nevada on May 20, 1932 · Page 5". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2018-01-31.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Goodwin, Joanne; England, Kathleen J. (March 2011). "Pioneering Women in Nevada Law" (PDF). Nevada Lawyer.
  5. ^ Alabama, Order of the Eastern Star Grand Chapter of; Iowa, Order of the Eastern Star Grand chapter of; Missouri, Order of the Eastern Star Grand chapter of (1931). Proceedings [of The] ... Annual Session ... s.n.
  6. ^ "Felice Cohn | Jewish Women's Archive". jwa.org. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  7. ^ a b c Anderson, Rachel J. (February 1, 2012). "Timeline of African-American Legal History in Nevada (1861–2011)". University of Nevada, Las Vegas -- William S. Boyd School of Law Scholarly Commons @ UNLV Law. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  8. ^ "In Memoriam Chief Justice Rose Elizabeth Bird (1936 - 1999)" (PDF).
  9. ^ a b c Nevada Law Journal. William S. Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada, Law Vegas. 2005.
  10. ^ "Justice of the Peace Karen P Bennett Haron". www.lasvegasjusticecourt.us. Retrieved 2018-01-31.
  11. ^ Anderson, Rachel J. (Winter 2013). "Blacks in the Nevada Legal Profession". NBA: 19.
  12. ^ Nevada Lawyer: Official Publication of the State Bar of Nevada. State Bar of Nevada. 2005.
  13. ^ a b "Some judges reversed more than others". Las Vegas Review-Journal. 2016-03-24. Retrieved 2018-01-19.
  14. ^ a b AJPress. "US Senate confirms Nevada first Asian judge". Retrieved 2018-02-15.
  15. ^ "Your Haas Network | Supreme Advocate - Summer 2017 - BerkeleyHaas Magazine". www.haas.berkeley.edu. Retrieved 2018-01-20.
  16. ^ a b "Event to Mark Appointment of 1st Black Female Nevada Judge". U.S. News & World Report. June 2, 2017.
  17. ^ a b c "Honoring Black History: Meet the women blazing a trail for Black judges in Nevada". KLAS. 2021-02-20. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  18. ^ "Judge Abbi Silver". Supreme Court of Nevada. Archived from the original on 2018-02-01. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
  19. ^ "District Court marks Women's History Month after shattering records making women's history". Eighth Judicial District Court. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
  20. ^ "Patricia Lee appointed as first Black and Asian American woman on Nevada Supreme Court". Reno Gazette Journal. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
  21. ^ a b c d e f g h i Johnston, Robert (March 2011). "NEVADA'S FIRST LADIES OF LAW" (PDF). Nevada Lawyer: 18–27.
  22. ^ "In Nevada's legal world, there's room for more 'first females'". Las Vegas Review-Journal. 2011-03-24. Retrieved 2018-01-31.
  23. ^ Nevada Lawyer: Official Publication of the State Bar of Nevada. State Bar of Nevada. 2000.
  24. ^ "Some judges reversed more than others". Las Vegas Review-Journal. 2016-03-24. Retrieved 2018-01-08.
  25. ^ "Celebrating Notable Latinxs in Law | Attorney General Karl A. Racine". oag.dc.gov. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  26. ^ "When Jews fought for suffrage". Washington Jewish Week. 2015-08-24. Retrieved 2018-12-13.
  27. ^ "Landreth in line for judge's post". LasVegasSun.com. 1997-05-21. Retrieved 2018-01-31.
  28. ^ "The Indy Explains: The federal court system and the Republican quest to reshape the judiciary". Retrieved 2018-01-31.
  29. ^ "State District Court judge and UNLV professor get nod from Senate for seat on federal bench in Nevada". Eighth Judicial District Court. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
  30. ^ a b Congressional Record, V. 151, Pt. 15, September 8 to September 22, 2005. Government Printing Office.
  31. ^ a b "Nevada Gaming Control Board : About The Commission Members". gaming.nv.gov. Retrieved 2019-01-06.
  32. ^ "Nevada Election Results 2016: Senate Live Map by County, Real-Time Voting Updates". Election Hub. Retrieved 2018-12-14.
  33. ^ "Lest We Forget those Who Came Before Us And Deny Their Rightful Place In History". digitaleditions.walsworthprintgroup.com. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  34. ^ "Piscevich, Margo". International Women's Forum. 2015-07-08. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  35. ^ "Sanaz (Sunny) K. Soltani | Aleshire & Wynder, LLP - Attorneys at Law". www.awattorneys.com. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
  36. ^ "Wanderer, pioneer woman attorney in LV, dies at 102". LasVegasSun.com. 2005-03-04. Retrieved 2017-09-26.
  37. ^ Nevada Historical Society Quarterly. The Society. 2006.
  38. ^ "Women rule: Recent additions make Clark County Superior Court better reflect community". The Columbian. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
  39. ^ "Clark County swears in its first Asian American judge". The Columbian. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
  40. ^ "Tibetan Woman Appointed Superior Court Judge in USA". Tibetan Journal. 2022-05-13. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
  41. ^ "North Las Vegas judge barred from re-election run, suspended without pay". Las Vegas Review-Journal. 2016-08-25. Retrieved 2018-02-09.
  42. ^ "Henderson judge's death ruled accidental". Las Vegas Review-Journal. 2016-04-27. Retrieved 2018-01-31.
  43. ^ "Henderson Judge Diana Hampton, 50, Found Dead at Her Home". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 2018-01-31.
  44. ^ "Bita Yeager To Fill Hearing Master Post For Eighth Judicial District Court". Eighth Judicial District Court. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  45. ^ "UNLV law school names 1st Asian American dean". Las Vegas Sun. 2022-03-02. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  46. ^ All |. "Female judge a first for Douglas". www.tahoedailytribune.com. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
  47. ^ dswitalski@elkodaily.com, DANIELLE SWITALSKI —. "District's first female judge no stranger to her new workplace". Elko Daily Free Press. Retrieved 2018-01-04.
  48. ^ Scott, Bryan K. (April 2021). "Nevada African American Trailblazing Attorney "Firsts"" (PDF). Nevada Lawyer.
  49. ^ "Reno Gazette-Journal from Reno, Nevada on May 23, 1993 · Page 6". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2018-01-31.
  50. ^ "Reno Gazette-Journal from Reno, Nevada on November 8, 1984 · Page 32". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2018-01-31.
  51. ^ "Deborah A. Agosti - Historical Washoecourts". www.washoecourts.com. Retrieved 2018-01-31.
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