List of first women lawyers and judges in Hawaii

This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Hawaii. 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 obtain a law degree or become a political figure.

Firsts in history
Almeda Eliza Hitchcock: First female lawyer in Hawaii (1888)
Emma Kaili Metcalf Beckley Nakuina: Regarded as the first female judge in Hawaii (1892)
Patsy Mink: First Asian American female lawyer in Hawaii (1953)

Lawyers
Judges
  • Emma Kaili Metcalf Beckley Nakuina:[7] Regarded as the first female judge in Hawaii. Her official title was Commissioner of Private Ways and Water Rights from 1892-1907.
  • Edna Jenkins:[4] First female to serve as a district magistrate in Hawaii (1937)
  • Carrick Hume Buck (1921):[4][8] First female judge in Hawaii (1934) not counting Nakuina
  • Marybeth Yuen Maul:[9][10] First Asian American female judge in Hawaii (c. 1957)
  • Sandra A. Simms:[11][12] First African American female judge in Hawaii (1991)[13]
Circuit Court
  • Marie Milks:[14] First female circuit court judge in Hawaii (1984)
  • Rhonda I.L. Loo:[15][16] First female appointed as a Judge of the Circuit Court for the Second Circuit in Hawaii (2011)
Family Court
  • Betty Vitousek:[17] First female judge of the Family Court in Hawaii (1970)
Supreme Court
District Court
  • Susan Oki Mollway (1981):[20] First Asian American female appointed as a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii (1998)

Attorneys General

United States Attorney

Assistant United States Attorney
  • Carrick Hume Buck (1921):[4][8] First female to serve as an Assistant United States (District) Attorney in Hawaii (1925)

Political Office
  • Mazie Hirono (1978):[25] First Asian-born (Japan) female lawyer to become a Senator in Hawaii (2012)

Bar Association
  • Sherry Broder (1975):[26] First female to serve as the President of the Hawaii Bar Association

Firsts in local history

Alphabetized by county name

Honolulu City-County
  • Carrick Hume Buck (1921):[8][27] First female to serve as the Assistant District Attorney and Deputy City and County Attorney for Honolulu City-County, Hawaii (1925)
  • Jean Vaughan Gilbert (1944):[28] First female to serve as the Honolulu City-County Attorney

Maui County

See also

Other topics of interest

References
  1. "Hawaii Women Lawyers: Non-profit organization serving its members and the community". www.hawaiiwomenlawyers.org. Archived from the original on 2016-10-10. Retrieved 2016-10-06.
  2. "Almeda Eliza Hitchcock - Class of: 1888". www.law.umich.edu. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
  3. "Marguerite Kamehaokalani Ashford". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2019-03-27.
  4. Matsuda, Mari J. (1992-01-01). Called from Within: Early Women Lawyers of Hawaiʻi. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 9780824814489.
  5. Robinson, Greg (2016-09-01). The Great Unknown: Japanese American Sketches. University Press of Colorado. ISBN 9781607324294.
  6. Congressional Record, V. 148, PT. 13, September 20, 2002 to October 1, 2002. Government Printing Office. 2006. ISBN 9780160767746.
  7. Dekneef, Matthew (March 8, 2017). "15 extraordinary Hawaii women who inspire us all. We can all learn something from these historic figures". Hawaiʻi Magazine. Honolulu. Archived from the original on 2017-03-08. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
  8. Capace, Nancy (2001-01-01). Encyclopedia of New Mexico. Somerset Publishers, Inc. ISBN 9780403096077.
  9. "First as lawyer, then as judge, Molokai woman was a pioneer". archives.starbulletin.com. May 7, 2010. Retrieved 2018-12-24.
  10. "A Groundbreaking Woman | The Molokai Dispatch". themolokaidispatch.com. Retrieved 2018-12-24.
  11. Finkelman, Paul (2009). Encyclopedia of African American History: 5-Volume Set. Oxford University Press, USA. ISBN 978-0-19-516779-5.
  12. "The Honorable Sandra A. Simms's Biography". The HistoryMakers. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
  13. Upon Simms' appointment as a Judge of the District Court of the First Circuit in 1991
  14. Barayuga, Debra. "Judge garners praise as she retires from bench". archives.starbulletin.com. Retrieved 2019-01-12.
  15. "Judiciary | Judge Rhonda I.L. Loo". www.courts.state.hi.us. Retrieved 2019-01-11.
  16. "State of Hawaii Senate Committee on the Judiciary Hearing on the Governor's Selection of Judge Rhonda Iwalani Lai Loo Second Circuit Court, GM 667" (PDF). April 13, 2011.
  17. August 30, 2017; September 12, 2017 Updated; 2018 3:50pm (2017-08-30). "Hawaii's first female judge of Family Court 'personified grace and wisdom'". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Retrieved 2019-01-11.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. "Hawaii's first female judge of Family Court 'personified grace and wisdom'". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. 2017-08-30. Archived from the original on 2017-10-26. Retrieved 2017-10-25.
  19. "Lesbian appointed to Supreme Court in Hawaii as civil unions bill clears Senate committee - Dallas Voice". Dallas Voice. 2011-01-26. Archived from the original on 2018-02-08. Retrieved 2018-02-08.
  20. Hong, Laura Kingsley (November 1999). Advocacy for Justice. American Bar Association. p. 72.
  21. "Judiciary | Associate Judge Corinne K.A. Watanabe". www.courts.state.hi.us. Retrieved 2018-11-19.
  22. "Margery Bronster, A.G." archives.starbulletin.com. Retrieved 2018-11-19.
  23. "A $100,000 Lawyer | The Molokai Dispatch". The Molokai Dispatch. 2008-07-30. Retrieved 2018-11-19.
  24. "Hawaii's first female US Attorney sworn in". Hawaii News Now. Retrieved 2019-01-12.
  25. "About Mazie | Mazie K. Hirono - A Voice for Hawai'i in the U.S. Senate". www.hirono.senate.gov. Archived from the original on 2018-01-23. Retrieved 2018-05-30.
  26. "Class Notes: Sherry Broder" (PDF). Transcript. Spring 2015.
  27. Matsuda, Mari J. (1992). Called from Within: Early Women Lawyers of Hawai?i. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 9780824814489.
  28. "First Woman Appointed To Serve As City Attorney Here". Honolulu Star-Bulletin at Newspapers.com. February 15, 1944. p. 1. Archived from the original on 2018-05-09. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  29. Love, Barbara J. (2006-09-22). Feminists Who Changed America, 1963-1975. University of Illinois Press. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-252-09747-8.
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