List of first women lawyers and judges in Iowa

This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Iowa. 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 state history
Arabella Mansfield: First female admitted to practice law in Iowa (1869)
Judith Ellen Foster: First female to actually practice law in Iowa (1872)

Lawyers
Judges
  • Lynne Brady Neuhaus:[5] First female judge in Iowa (1973–2002)
  • Romonda Belcher-Ford (1995):[6][7] First African American female judge in Iowa (2010)
District Court
  • Margaret Briles:[5][8] First female appointed as a Judge of the Seventh Judicial District in Iowa (1977–1992)
  • Linda R. Reade (1980):[5] First female appointed as a Judge of the Fifth Judicial District in Iowa (1993–2002)
  • Bobbi M. Alpers (1983):[9] First female appointed as the Chief Judge of the Seventh Judicial District in Iowa (2006)
  • Stephanie Marie Rose (1996):[10] First female appointed as a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa
  • Mary Sokolovske:[11] First female appointed as a Judge of Iowa District Court 3B (2000)
  • Dusti Relph (2005):[12] First female appointed as a Judge of Iowa District Court 5B (2014)
  • Adria Kester:[13] First female appointed as a Judge of Iowa District Court 2B (2017)
Appellate Court
  • Janet Johnson:[5] First female appointed as a Judge of the Iowa Court of Appeals (1978–1983)
Supreme Court
District Court
  • Stephanie Marie Rose (1996):[10] First female appointed as a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa

Attorney General

Assistant United States Attorney

County Attorney
  • Emily L. Newbold:[19][20] First female to serve as a County Attorney in Iowa (1923)

Bar Association
  • Carroll J. Reasoner:[21] First female to serve as the President of the Iowa State Bar Association

Firsts in local history

Alphabetized by county name

Buena Vista County
  • Nancy Whittenburg:[22] First female appointed as a district county judge in District 3A of Iowa (2003)[23]

Cherokee County
  • Nancy Whittenburg:[22] First female appointed as a district county judge in District 3A of Iowa (2003)[23]

Clay County
  • Rosemary Shaw Sackett (1963):[24] First female to practice law in Spencer, Iowa. She would later become a judge. [Clay County, Iowa]

Clinton County

Crawford County
  • Mary Sokolovske:[11] First female appointed as a district county judge in District 3B of Iowa (2000)[26]

Dickinson County
  • Virginia Bedell:[27][28] First female to serve as the County Attorney for Dickinson County, Iowa (1938)
  • Nancy Whittenburg:[22] First female appointed as a district county judge in District 3A of Iowa (2003)[23]

Emmet County
  • Nancy Whittenburg:[22] First female appointed as a district county judge in District 3A of Iowa (2003)[23]

Ida County
  • Mary Sokolovske:[11] First female appointed as a district county judge in District 3B of Iowa (2000)[26]

Johnson County
  • Mary B. Hickey Wilkinson:[29] First female to earn a law degree from the University of Iowa (1873) [Johnson County, Iowa]
  • Anna Harvat Holbert (1899):[30] First female lawyer in Iowa City, Iowa [Johnson County, Iowa]

Kossuth County
  • Nancy Whittenburg:[22] First female appointed as a district county judge in District 3A of Iowa (2003)[23]
  • Ann Gales:[31] First female district associate judge in Kossuth County, Iowa (2014)

Linn County

Lyon County
  • Nancy Whittenburg:[22] First female appointed as a district county judge in District 3A of Iowa (2003)[23]

Monona County
  • Mary Sokolovske:[11] First female appointed as a district county judge in District 3B of Iowa (2000)[26]

O'Brien County
  • Nancy Whittenburg:[22] First female appointed as a district county judge in District 3A of Iowa (2003)[23]

Osceola County
  • Nancy Whittenburg:[22] First female appointed as a district county judge in District 3A of Iowa (2003)[23]

Palo Alto County
  • Nancy Whittenburg:[22] First female appointed as a district county judge in District 3A of Iowa (2003)[23]

Plymouth County
  • Mary Sokolovske:[11] First female appointed as a district county judge in District 3B of Iowa (2000)[26]

Polk County
  • Willie Stevenson Glanton:[33] First female (and African American female) to become an Assistant Polk County Attorney

Scott County

Sioux County
  • Mary Sokolovske:[11] First female appointed as a district county judge in District 3B of Iowa (2000)[26]

Story County

Van Buren County

Woodbury County
  • Mary Sokolovske:[11] First female appointed as a district county judge in District 3B of Iowa (2000)[26]

