List of first women lawyers and judges in Mississippi

This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Mississippi. 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
Marian Wright Edelman: First African American female lawyer in Mississippi (1963)
Felicia C. Adams: First African American female to serve as a U.S. Attorney in Mississippi (2011)

Lawyers
  • Susie Blue Buchanan (1918):[1][2][3] First female lawyer in Mississippi. She was also the first female admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Mississippi (1916), as well as argue a murder case before that court (1917).
  • Marian Wright Edelman (1963):[4] First African American female lawyer in Mississippi
  • Doris Bobadilla (1991):[5][6] First known Hispanic American female lawyer in Mississippi
Judges
Circuit Court
  • Tomika Harris-Irving:[13] First African American (female) to serve as a Judge of the Twenty-Second Circuit Court District in Mississippi (2019)
Appellate Court
  • Mary Libby Payne:[14] First female to serve as a Judge of the Court of Appeals in Mississippi (1995)
  • Ermea Russell:[15][16] First African American female to serve as a Judge of the Mississippi Court of Appeals (2011)
  • Donna Barnes:[17] First female to serve as the Chief Judge of the Mississippi Court of Appeals (2019)
Supreme Court
  • Lenore L. Prather (1955):[18][9] First female appointed as a Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court (1982) and its Chief Justice (1998)
Bankruptcy Court
  • Katharine Malley Samson:[19] First female to serve as a bankruptcy court judge in Mississippi (2010)
District Court
  • Linda Anderson:[13] First African American (female) appointed as a Magistrate Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi (2006)
  • Sharion Aycock (1980):[20] First female appointed as a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi (2007)
  • Debra M. Brown (1997):[21] First African American female appointed as a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi (2013)

Assistant Attorney General
  • Evelyn Gandy (1947):[22] First female appointed as the Assistant Attorney General of Mississippi (1959)

United States Attorney

Assistant United States Attorney
  • Euple Dozier:[24] First female to serve as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Mississippi (1955)

Assistant District Attorney
  • Kathy King Jackson:[25] First female to serve as an Assistant District Attorney in Mississippi (1977)

Political Office

Bar Association
  • Joy Lambert Phillips (1980):[10][26] First female to serve as the President of the Mississippi Bar Association (2005)
  • Patricia W. Bennett:[27][28] First African American female to serve as the President of the Mississippi Bar Association (2018)

Firsts in local history

Alphabetized by county name

Adams County

Forrest County

Hancock County

Harrison County

Hinds County
  • Faye Peterson:[33] First African American female to serve as the District Attorney for Hinds County, Mississippi
  • Michele Purvis Harris (1987):[34] First female (and African American female) to serve as the Chief City Prosecutor for the City of Jackson, Mississippi (1994) and the Public Defender for Hinds County, Mississippi (2012)
  • Ermea Russell:[15][16] First African American female to serve as a circuit judge in Hinds County, Mississippi (1998)

Lafayette County

Lowndes County

Madison County
  • Michele Purvis Harris (1987):[34] First female (and African American female) to serve as the Chief City Prosecutor for the City of Jackson, Mississippi (1994) [Hinds, Madison and Rankin Counties, Mississippi]

Perry County

Pike County
  • Patricia Wise:[27] First female (and African American female) to serve as President of the Magnolia Bar Association [Pike County, Mississippi]

Rankin County
  • Michele Purvis Harris (1987):[34] First female (and African American female) to serve as the Chief City Prosecutor for the City of Jackson, Mississippi (1994) [Hinds, Madison and Rankin Counties, Mississippi]

Scott County

Stone County

Washington County

Winton County

Yazoo County
  • Ruth Campbell (1918):[38] First female called to the Yazoo County Bar Association, Mississippi

