List of first women lawyers and judges in West Virginia

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

Lawyer
Judge
  • Elizabeth Hallanan (1951):[2][3] First female judge in West Virginia (1983)
Circuit Court
  • Irene C. Berger (1979):[4][5] First African American female appointed as a circuit court judge in West Virginia (1994)
Appellate Court
  • Stephanie Thacker (1990):[6] First female appointed as a Judge of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in West Virginia
District Court
  • Irene C. Berger (1979):[4][5] First African American female appointed as a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia (2009)

Magistrate
  • Mary Stanley:[7] First female to serve as a U.S. Magistrate Judge for West Virginia (1992)

Assistant United States Attorney
  • Mary Stanley:[7] First female to serve as the Assistant United States Attorney for West Virginia (c. 1977)

Deputy Attorney General
  • Marianne Stonestreet:[8] First female to serve as the Deputy Attorney General for West Virginia

Assistant Attorney General
  • Virginia Mae Brown (1947):[9] First female to serve as the Assistant Attorney General in West Virginia (1952-1961)

Bar Association
  • Barbara Baxter:[10] First female to serve as the President of the West Virginia State Bar Association (1994-1995)
  • Meshea Poore:[11] First African American female to serve as President of the West Virginia State Bar Association (2017)

Firsts in local history

Alphabetized by county name

Barbour County

Braxton County

Fayette County

Kanawha County

Lewis County

Logan County

Upshur County

See also

Other topics of interest

References
  1. "History | College of Law | West Virginia University". www.law.wvu.edu. Retrieved 2016-10-06.
  2. "Obituaries in the News (TechNews.com)". www.washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2018-01-10.
  3. Bowman, Forest J. (2007). "THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF WEST VIRGINIA" (PDF). West Virginia Law Review. 109: 795–803.
  4. Jones, Associated Press; Carrie Jones; Will. "Judge Irene Berger Talks About Her Senate Confirmation". Retrieved 2018-01-09.
  5. "History of Women's History Month" (PDF). U.S. District Court - Southern District of West Virginia. March 31, 2016.
  6. Fallon, Paul. "W.Va. woman sworn in as federal judge". Charleston Gazette-Mail. Retrieved 2018-01-09.
  7. "W.Va.'s first female U.S. magistrate judge retiring". The Journal. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  8. The West Virginia Lawyer. West Virginia State Bar. 1989.
  9. Cook, Joan. "Virginia Mae Brown Dies at 67; First Woman to Head the I.C.C." Retrieved 2018-11-19.
  10. Agencies, United States Congress House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related (1996). Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations for 1997: Justification of the budget estimates, Department of Commerce. U.S. Government Printing Office. ISBN 9780160527753.
  11. "Poore takes over as West Virginia State Bar Association president". Herald-Mail Media. Associated Press. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
  12. Reports, From Staff. "Longtime Barbour Co. magistrate retires; Moats names replacement". WV News. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  13. "Family Court Judge Sets Example For Women". The Weston Democrat. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
  14. Pridemore, Amelia A. (March 24, 2009). "Fayette honors first female jurors". Beckley Register-Herald.
  15. Foster, Teree E.; Fallon, Sandra M. (1994–1995). "West Virginia's Pioneer Women Lawyers". W. Va. L. Rev. 97: 703.
  16. Plein, Stewart (Spring 2015). "The Devil's Children: The Hatfield Lawyers" (PDF). LH&RB: Newsletter of the Legal History & Rare Books SIS of the American Association of Law Libraries. 21: 1: 1, 4–7.
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