List of first women lawyers and judges in Maryland

This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Maryland. 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
Judges
  • Kathryn J. DuFour (1935):[10] First female judge in Maryland (1955)[11]
  • Mabel H. Hubbard (1975):[12] First African American female judge in Maryland (1985)
  • Audrey J.S. Carrion:[13][14][15] First Hispanic American (female) judge in Maryland (1995)
  • Martha A. Rasin:[14][16] First female to serve as a chief judge in Maryland (1996)[17]
  • Jeannie Hong (1993):[18] First Korean American female judge in Maryland (2002)
  • Bess B. Lavine:[14] First female to serve as a juvenile court judge in Maryland. She and her daughter Sherrie Krauser were the first mother and daughter to hold judgeships in Maryland.[14][19]
Circuit Court
  • Kathryn Lawlor Shook Dufour (1942):[20] First female appointed as a Judge of the Circuit Court in Maryland (1955)
Court of Special Appeals
  • Rita Charmatz Davidson (1963):[21][22] First female appointed as a Judge of the Maryland Special Court of Appeals (1972)
  • Michele D. Hotten:[23] First African American female to serve as a Judge of the Maryland Special Court of Appeals (2010)
Court of Appeals
  • Rita Charmatz Davidson (1963):[21][22] First female appointed as a Judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals (1979)
  • Shirley M. Watts (1983):[24] First African-American female appointed as a Judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals (2013)
District Court
  • Shirley Brannock Jones (1946):[25] First female appointed as Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland (1979)

Assistant Attorney General

United States Attorney
  • Catherine C. Blake:[27] First female to serve as a U.S. Attorney for Maryland (2009)

State's Attorney
  • Toni E. Clarke:[28] First African-American female to serve as a State’s Attorney in Maryland (1994-1995)

District Attorney
  • Susie Starp:[29] First female to serve as a District Attorney in Maryland (c. 1974)

Bar Association
  • Louise Michaux Gonzales:[30] First female to serve as President of the Maryland State Bar Association (1991)

Firsts in local history

Alphabetized by county name

Region

Anne Arundel County
  • Elizabeth Morris:[32] First African American female circuit judge in Anne Arundel County, Maryland (2018)
  • Anne Colt Leitess:[33] First female to serve as the State's Attorney for Anne Arundel County, Maryland (2018)

Baltimore, City of
  • Patricia C. Jessamy:[34] First female to serve as the State's Attorney for Baltimore, Maryland (1995)
  • Audrey J.S. Carrion:[13] First Hispanic American (female) to serve as a Judge of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, Maryland (1995)

Baltimore County
  • Jeanette Rosner Wolman (1957):[35] First female lawyer admitted to the Bar Association of Baltimore City [Baltimore County, Maryland]
  • Wanda Keyes Heard (1982):[36][37] First female (and African American female) appointed as the Chief Judge of the Baltimore City Circuit Court (2017) [Baltimore City, Maryland]

Carroll County
  • JoAnn Ellinghaus-Jones (1981):[38] First female judge in Carroll County, Maryland
  • Maria Oesterreicher:[39] First female to become a Judge of the Circuit Court in Carroll County, Maryland (2018)

Cecil County
  • Bonnie G. Schneider (1988):[40] First female judge in Cecil County, Maryland

Charles County
  • Donine Carrington (1995):[37] First African American female appointed as a Judge of the Charles County Circuit Court (2017) [Charles County, Maryland]

Dorchester County
  • Betty Bright Nelson (c. 1950s):[41] First woman to practice law in Dorchester County, Maryland

Frederick County
  • Mary Ann Stepler (1974):[42] First female judge in Frederick County, Maryland

Harford County
  • Yolanda L. Curtin:[43] First Latino female appointed as a Judge of the Harford County Circuit Court, Maryland (2013)

Howard County
  • Diane O. Leasure and Donna Hill Staton:[44][45] First females to serve as a Judge of the Howard County Circuit Court in Maryland (1995). Staton is the first African American (female) judge appointed to the circuit court.
  • Alice Gail Pollard Clark:[46] First African American (female) to serve as district judge for Howard County, Maryland (1997)

Montgomery County
  • Vivian V. Simpson (c. 1930s):[47] First female lawyer in Montgomery County, Maryland
  • Irma S. Raker:[48] First African American female to serve as the Assistant State's Attorney of Montgomery County, Maryland
  • Marielsa A. Bernard (1981):[49] First Hispanic American female to serve as a district court judge (1998) and circuit court judge (2002) in Montgomery County, Maryland
  • Sharon V. Burrell (1984):[37] First African American female appointed as a Judge of the Montgomery County Circuit Court (c. 2008) [Montgomery County, Maryland]
  • Karla Smith (1995):[50] First African American female appointed as a Judge of the Montgomery County District Court (2012) [Montgomery County, Maryland]

Prince George's County
  • Toni E. Clarke:[28] First African-American female to serve as the State’s Attorney for Prince George's County, Maryland (1994-1995). She was the first African-American female (and African American in general) to serve as President of the Prince George’s County Bar Association.
  • Angela Alsobrooks:[51] First African American female elected to serve as the State's Attorney for Prince George's County, Maryland (2010)

Washington County

Wicomomo County

Worchester County
  • Peggy Kent (c. 1980):[52] First female judge in Worcester County, Maryland (2018)
  • Kris Heiser:[53] First female to serve as the State's Attorney for Worcester County, Maryland (2019)

See also

Other topics of interest

References
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  2. "President's Message: Who is Etta Maddox? - Maryland State Bar Association". www.msba.org. Retrieved 2016-10-06.
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  4. Eyler, Deborah Sweet. "The Early Female Jewish Members of the Maryland Bar: 1920–1929". Maryland Law Review. 74: 545: 545–582.
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  17. Upon Rasin becoming a Chief Judge of a Maryland District Court in 1996
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  48. "Irma S. Raker, MSA SC 3520-11659". msa.maryland.gov. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
  49. "Marielsa A. Bernard" (PDF). Montgomery County Commission for Women.
  50. "Karla Smith set to be sworn in as first black female Montgomery District Court judge". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-10-05.
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