List of first women lawyers and judges in Minnesota

This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Minnesota. 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
Wilhelmina Wright: First African American female Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court (2012)
Margaret Chutich: First openly lesbian Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court (2016)

Lawyers
Judges
  • Eleanor Nolan:[9] First female to briefly serve as a municipal court judge in Minnesota (1940)
  • Betty Whitlock Washburn:[10] First female judge in Minnesota (1950)
  • Pamela Alexander:[11][12] First African American female judge in Minnesota (1983)
  • Regina Chu:[13] First Asian American female judge in Minnesota (2002)
  • Susan N. Burke:[14] First Japanese American (female) judge in Minnesota (2004)
  • Sophia Vuelo (1999):[15] First Hmong American female judge in Minnesota (2017)
District Court
  • Linda S. Titus (1978):[16] First female appointed as a Judge of the Fifth Judicial District in Minnesota (1990)
  • Leslie Metzen (1979):[17][18][19] First female appointed as a Judge of the First Judicial District in Minnesota
Court of Appeals
  • Natalie Hudson:[13] First African American female to serve as a Judge of the Minnesota Court of Appeals (2002)
Supreme Court
Bankruptcy Court
  • Margaret A. Mahoney:[25] First female to serve as a Judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Minnesota (1984)
Appellate Court
District Court

Attorney General

Solicitor General
  • Cathy Haukedahl (1979):[29][30] First female Solicitor General of Minnesota

United States Attorney
  • Rachel Paulose (1997):[31] First Indian American female to serve as the U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota (2006)

County Attorney
  • Mary P. Walbran (1937):[32][33][34] First female to serve as a County Attorney in Minnesota (1943)
  • Helen Hill Bianz and Susan Grimsley:[35] First females elected as County Attorneys in Minnesota (1977-1978)

Assistant County Attorney
  • Phyllis Jean Jones:[35] First female to serve as an Assistant County Attorney in Minnesota

Bar Association
  • Helen Kelly:[13][36][37] First female to serve as the President of the Minnesota State Bar Association (1987-1988)
  • Sonia Miller-Van Oort:[38] First Hispanic American female (and Hispanic American in general) to serve as the President of the Minnesota State Bar Association (2017)
  • Luz Maria Frias:[39] First female to serve as the President of the Minnesota Hispanic Bar Association

Firsts in local history

Alphabetized by county name

Region
  • Gail Murray:[40] First female judge in Northern Minnesota (1967)[41]

Anoka County

Carlton County
  • Leslie Beiers:[43] First female to serve as a Judge of the Carlton County Sixth Judicial District (2014)

Dakota County

Dodge County

Hennepin County
  • Betty Whitlock Washburn:[10] First female judge in Hennepin County, Minnesota (1950)
  • LaJune Johnson-Lange:[13] First African American female to serve as an Assistant Public Defender in Hennepin County, Minnesota (1978)
  • Helen Kelly:[13][36][37] First female to serve as the President of the Hennepin County Bar Association (1981)
  • Pamela Alexander:[11][12] First African American female judge in Hennepin County, Minnesota (1983)
  • Amy Klobuchar:[44] First female elected as the County Attorney for Hennepin County, Minnesota (1999)
  • Adine Momoh:[45] First minority female to serve as the President of the Hennepin County Bar Association, Minnesota (2018)

Itasca County

Ramsey County

Scott County

Stearns County

Steele County

Washington County
  • Juanita Freeman:[49] First African American female (and African American in general) to serve as a Judge of the Tenth Judicial District in Washington County, Minnesota (2018)