Winneshiek County

See also

Other topics of interest

References
  1. Hudson, David; Bergman, Marvin; Horton, Loren (May 2009). The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa. University of Iowa Press. ISBN 9781587297243.
  2. "Women's Legal History | Biographical Search". Women's Legal History. Retrieved 2017-10-25.
  3. "Gertrude Rush, first Black female lawyer in Iowa | African American Registry". www.aaregistry.org. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
  4. Smith, John Clay (2000). Rebels in Law: Voices in History of Black Women Lawyers. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 9780472086467.
  5. "A Celebration of Iowa's Women Jurists" (PDF). IoWoman. 35: 6. 2005.
  6. "Law alumna selected as first black female judge in Iowa". Newsroom | Drake University. 2010-10-11. Retrieved 2018-02-01.
  7. "Iowa gets its first African-American female judge - KTTC Rochester, Austin, Mason City News, Weather and Sports". www.kttc.com. Retrieved 2018-02-01.
  8. Wellner, Brian. "Iowa's longest-serving district judge retires". The Quad-City Times. Retrieved 2018-01-10.
  9. Lemmon, Dustin. "Alpers appointed chief judge, first woman to hold the post". The Quad-City Times. Retrieved 2018-02-10.
  10. "Grassley Statement on the Nomination of Stephanie Rose to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of Iowa | Chuck Grassley". www.grassley.senate.gov. Retrieved 2018-01-20.
  11. Hytrek, Nick. "Sokolovske retiring as district judge". Sioux City Journal. Retrieved 2018-12-27.
  12. "Dusti Relph becomes first woman judge in Iowa District 5B". www.corydontimes.com. Retrieved 2018-02-08.
  13. "District Court Judge Comments on the Finalists for the Open Iowa Supreme Court Justice Seat". Raccoon Valley Radio - The One to Count On. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
  14. "Linda K. Neuman | Past Justices | Iowa Judicial Branch". www.iowacourts.gov. Retrieved 2018-01-10.
  15. "2015 Iowa Women's Hall of Fame Honoree: The Honorable Linda K. Neuman". humanrights.iowa.gov. Retrieved 2018-12-27.
  16. "Marsha K. Ternus | Past Justices | Iowa Judicial Branch". www.iowacourts.gov. Retrieved 2020-02-21.
  17. Clinton, William J. (1994). Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, William J. Clinton, 1995, Bk. 1, January 1 to June 30, 1995. Government Printing Office. p. 377. first female attorney general iowa.
  18. Hemenway-Forbes, Meta. "Stephanie Wright, first black assistant U.S. attorney in Iowa northern district, to retire". Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
  19. The Iowa Alumnus. 1922.
  20. "NEWBOLD, Willis Boyd: Died 1946". iagenweb.org. Retrieved 2020-02-27.
  21. "DAA Profile - University of Iowa Center for Advancement". www.foriowa.org. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  22. Tennant, Jean. "And Justice for Nancy: Iowa's First Judicial District gets first woman judge". Sioux City Journal. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  23. District 3A includes Buena Vista, Cherokee, Dickinson, Emmet, Kossuth, Lyon, O'Brien, Osceola and Palo Alto Counties.
  24. "Sackett's historic career coming to a close". Spencer Daily Reporter. 2011-11-01. Retrieved 2017-09-26.
  25. Herald, Gary HerrityThe Clinton. "Famous Clinton Lawyers". Clinton Herald. Retrieved 2018-12-19.
  26. District 3B includes Crawford, Ida, Monona, Plymouth, Sioux and Woodbury Counties.
  27. Sackett, Rosemary Shaw (Summer 2014). "REFLECTIONS OF AN AGING FEMALE JUDGE". Journal of Gender, Race and Justice. 17: 449.
  28. "Women's History". Facets. March 2017. Retrieved 2020-02-27.
  29. Drachman, Virginia G.; Club, Equity (1993). Women lawyers and the origins of professional identity in America: the letters of the Equity Club, 1887 to 1890. University of Michigan Press.
  30. "Mrs. Anna Harvat Holbert, first female lawyer in Iowa City". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2019-03-27.
  31. "Kossuth judge is a county first | News, Sports, Jobs - Messenger News". Retrieved 2018-12-27.
  32. "Time Machine: Imogen Emery | The Gazette". The Gazette. Retrieved 2017-10-13.
  33. "Willie Stevenson Glanton, Iowa's first black female legislator, dies at age 95". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2019-01-06.
  34. Schmidt, Mitchell. "Meet the five Iowa women who will be inducted into the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame". The Gazette. Retrieved 2020-02-27.
  35. "Large hen crashes into vehicle radiator". decorahnewspapers.com. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
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