List of first women lawyers and judges in North Dakota

This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in North Dakota. 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
Heidi Heitkamp: First female Attorney General for North Dakota (1993)

Lawyers
District Court
  • Cynthia A. Rothe-Seeger (1975):[5] First female appointed as a district judge in North Dakota (1988)
  • Rhonda Ehlis:[6] First female appointed as a Judge of the Southwest Judicial District in North Dakota (2015)
  • Cherie Clark:[7] First female judge appointed to the Southeast Judicial District in North Dakota (2017)
Supreme Court
  • Beryl J. Levine (1974):[8] First female appointed as a Justice of the North Dakota Supreme Court (1985)
Tribal Court
  • Rose K. Ecoffey:[9][10][11] First female tribal judge for the Lakota on the Pine Ridge Reservation, North Dakota (c. 1940s)
Bankruptcy Court
  • Shon Hastings:[12] First female appointed as a bankruptcy court judge (2011)

Attorney General

Political Office
  • Heidi Heitkamp (1980):[13] First female (a lawyer) elected to the U.S. Senate from North Dakota (2013)

Bar Association
  • Rebecca Thiem:[14] First female to serve as the President of the State Bar Association of North Dakota (1996)

Firsts in local history

Alphabetized by county name

Adams County
  • Rhonda Ehlis:[6] First female appointed as a Judge of the Southwest Judicial District in North Dakota (2015) [Adams, Billings, Bowman, Dunn, Golden Valley, Hettinger, Slope and Stark Counties, North Dakota]

Barnes County
  • Cherie Clark:[7] First female judge appointed to the Southeast Judicial District [Barnes, Dickey, Eddy, Foster, Griggs, Kidder, LaMoure, Logan, McIntosh, Ransom, Richland, Sargent, Stutsman and Wells Counties]

Billings County
  • Rhonda Ehlis:[6] First female appointed as a Judge of the Southwest Judicial District in North Dakota (2015) [Adams, Billings, Bowman, Dunn, Golden Valley, Hettinger, Slope and Stark Counties, North Dakota]

Bowman County
  • Rhonda Ehlis:[6] First female appointed as a Judge of the Southwest Judicial District in North Dakota (2015) [Adams, Billings, Bowman, Dunn, Golden Valley, Hettinger, Slope and Stark Counties, North Dakota]

Cass County
  • Beryl J. Levine (1974):[8][15] First female to serve as the President of the Cass County Bar Association, North Dakota (1984)
  • Cynthia A. Rothe-Seeger (1975):[5] First female appointed as a Judge of the East Central Judicial District in North Dakota (1988) [Cass, Steele and Traill Counties, North Dakota]

Dickey County
  • Cherie Clark:[7] First female judge appointed to the Southeast Judicial District [Barnes, Dickey, Eddy, Foster, Griggs, Kidder, LaMoure, Logan, McIntosh, Ransom, Richland, Sargent, Stutsman and Wells Counties]

Dunn County
  • Rhonda Ehlis:[6] First female appointed as a Judge of the Southwest Judicial District in North Dakota (2015) [Adams, Billings, Bowman, Dunn, Golden Valley, Hettinger, Slope and Stark Counties, North Dakota]

Eddy County
  • Cherie Clark:[7] First female judge appointed to the Southeast Judicial District [Barnes, Dickey, Eddy, Foster, Griggs, Kidder, LaMoure, Logan, McIntosh, Ransom, Richland, Sargent, Stutsman and Wells Counties]

Foster County
  • Cherie Clark:[7] First female judge appointed to the Southeast Judicial District [Barnes, Dickey, Eddy, Foster, Griggs, Kidder, LaMoure, Logan, McIntosh, Ransom, Richland, Sargent, Stutsman and Wells Counties]

Golden Valley County
  • Rhonda Ehlis:[6] First female appointed as a Judge of the Southwest Judicial District in North Dakota (2015) [Adams, Billings, Bowman, Dunn, Golden Valley, Hettinger, Slope and Stark Counties, North Dakota]

Grand Forks County
  • Haley Wamstad:[16] First female elected as the state's attorney in Grand Forks County, North Dakota (2018)

Griggs County
  • Cherie Clark:[7] First female judge appointed to the Southeast Judicial District [Barnes, Dickey, Eddy, Foster, Griggs, Kidder, LaMoure, Logan, McIntosh, Ransom, Richland, Sargent, Stutsman and Wells Counties]

Hettinger County
  • Rhonda Ehlis:[6] First female appointed as a Judge of the Southwest Judicial District in North Dakota (2015) [Adams, Billings, Bowman, Dunn, Golden Valley, Hettinger, Slope and Stark Counties, North Dakota]

Kidder County
  • Cherie Clark:[7] First female judge appointed to the Southeast Judicial District [Barnes, Dickey, Eddy, Foster, Griggs, Kidder, LaMoure, Logan, McIntosh, Ransom, Richland, Sargent, Stutsman and Wells Counties]

LaMoure County
  • Cherie Clark:[7] First female judge appointed to the Southeast Judicial District [Barnes, Dickey, Eddy, Foster, Griggs, Kidder, LaMoure, Logan, McIntosh, Ransom, Richland, Sargent, Stutsman and Wells Counties]

Logan County
  • Cherie Clark:[7] First female judge appointed to the Southeast Judicial District [Barnes, Dickey, Eddy, Foster, Griggs, Kidder, LaMoure, Logan, McIntosh, Ransom, Richland, Sargent, Stutsman and Wells Counties]