Winona County

See also

Other topics of interest

References
  1. The Hennepin Lawyer. Hennepin County Bar Association. 1991.
  2. "Lena O. Smith, a first in Minnesota | African American Registry". www.aaregistry.org. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
  3. Treuer, Anton (2010). Ojibwe in Minnesota. Minnesota Historical Society. ISBN 9780873517683.
  4. "N.D. judges participate in 'Color of Justice' anniversary event". www.ndcourts.gov. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
  5. "'Heartbeat Of Wounded Knee' Demystifies The Modern Native Experience". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  6. "Margaret Seelye Treuer, Minnesota's first Ojibwe judge, dies at 76". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  7. "APPENDIX A: GENERAL RULES OF PRACTICE FOR THE DISTRICT COURTS" (PDF). Minnesota Courts. November 30, 2016.
  8. "Hmong Women in Minnesota Timeline". Minnesota Historical Society. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  9. "Minnesota's female lawyers, judges celebrate milestones". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2019-03-03.
  10. Sturdevant, Lori (2014). Her Honor: Rosalie Wahl and the Minnesota Women's Movement. Minnesota Historical Society Press. ISBN 9780873519342.
  11. Camm, Barbara Leslie; (Firm), Leadership for Black Women; Program, Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs Citizen Education; Minneapolis, Junior League of (1988). Courage to lead: major challenges facing Black women today : conference report. GrayHall.
  12. Taylor, David Vassar (2002). African Americans in Minnesota. Minnesota Historical Society Press. ISBN 9780873514200.
  13. Sheran, Robert J. (Winter 2003). "MINNESOTA JUDICIAL SYSTEM: TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF RADICAL CHANGE MINNESOTA JUDICIAL SYSTEM: TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF RADICAL CHANGE". Hamline L. Rev. 26: 219.
  14. "Minnesota Judicial Branch - Biography of Susan N. Burke". www.mncourts.gov. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  15. "St. Paul lawyer sworn in as Minnesota's first Hmong-American judge". Twin Cities. 2018-01-05. Retrieved 2018-05-30.
  16. Trester, Erin (April 8, 2014). "First female judge in the district retiring". The Globe. Retrieved 2018-01-06.
  17. "Minnesota Judicial Branch - Bio". www.mncourts.gov. Retrieved 2018-02-09.
  18. "Leading fight against abuse in the home". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2018-02-09.
  19. "Judge Leslie Metzen leaving 1st Judicial District bench to join Community Action Council". Twin Cities. 2009-02-27. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  20. "Minnesota Historical Society Biographical Sketch of Justice Rosalie Wahl". www2.mnhs.org. Retrieved 2019-01-12.
  21. Bakst, Brian. "Dayton MN Supreme Court pick is court's first openly gay justice". Retrieved 2018-08-24.
  22. "Anne K. McKeig sworn in as Minnesota Supreme Court justice". article.wn.com. Retrieved 2018-01-23.
  23. "Anne McKeig sworn in as Minnesota's first Native American Associate Supreme Court Justice". Twin Cities. 2016-09-16. Retrieved 2018-01-23.
  24. "Dayton's appointments increase diversity among Minnesota judges". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2018-01-12.
  25. "History of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Minnesota | District of Minnesota | United States Bankruptcy Court". www.mnb.uscourts.gov. Retrieved 2019-01-12.
  26. "Klobuchar, Emmer Announce Passage of Bill to Rename Federal Courthouse in Honor of Judge Diana Murphy". Congressman Tom Emmer. 2018-10-10. Retrieved 2019-01-12.
  27. Upon Murphy's appointment as an Eight U.S. Court of Appeals in Minnesota
  28. "Lori Swanson | The Office of Attorney General Lori Swanson". www.ag.state.mn.us. Retrieved 2018-11-19.
  29. Jones, Barbara L. "Attorneys of the Year: Cathy Haukedahl – Minnesota Lawyer". Retrieved 2018-12-14.
  30. "Cathy Haukedahl". digitaleditions.walsworthprintgroup.com. Retrieved 2018-12-14.
  31. "Rachel K. Paulose | People | DLA Piper Global Law Firm". DLA Piper. Retrieved 2018-01-26.
  32. "TODD HALE: Mary Walbran…a landmark of an attorney". Southernminn.com. Retrieved 2020-02-27.
  33. "Stepanek Foundation grants thousands to OHS students". Southernminn.com. Retrieved 2017-10-15.
  34. Women lawyers' journal. 1943.
  35. Jeronimus, William. "Evolution of the Minnesota County Attorney's Association (MCAA),". yumpu.com. Retrieved 2020-02-27.
  36. The Judicial Career of James C. Otis. The Library. 1987.
  37. "Presidents of the MSBA". www.mnbar.org. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  38. "Sonia Miller-Van Oort |". Retrieved 2019-01-04.
  39. "Luz Maria Frias". Diversity & Inclusion.
  40. "Gail Murray". Hibbing Daily Tribune. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
  41. Upon her appointment to a County Court
  42. "Women in Law". stearns-museum.org. Retrieved 2018-01-04.
  43. Gazette, Moose Lake Star. "New judge named for Carlton County". Moose Lake Star Gazette. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  44. "Klobuchar's prosecutor past, once an asset, puts her on the defensive". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2020-02-27.
  45. "Adine Momoh takes over Hennepin County Bar presidency". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2019-01-07.
  46. "Number of female chief judges for district courts in Minnesota reaches historic levels". St. Cloud Times. July 5, 2017.
  47. "Minnesota Judicial Branch - Bio". www.mncourts.gov. Retrieved 2018-02-15.
  48. Beck, Richard (2015-08-04). We Believe the Children: A Moral Panic in the 1980s. PublicAffairs. ISBN 978-1-61039-287-7.
  49. "New Washington County judge makes history". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2018-11-09.
  50. "Twin Sisters in Public Service". Minnesota Women's Press. Retrieved 2020-02-27.
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