See also

Other topics of interest

References
  1. Wilkerson, Lyn (2010-11-08). Slow Travels-Mississippi. Lyn Wilkerson. ISBN 9781452332291.
  2. "Sara Buchanan". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2019-03-27.
  3. "Women in the Profession" (PDF). The Mississippi Lawyer. Winter 2011–2012.
  4. "Edelman, Marian Wright (1939- ) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed". www.blackpast.org. Retrieved 2018-01-20.
  5. "1991 Alumna Doris Bobadilla Profiled by The Atlantic | College of Law". law.loyno.edu. Retrieved 2018-02-17.
  6. Lam, Bourree. "A Lawyer Who Loves Her Job". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2018-02-17.
  7. Ownby, Ted; Wilson, Charles Reagan; Abadie, Ann J.; Lindsey, Odie; Thomas, James G. (2017-05-25). The Mississippi Encyclopedia. Univ. Press of Mississippi. ISBN 9781496811592.
  8. "The Mid-Delta Judge Zelma Price is dead". Newspapers.com. February 25, 1974. Retrieved 2018-02-01.
  9. Krane, Dale; Shaffer, Stephen D. (1992). Mississippi Government and Politics: Modernizers Versus Traditionalists. U of Nebraska Press. ISBN 080327758X.
  10. "Capital Area Bar Association". caba.ms. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  11. Sewell, George A.; Dwight, Margaret L. (2012-01-20). Mississippi Black History Makers. Univ. Press of Mississippi. ISBN 9781617034282.
  12. Congressional Record, V. 147, Pt. 6, May 9, 2001 to May 21 2001. Government Printing Office. October 2005. ISBN 9780160729669.
  13. "Copiah County native honored as nation's first female federal trial judge - State of Mississippi Judiciary News". courts.ms.gov. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
  14. Wells, Valerie. "Mary Libby Payne". www.jacksonfreepress.com. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  15. "MC|Law Judicial Data Project". judicial.mc.edu. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  16. "EJ Russell seated on appellate court | The Jackson Advocate". Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  17. Progress, David Helms Pontotoc. "Chief Judge Donna Barnes sworn in as first woman to lead Court of Appeals". Daily Journal. Retrieved 2019-02-22.
  18. "Collins Speaker Series: Lenore Prather » Mississippi State University Libraries". lib.msstate.edu. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
  19. "News About You" (PDF). Louisiana Tech Magazine. Summer 2011.
  20. "Mississippi College | Beacon Magazine | A Benchmark Appointment". www.mc.edu. Retrieved 2018-02-01.
  21. "School Of Architecture News - Debra M. Brown as Mississippi's first African-American female U.S. District Judge". caad.msstate.edu. Retrieved 2018-01-09.
  22. "'A Lady of Many Firsts': Press Coverage of the Political Career of Mississippi's Evelyn Gandy, 1948-83". American Journalism. 2017-12-13. Retrieved 2018-12-13.
  23. "Mississippi's 2 U.S. attorneys resign". The Clarion Ledger. Retrieved 2019-01-01.
  24. Franks, Mona Robinson Mills and Bob (2017). Fulton. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9781467123792.
  25. Staff, Mississippi Press. "Circuit Judge Kathy King Jackson of Pascagoula honored by Mississippi Bar Foundation". gulflive.com. Retrieved 2019-01-01.
  26. "The Mississippi Bar :: Past Presidents". www.msbar.org. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  27. "Judges Westbrooks, Owens and Wise honored as Trailblazers - State of Mississippi Judiciary News". courts.ms.gov. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  28. "Faculty Directory". Mississippi College School of Law. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  29. Murphy, Patrick (2020-02-28). "Celebrating Black History: Local museum adds unique dimension to Natchez story". Mississippi's Best Community Newspaper. Retrieved 2020-03-14.
  30. Beveridge, Lici (June 18, 2017). "Marie Kepper Forged Path for Women in Pine Belt". U.S. News & World Report.
  31. "Governor appoints first female DA in Forrest County". WDAM. Retrieved 2019-01-01.
  32. Herrington, Charles. "New D.A. sworn-in for Forrest-Perry counties". WDAM 7. Retrieved 2019-03-27.
  33. Richards, Kimberley (2018-11-30). "Black Women Break Barriers In Mississippi With Historic Court Wins". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  34. "Michele Purvis Harris | Alumni and Constituency Relations". www.jsums.edu. Retrieved 2019-01-01.
  35. "ISJL - Mississippi Columbus Encyclopedia". Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
  36. "Three state judges honored by Mississippi Bar Foundation - State of Mississippi Judiciary News". courts.ms.gov. Retrieved 2019-01-01.
  37. "Aldermen appoint Kelley to Municipal Judge seat | Starkville Daily News". starkvilledailynews.com. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  38. "Virginia Ruth Campbell". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2019-03-27.
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