McIntosh County
  • Cherie Clark:[7] First female judge appointed to the Southeast Judicial District [Barnes, Dickey, Eddy, Foster, Griggs, Kidder, LaMoure, Logan, McIntosh, Ransom, Richland, Sargent, Stutsman and Wells Counties]

McKenzie County
  • Robin A. Schmidt:[17] First female district judge in McKenzie County, North Dakota (2013)

Ransom County
  • Cherie Clark:[7] First female judge appointed to the Southeast Judicial District [Barnes, Dickey, Eddy, Foster, Griggs, Kidder, LaMoure, Logan, McIntosh, Ransom, Richland, Sargent, Stutsman and Wells Counties]

Richland County
  • Cherie Clark:[7] First female judge appointed to the Southeast Judicial District [Barnes, Dickey, Eddy, Foster, Griggs, Kidder, LaMoure, Logan, McIntosh, Ransom, Richland, Sargent, Stutsman and Wells Counties]

Sargent County
  • Cherie Clark:[7] First female judge appointed to the Southeast Judicial District [Barnes, Dickey, Eddy, Foster, Griggs, Kidder, LaMoure, Logan, McIntosh, Ransom, Richland, Sargent, Stutsman and Wells Counties]

Slope County
  • Rhonda Ehlis:[6] First female appointed as a Judge of the Southwest Judicial District in North Dakota (2015) [Adams, Billings, Bowman, Dunn, Golden Valley, Hettinger, Slope and Stark Counties, North Dakota]

Stark County
  • Rhonda Ehlis:[6] First female appointed as a Judge of the Southwest Judicial District in North Dakota (2015) [Adams, Billings, Bowman, Dunn, Golden Valley, Hettinger, Slope and Stark Counties, North Dakota]

Steele County
  • Cynthia A. Rothe-Seeger (1975):[5] First female appointed as a Judge of the East Central Judicial District in North Dakota (1988) [Cass, Steele and Traill Counties, North Dakota]

Stutsman County
  • Cherie Clark:[7] First female judge appointed to the Southeast Judicial District [Barnes, Dickey, Eddy, Foster, Griggs, Kidder, LaMoure, Logan, McIntosh, Ransom, Richland, Sargent, Stutsman and Wells Counties]

Traill County
  • Cynthia A. Rothe-Seeger (1975):[5] First female appointed as a Judge of the East Central Judicial District in North Dakota (1988) [Cass, Steele and Traill Counties, North Dakota]

Wells County
  • Cherie Clark:[7] First female judge appointed to the Southeast Judicial District [Barnes, Dickey, Eddy, Foster, Griggs, Kidder, LaMoure, Logan, McIntosh, Ransom, Richland, Sargent, Stutsman and Wells Counties]

Williams County
  • Kirsten Sjue (2006):[18][19] First female judge in Williams County, North Dakota (2015)

See also

Other topics of interest

References
  1. "20th Annual Helen Hamilton Day". www.ndcourts.gov. Retrieved 2016-10-06.
  2. "Mildred Johnson, 96". Daily News & News Monitor. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
  3. "INFORUM: One of ND's first female lawyers reflects on career: North Dakota State College of Science (NDSCS) | Wahpeton/Fargo". www.ndscs.edu. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
  4. Glass-Moore, Adrian; Sep 19th 2014 - 11pm, Forum News Service |. "Mildred Johnson, first woman to serve on ND higher education board, dies at age 96". The Dickinson Press. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
  5. "Cynthia A. Rothe-Seeger, District Judge". www.ndcourts.gov. Retrieved 2018-01-09.
  6. Wernette, Andrew (2017-11-16). "Ehlis, first female Southwest District judge talks life, experience..." www.thedickinsonpress.com. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  7. Nelson, TJ (September 14, 2017). "ND Judicial District to Swear in First Female Judge - KVRR Local News". KVRR Local News. Retrieved 2018-01-06.
  8. "Beryl J. Levine". www.ndcourts.gov. Retrieved 2018-01-09.
  9. Dowling, Timothy C. (2005). Personal Perspectives: World War II. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781851095759.
  10. The Michigan Historical Review. Clarke Historical Library at Central Michigan University. 1994.
  11. Reyer, Carolyn; Medicine, Beatrice; Plume, Debra Lynn White (December 1991). Cante ohitika win (brave-hearted women): images of Lakota women from the Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota. University of South Dakota Press.
  12. "ND's federal bankruptcy court judge sworn in". Retrieved 2018-01-10.
  13. "Election Night in North Dakota on KFYR-TV North Dakota's NBC News Leader". 2013-05-20. Retrieved 2018-11-19.
  14. "From Carbon Paper To The Cloud—50 Years Of Change - State Bar Association of North Dakota". www.sband.org. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  15. "Mother of Five Beryl Levine Cooks Up a Second Career—as a State Supreme Court Judge". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  16. Williams, Tess (2018-11-10). "Haley Wamstad first woman elected as Grand Forks County state's..." www.grandforksherald.com. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  17. Ruggles, Kate (September 18, 2013). "SCHMIDT BECOMES STATE'S NEWEST DISTRICT JUDGE". www.watfordcitynd.com. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  18. "Kirsten M. Sjue, District Judge". www.ndcourts.gov. Retrieved 2018-01-05.
  19. Hackenburg, Elizabeth (October 3, 2015). "Williston's own Sjue first female judge in Williams County". Williston Herald.
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