List of first women lawyers and judges in Washington

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This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in the U.S. state of Washington. 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[]

Christine Gregoire: First female Deputy Attorney General (1981) and Attorney General in Washington (1993)
Jenny Durkan: First lesbian female to serve as a U.S. Attorney in Washington (2009)

Lawyers[]

  • Mary Leonard (1885):[1] First female lawyer in Washington
  • Bella Weretnikow Rosenbaum (1901):[2][3][4] First Jewish American female lawyer in Washington
  • Dolores Sibonga (1973):[5] First Filipino American female lawyer in Washington
  • Holly Caudill (1995):[6][7][8] First female quadriplegic lawyer per available records in the U.S. and Washington

Judicial Officers[]

State[]

Justice of the Peace[]
  • Mildred Henthorn Hamill:[9][10] First female to serve as a Justice of the Peace in Washington (1911)
Judges[]
  • Reah Whitehead (1893):[11][12] First female judge in Washington (1914)
  • Norma S. Huggins:[13] First African American female judge in Washington
  • Carmen Otero:[14][15][16] First Latino American female judge in Washington (1980)
  • C. Kimi Kondo:[17] First Asian American female judge in Washington (c. 1991)
  • Mariane Spearman:[18][19] First Korean American (female) judge in Washington (1999)
  • Helen Whitener (1998):[20][21] First openly LGBT (African American) female judge in Washington (2015)
Municipal Court[]
  • Norma S. Huggins:[13] First African American female municipal court judge in Washington (1983)
Superior Court[]
  • Norma S. Huggins:[13] First African American female superior court judge in Washington (1988)
Supreme Court[]

Federal[]

District Court[]
  • Rosanna M. Peterson (1991):[28] First female appointed as a U.S. District Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington

Attorney General[]

Assistant Attorney General[]

  • June Fowles:[30] First female to serve as an Assistant Attorney General of Washington (1939)

Deputy Attorney General[]

United States Attorney[]

  • Jenny Durkan (1986):[31] First openly LGBT female appointed as a U.S. Attorney in Washington (2009)

Political Office[]

  • Reba Hurn (1910):[32][33][34] First female (a lawyer) elected to the Washington State Senate (1923-1930)
  • Jenny Durkan (1986):[31] First openly LGBT female (a lawyer) elected as the Mayor of Seattle, Washington (2017)
  • Laurie Jinkins (1990):[35] First openly LGBT female (a lawyer) elected as a Member of the Washington House of Representatives from the Twenty-Seventh District (2011)

Bar Association[]

  • Elizabeth “Betty” Bracelin:[36] First female to serve as the President of the Washington State Bar Association

Firsts in local history[]

Alphabetized by county name

Region[]

Benton County[]

  • Carolyn Brown:[39] First female to serve as a Judge of the Benton-Franklin Superior Court, Washington (1988)

Chelan County[]

Clallam County[]

  • Susan Owens:[41] First female judge in Clallam County, Washington
  • Lauren Erickson:[42] First female appointed as a Judge of the Clallam County Superior Court, Washington (2019)

Clark County[]

Cowlitz County[]

Douglas County[]

Franklin County[]

King County[]

  • Leila Robinson Sawtelle (1882):[45] First female lawyer in Seattle, Washington (King County, Washington, 1884)
  • Bella Weretnikow Rosenbaum (1901):[2][3][4] First Jewish American female lawyer in Seattle, Washington [King County, Washington]
  • Othilia Carroll Beals:[46] First female Justice of the Peace in Seattle, Washington [King County, Washington]
  • Eliza Forbes:[47] First female Justice of the Peace in King County, Washington
  • Carmen Otero:[14][15][16] First Latino American female judge in King County, Washington
  • C. Kimi Kondo:[17] First Asian American female to serve as a Judge of the Seattle Municipal Court in Washington (c. 1991)
  • Marcine Anderson:[48] First female (and Asian American) elected as a Judge of the Shoreline District Court (King County, Washington; 2010)
  • Betty Fletcher:[49] First female to serve as the President of the South King County Bar Association, Washington (1972)

Kittitas County[]

Lewish County[]

Mason County[]

Pierce County[]

  • Helen Whitener (1998):[20] First openly LGBT and African American female to serve as Judge of the Pierce County Superior Court, Washington (2015)
  • Diane Clarkson:[53] First African American female (and African American in general) to serve as the President of the Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association, Washington (2016)
  • Mary Robnett:[54] First female to serve as the Prosecuting Attorney for Pierce County, Washington (2019)

Snohomish County[]

Spokane County[]

Thurston County[]

Walla Walla County[]

  • Aurel M. Kelly (1949):[62] First female lawyer in Walla Walla, Washington [Walla Walla County, Washington]
  • Sandy Flores (2008):[63] First Latin American female lawyer in Walla Walla County, Washington

Whatcom County[]

See also[]

Other topics of interest[]

References[]

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