List of first women lawyers and judges in Kansas

This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Kansas. 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
Lutie Lytle: First African American female lawyer in Kansas (1897)
Lyda Conley: First Native American female lawyer in Kansas (1902)

Lawyers
Judge
  • Mary H. Cooper:[6][7][8][9] First female probate judge in Kansas (1908)
  • Jennifer L. Jones (1985):[10][11] First African American female judge in Kansas (1992)
District Court
  • Kay McFarland (1964):[12] First female elected as a district judge in Kansas (1973)[13]
  • Lori Bolton Fleming:[14] First female to become a Judge of the Eleventh District of Kansas (2012)
  • Marilyn M. Wilder:[15] First female to become a Judge of the Ninth District of Kansas (2015)
Appellate Court
Supreme Court
  • Kay McFarland (1964):[12] First female to serve as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Kansas (1977) and the Chief Justice (1995) in Kansas
District Court
  • Julie A. Robinson (1981):[17] First African American female appointed as a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas (2001)

Attorney General

Assistant Attorney General
  • Jennie Mitchell Kellogg (1880):[1][2] First female Assistant Attorney General in Kansas (1891-1893)

County Attorney
  • Elfrieda Kenyon:[19] First female to serve as a County Attorney in Kansas (c. 1939)

Political Office
  • Kathryn O’Loughlin McCarthy (1921):[2] First female (a lawyer) to serve in Congress (1933-1935)
  • Sharice Davids (2010):[20][21] First Native American (Ho-Chunk tribe) and openly-LGBT female (a lawyer) elected to Congress in Kansas (2018)

Bar Association
  • Christel E. Marquardt:[22] First female to serve as President of the Kansas Bar Association (1987-1988)

Firsts in local history

Alphabetized by county name

Allen County

Cherokee County

Crawford County

Douglas County

Geary County
  • Maritza Segarra:[25] First female (and first Hispanic American female) judge in Geary County, Kansas (2004) and first Hispanic female appointed to a District Court in the State of Kansas (2007).

Graham County

Harvey County

Hodgeman County

Johnson County
  • Gwendolyn Van Derbur Falkenberg (1957):[2][26] First female lawyer in Johnson County, Kansas
  • Carolee Sauder Leek (1959):[27] First female judge in Johnson County, Kansas (1965)
  • Janette Sheldon:[2] First female to serve as the President of the Johnson County Bar Association (1988)
  • Rhonda Mason (1989):[28] First African-American female judge in Johnson County, Kansas (2016)

Labette County

Leavenworth County

McPherson County

Mitchell County

Montgomery County

Norton County

Osborne County

Rice County

Russell County

Sedgwick County

Seward County

Shawnee County

Sheridan County

Wyandotte County
  • LaVone Daily (1957):[2] First female lawyer in Wyandotte County, Kansas
  • Karen Shelor:[2] First female to serve as the President of the Wyandotte County Bar Association (1986)

See also

Other topics of interest

References
  1. The Journal of the Kansas Bar Association. Bar Association of the State of Kansas. 2001-01-01.
  2. Elrod, Linda Diane Henry (2004). "Washburn Law School Celebrates a Century of Welcoming Women" (PDF). Washburn Law Journal. 42.
  3. Smith, John Clay (2000-01-01). Rebels in Law: Voices in History of Black Women Lawyers. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0472086464.
  4. The Bookman. Dodd, Mead and Company. 1911.
  5. "Nellie Cline - Kansas Memory - Kansas Historical Society". www.kshs.org. Retrieved 2017-10-16.
  6. National Municipal Review. National Municipal League. 1915.
  7. The Voter. Voter Company. 1910.
  8. "Sayings, Doings, Achievements, Sufferings, Hopes and Fears of Mankind". www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org. June 1, 1912. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
  9. The W.B.A. Review. Woman's Benefit Association. 1910.
  10. "Municipal Court - Judge Jennifer L. Jones". www.wichita.gov. Retrieved 2018-02-01.
  11. "The Honorable Jennifer Jones | The HistoryMakers". www.thehistorymakers.org. Retrieved 2018-02-01.
  12. "Kay McFarland - Kansapedia - Kansas Historical Society". www.kshs.org. Retrieved 2018-12-30.
  13. Upon McFarland's appointment to the Fifth Division of the District Court in Topeka
  14. PATRICK, NIKKI. "District swears in first female judge". Morning Sun. Retrieved 2018-12-30.
  15. Frey, Chad (January 8, 2016). "First female judge sworn in". The Kansan. Retrieved 2018-01-06.
  16. Kansas Register. Kansas Secretary of State. 1985.
  17. "District of Kansas | Julie A. Robinson". www.ksd.uscourts.gov. Retrieved 2018-01-19.
  18. LAPIERRE, KAREN. "Larry Steckline: One NW Kansas boy's journey to success". The Hays Daily News. Retrieved 2018-12-13.
  19. Independent Woman. National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs. 1939.
  20. "Democrat Sharice Davids Becomes First Native American Woman Elected to Congress". The Daily Beast. 2018-11-07. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
  21. Lawler, Opheli Garcia. "All the Good News From the Midterm Elections". The Cut. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
  22. "Kansas Judicial Branch - Court of Appeals - Christel E. Marquardt". www.kscourts.org. Retrieved 2018-12-30.
  23. Court, Kansas Supreme; Banks, Elliot V.; Webb, William Craw; Randolph, Asa Maxson Fitz; Clemens, Gasper Christopher; Dewey, Thomas Emmet; Graham, Llewellyn James; Moore, Oscar Leopold; Hatcher, Earl Hilton (1907). Kansas Reports. Kansas state printing plant.
  24. "Colleagues call retiring Judge Jean Shepherd's expertise with family law 'irreplaceable'". LJWorld.com. Retrieved 2018-02-09.
  25. "Geary County's first female judge to retire this year". YourDU.net. Retrieved 2018-12-10.
  26. Flachsbarth, Annie (Fall 2017). "Alumni Spotlight: Lessons in Dedication, Linda Elrod, '72" (PDF). Washburn Lawyer. 54:1.
  27. "CAROLEE SAUDER LEEK's Obituary on Kansas City Star". Kansas City Star. Retrieved 2017-10-16.
  28. "Lifetime ambition realized for Johnson County's first African-American judge". kansascity. Retrieved 2018-01-12.
  29. "Douglas County district judge wins prestigious Kansas Women Attorney's Association award". LJWorld.com. Retrieved 2018-12-30.
  30. Osborne, Scott Seirer (June 29, 1975). "The attractive young woman in the county attorney's office is the county attorney". The Hays Daily News.
  31. "Raising the Bar: America Celebrates 150 Years of Women Lawyers 1869-2019". Issuu. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
  32. Kansas Government Journal. 1955.
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