List of first women lawyers and judges in Michigan

This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Michigan. 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
Sarah Killgore Wertman: First female lawyer in Michigan (1871)
Anna Diggs Taylor: First African American female Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (1979)

Lawyers

State
  • Geraldine Bledsoe Ford (1948):[4][5] First African American female judge in Michigan (1967)
  • Patricia P. Fresard:[6] First Hispanic American female judge in Michigan (1998)[7]
  • Shalina D. Kumar:[8] First Asian American (female) judge in Michigan (2007)
Justice of the Peace
  • Phoebe Ely Patterson:[9] First female appointed as a Justice of the Peace in Michigan (1919)
Probate Court
  • Ella Eggleston:[9] First female appointed as a probate judge in Michigan (1919)
  • Shauna Dunnings:[10] First female and first African American to serve as a Probate Judge in Ingham County, Michigan (2019)
Circuit Court
  • Christina Elmore:[11] First African American female to serve as a Judge of the Seventeenth Circuit Court in Michigan (2019)
Appellate Court
Supreme Court
District Court
  • Anna Diggs Taylor (1957):[14] First African American female appointed as a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (1979)
  • Judith Ellen Levy (1996):[15][16][17] First openly LGBT female appointed as a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (2014)

Attorneys General

Assistant United States Attorney
  • Ella Mae Backus:[19] First female to serve as the Assistant U.S. Attorney for Michigan (1923)

Judge Advocate General
  • Rosemarie Aquilina (1984):[20] First female Judge Advocate General (JAG) in the Michigan Army National Guard. She later became a Judge of the Thirtieth Circuit Court in Ingham County, Michigan.

County Prosecutor

Political Office
  • Jennifer Granholm (c. 1987):[18] First female (a lawyer) Governor of Michigan (2003-2011)
  • Rashida Tlaib (c. 2004):[24] First Muslim American female (a lawyer) to serve in the Michigan Legislature (2009-2014)

Bar Association
  • Julia Donovan Darlow (1971):[25] First female to serve as the President of the Michigan State Bar Association (1986)
  • Victoria Roberts:[26] First African American female to serve as the President of the Michigan State Bar Association (1996)

Firsts in local history

Alphabetized by county name

Region

Allegan County

Bay County

Berrien County

Calhoun County

Cass County

Charlevoix County

Chippewa County

Clare County

Genesee County
  • Alice Day Gardner:[40] First female lawyer in Genesee County, Michigan
  • Elza Papp (1947):[41] First female to serve as the Assistant Prosecutor (1947) and district court judge (1965) in Genesee County, Michigan
  • Arthalu "Artie" Lancaster (1968):[41] First female to serve as the President of the Genesee County Bar Association, Michigan (1987-1988)
  • Edwyna Goodwin Anderson:[41] First African American female admitted to the Genesee County Bar Association, Michigan (1974)
  • Karen McDonald Lopez:[41] First female (and African American female) to serve as the Flint City Attorney in Genesee County, Michigan

Grand Traverse County

Gratiot County

Ingham County
  • Carolyn Stell:[47] First female judge in Ingham County, Michigan (1983)
  • Carol A. Siemon:[48] First female to serve as the County Prosecutor for Ingram County, Michigan (2016)
  • Shauna Dunnings: First female and first African American to serve as a Probate Judge in Ingham County, Michigan (2019)

Jackson County

Kent County

Lake County

Leelanau County

Lenawee County

Livingston County

Macomb County

Marquette County

Mason County
  • Susan Sniegowski:[53] First female judge in Mason County and Lake County, Michigan (2014). She was also the first female to serve as the Prosecuting Attorney for Mason County, Michigan (2005).

Monroe County

Muskegon County

Oakland County

Ottawa County

Van Buren County

Washtenaw County

Wayne County

See also

Other topics of interest

References
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