List of first women lawyers and judges in Arizona

This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Arizona. 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 graduate from law school or become a political figure.

Firsts in Arizona's history

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Sarah Herring Sorin: First female lawyer in Arizona (1892)
 
Janet Napolitano: First female Attorney General for Arizona (1999)
 
Diane Humetewa: First Native American (Hopi) female Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona (2014)

Lawyers

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State judges

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Federal judges

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Attorney General of Arizona

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Assistant Attorney General

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United States Attorney

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Assistant United States Attorney

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County Attorney

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  • First female: Rose Sosnowsky Silver in 1969[31][32]
  • First Latino American female: Patricia A. Orozco (1989) in 1999[18][19]

Assistant County Attorney

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  • First female: Loretta Savage Whitney in 1943[10]

Political Office

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State Bar of Arizona

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  • First female (president): Roxana C. Bacon in 1991[36]
  • First openly lesbian female (president): Amelia Craig Cramer in 2012[37]
  • First Asian American (female) (president): Lisa Loo (1988) in 2016[38][39]
  • First Latino American female (president): Jessica Sanchez in 2022[40]

Firsts in local history

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  • Donna Grimsley:[41] First female to serve on the Apache County Superior Court, Arizona (2003)
  • Ann Littrell:[42] First female to serve on the Cochise County Superior Court in Arizona
  • Helen Colton:[43] First female judge in Coconino County, Arizona (1919)
  • Ann Kirkpatrick (1979):[44] First female Deputy County Attorney for Coconino County, Arizona
  • Daisy Flores:[45] First female County Attorney in Gila County, Arizona
  • Monica Lynn Stauffer:[46] First female to serve on the Superior Court of Greenlee County, Arizona (1998)
  • Jessica Quickle:[47] First female judge in La Paz County, Arizona (2018)
  • Anita Lewis Chávez (1947):[4][12][13] Reputed to be the first Latino American female lawyer in Maricopa County, Arizona
  • Gloria Ybarra:[4] First Hispanic female to serve on the Maricopa County Superior Court, Arizona (1985)
  • Sarah D. Grant:[5] First female to serve as the Presiding Criminal Judge in the Maricopa County Superior Court
  • Rosa Mroz:[16][17] First Asian American female to serve on the Maricopa County Superior Court (2004)
  • Barbara Rodriguez Mundell:[48] First Hispanic female to serve as the Presiding Judge of Maricopa County, Arizona (2005)
  • Roxanne Song Ong:[7][8] First Asian female to serve as the Presiding Judge of the Phoenix Municipal Court (Maricopa County, Arizona; 2005)
  • Allister Adel:[49] First female to serve as the County Attorney of Maricopa County, Arizona (2019)
  • Charlotte Wells:[50] First female judge in Mohave County, Arizona (2002)
  • Carolyn Holliday:[51][52] First female elected to the Superior Court of Navajo County, Arizona, (1996) and serve as its Presiding Judge (1999)
  • Mary Anne Richey (née Reimann):[2][30] First female to serve as the Deputy County Attorney in Pima County, Arizona (1952)
  • Alice Truman:[53] First female Justice of the Peace and judge in Pima County, Arizona (1962)
  • Rose Sosnowsky Silver:[31][32] First female appointed as the Pima County Attorney (1969)
  • Barbara LaWall (1976):[54] First female elected as the Pima County Attorney (1996)
  • Lina Rodriguez (1977):[4][55] First Hispanic American to serve on the Pima County Superior Court, Arizona (1984)
  • Laine Sklar:[56] First female magistrate in Marana, Arizona (c. 2006) [Pima County, Arizona]
  • Margarita Bernal (c. 1979):[57] First Latino American female to serve as a municipal court judge in Tucson, Arizona [Pima County, Arizona]
  • Anna Montoya-Paez:[58] First female elected to the Santa Cruz County Superior Court, Arizona
  • Sheila Polk (1982):[54] First female to serve as the Yavapai County Attorney (2004)
  • Nellie T. Bush and Emeline Ferguson:[9] First females elected as Justices of the Peace in Yuma County, Arizona (1914)
  • Patricia A. Orozco (1989):[18][19] First Latino American female appointed as the County Attorney for Yuma County, Arizona (1999)

See also

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Other topics of interest

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References

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  2. ^ a b c Arizona, State Bar of. "Diversity". State Bar of Arizona. Retrieved 2018-01-20.
  3. ^ a b "Jean Williams, 1st Black female municipal judge in Phoenix, dies". azcentral. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Smith, Zachary Alden (2002). Politics and Public Policy in Arizona. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780275971182.
  5. ^ a b Ryan, Michael D. (November 2000). "FEATURE: ARIZONA TRAILBLAZERS: HONORING 100 WOMEN AND MINORITY LAWYERS". AZ Attorney. 37: 20.
  6. ^ Ryan, Michael D. (November 2000). "Arizona Trailblazers: Honoring 100 Women & Minority Lawyers". AZ Attorney. 37: 20.
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  8. ^ a b c "Board of Directors". www.azflse.org. Retrieved 2018-12-22.
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  10. ^ a b Osselaer, Heidi J. (2016-05-26). Winning Their Place: Arizona Women in Politics, 1883-1950. University of Arizona Press. ISBN 978-0-8165-3472-2.
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  13. ^ a b "Nurturing Tradition, Fostering Change: Patriotism, Community Service and the Women's Auxiliary of American Legion Tony F. Soza-Ray Martínez Post 41 :: Arizona Latinos in Public Service". azmemory.azlibrary.gov. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
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  18. ^ a b c Guerra, Mary Dolores (Fall 2013). "Latina and Latino Judges: Changing the Complexion of the Bench". Florida A & M University Law Review. 9: 145–181.
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  20. ^ Campbell, Katie (2018-10-26). "Transgender judge takes bench as gender issues heat up | Arizona Capitol Times". Retrieved 2022-02-17.
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  22. ^ Brown, Brandon (Jul 6, 2022). "Arizona's first Muslim judge takes the bench". Phoenix Business Journal. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
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