List of first women lawyers and judges in New Jersey

This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in New Jersey. 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

Lawyers
  • Mary Philbrook (1895):[1] First female lawyer in New Jersey
  • Elizabeth Blume Silverstein (1913):[2] First female lawyer in New Jersey to independently defend a client on a homicide charge
  • M. Bernadine Johnson Marshall and Martha Belle (1949):[3][4] First African American female lawyers in New Jersey
  • Marisol Conde-Hernández (2018):[5] First undocumented female lawyer in New Jersey
Justice of the Peace
  • Martha Kemble:[6][7] First female Justice of the Peace in New Jersey (1920)
Judges
Superior Court
  • Sybil Moses (1974):[13][14][15] First female to serve as a Judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey to become an Assignment Judge (1997)
  • Lisa Thornton (1992):[16] First African American female to serve as a Judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey to become an Assignment Judge (2014)
Supreme Court
  • Marie L. Garibaldi:[17] First female appointed as a Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court (1982)
  • Deborah Poritz (1977):[18] First female justice to be appointed as the Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court (1996)
District Court
  • Anne Elise Thompson (1964):[19][20] First female and First African American female appointed as a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey (1979)
  • Esther Salas (1981):[21] First Hispanic American woman appointed as a U.S. District Judge in the District of New Jersey (2011)
Magistrate Judge
  • Esther Salas (1981):[21] First Hispanic American woman appointed as a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the District of New Jersey (2006–2011)

Attorneys General

Deputy Attorney General
  • June Strelecki:[24] First female to serve as the Deputy Attorney General for New Jersey (1957)

Assistant Attorney General
  • Marilyn H. Loftus (1961):[25] First female to serve as the Assistant Attorney General for New Jersey

United States Attorney
  • Faith S. Hochberg:[26] First female to serve as the United States Attorney for New Jersey (1994-1999)

Assistant United States Attorneys
  • Barbara Ann Morris:[26] First female (and African American) to serve as the Assistant United States Attorney for New Jersey (1956)
  • Carolyn Elizabeth Arch:[26] First African American (female) to serve as the Assistant United States Attorney for New Jersey (1966)

Public Advocate

County Prosecutors
  • Camelia M. Valdes (2001):[28] First Hispanic American (female) to serve as a County Prosecutor in New Jersey (2009)
  • Grace H. Park:[29] First Asian American (female) to serve as a county prosecutor in New Jersey (2013)

Bar Associations
  • Marie L. Garibaldi:[17] First female to serve as the President of the New Jersey State Bar Association
  • Karol Corbin Walker:[30] First African American female (and African American in general) to serve as the President of the New Jersey Bar Association (2003)
  • Evelyn Padin:[31] First Latino American female to serve as the President of the New Jersey State Bar Association (2018)
  • Karol Corbin Walker:[30] First African American female (and African American in general) to serve as the President of the Federal Bar of New Jersey (2015)

Political Office

Firsts in local history

Alphabetized by county name

Atlantic County

Bergen County

Burlington County
  • Lillian Baker (née Dubrow) (1946):[34] First female lawyer in Burlington County, New Jersey

Camden County
  • Ann Schmerling Salsberg (1928):[9][35] First female lawyer in Camden County, New Jersey
  • Mary Ellen Talbott (1963):[36] First female judge in Camden County, New Jersey (1973)
  • Judith S. Charny (c. 1984):[37] First female municipal judge in Cherry Hill, New Jersey (Camden County, New Jersey; 2014)

Cumberland County
  • Demetrica Todd-Ruiz:[38] First female (and African American female) judge in Vineland, New Jersey [Cumberland County, New Jersey]

Essex County
  • Elizabeth Blume Silverstein (1913):[39] First female lawyer in Essex County, New Jersey
  • Golden E. Johnson (1971):[40] First African American female judge in Newark, New Jersey (Essex County, New Jersey; 1974)
  • Myrna Milan:[41] First Hispanic American female judge in Newark, New Jersey [Essex County, New Jersey]
  • Julie Garcia:[42] First female District Attorney for Essex County, New Jersey (2006-2009)

Hudson County
  • Lilia L. Munoz:[43] First Hispanic American female (and Hispanic American in general) to serve as the President of the Hudson County Bar Association, New Jersey

Mercer County
  • Carmen M. Garcia:[44][45] First Hispanic American female to be appointed to the Trenton Municipal Court (1988) and first Hispanic American female Chief Judge of Trenton Municipal Court (2001).

Middlesex County
  • Esther Beckhoff (1924):[46] First female lawyer in Middlesex County, New Jersey
  • Arlene Quinones-Perez:[47] First female (and Latino American female) to become the City Attorney for Perth Amboy [Middlesex County, New Jersey]

Monmouth County
  • Florence Forgotson (1927):[48][49][50] First female lawyer in Monmouth County, New Jersey
  • Lori Linskey:[51] First female to serve as the First Assistant Prosecutor for Monmouth County, New Jersey (2017)

Morris County
  • Rose Danna Ruesch (1935):[52] First female lawyer in Morris County, New Jersey
  • Katherine Hayden:[53] First female President of the Morris County Bar Association, New Jersey

Ocean County
  • Dorothy Reeve:[54] First female lawyer in Ocean County, New Jersey

Passaic County
  • Sadie Pasternack Ranzenhofer (1914):[55] First female lawyer in Passaic County, New Jersey
  • LaToyia Jenkins Stewart (2000):[56] First African American female judge in Passaic County, New Jersey
  • Camelia M. Valdes (2001):[28] First Latino American female to serve as the County Prosecutor for Passaic County, New Jersey (2009)

Salem County
  • Sandra Lopez:[57] First Hispanic American female judge in Salem County, New Jersey

Union County
  • Mary E. Alward (1898):[58] First female lawyer in Union County, New Jersey
  • Grace H. Park:[29] First Asian American (and female) to serve as the County Prosecutor of Union County, New Jersey (2013)
  • Kelly A. Waters:[59] First female Public Defender for Mountainside and Fanwood. She later became a municipal court judge in the Union Township (2007). [Union County, New Jersey]

See also

Other topics of interest

References
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