List of LGBT state supreme court justices in the United States

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Below is a list of the names of openly LGBT persons who have served on the highest court of a state or territory in the United States.

Contents

The first state with an openly LGBT justice was Oregon, where Rives Kistler was named to the bench in 2003. [1] The first U.S. territory with an openly LGBT justice was Guam, where Benjamin Cruz was appointed in 1997. [2] As of October 2,2024, there are 11 openly LGBT state supreme court justices, serving in 9 states.

In U.S. states

Current

OrderStateCourtJusticeRefService as justiceAs chief justiceMandatory retirement
1Flag of Colorado.svg  Colorado Colorado Supreme Court Monica Márquez [3] 2010–present2024–present2041
2Flag of Hawaii.svg  Hawaii Supreme Court of Hawaii Sabrina McKenna [4] 2011–present2027
3Flag of Connecticut.svg  Connecticut Connecticut Supreme Court Andrew J. McDonald [5] 2013–present2024–present2036
4Flag of Washington.svg  Washington Washington Supreme Court Mary Yu [6] 2014–present2032
5Flag of Nevada.svg  Nevada Supreme Court of Nevada Lidia S. Stiglich [7] 2016–present2023–20242024
6Flag of New Mexico.svg  New Mexico New Mexico Supreme Court C. Shannon Bacon [8] 2019–present2022–20242026
7Flag of Washington.svg  Washington Washington Supreme Court Helen Whitener [9] 2020–present2039
8Flag of California.svg  California Supreme Court of California Martin Jenkins [10] 2020–present2034
9Flag of New York.svg  New York New York State Court of Appeals Anthony Cannataro [11] 2021–present2022–20232035
10Flag of California.svg  California Supreme Court of California Kelli Evans [12] 2023–present2026
11Flag of Massachusetts.svg  Massachusetts Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Gabrielle Wolohojian [13] 2024–present2030

Former

OrderStateCourtJusticeRefService as justice
1Flag of Oregon.svg  Oregon Oregon Supreme Court Rives Kistler [1] 2003–2018
2Flag of Oregon.svg  Oregon Oregon Supreme Court Virginia Linder [14] 2007–2016
3Flag of Massachusetts.svg  Massachusetts Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Barbara Lenk [15] 2011–2020
4Flag of New York.svg  New York New York State Court of Appeals Paul Feinman [16] 2017–2021
5Flag of Vermont.svg  Vermont Vermont Supreme Court Beth Robinson [17] 2011–2021
6Flag of Oregon.svg  Oregon Oregon Supreme Court Lynn Nakamoto [18] 2016–2021
7Flag of Massachusetts.svg  Massachusetts Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Elspeth B. Cypher [19] 2017–2024
8Flag of Minnesota.svg  Minnesota Minnesota Supreme Court Margaret Chutich [20] 2016–2024

In U.S. territories

OrderTerritoryCourtJusticeRefService as justiceAs chief justice
1Flag of Guam.svg  Guam Supreme Court of Guam Benjamin Cruz [2] 1997–20011999–2001
2Flag of Puerto Rico.svg  Puerto Rico Supreme Court of Puerto Rico Maite Oronoz Rodríguez [21] 2014–20162016–present

See also

Other topics of interest

Related Research Articles

Benjamin Joseph Franquez "B. J." Cruz is a Chamorro lawyer, jurist, and politician who served as the Speaker of the 34th Guam Legislature from 2017 to 2018 and as Vice Speaker from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the Guam Legislature from 2005 to 2007 and again from 2008 to 2018. He was Chief Justice of the Guam Supreme Court from 1999 to 2001. In September 2018, Cruz was elected to serve as Public Auditor of Guam.

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Virginia Lynn Linder is an American judge from Oregon who served as the 99th justice of the Oregon Supreme Court from January 2007 until January 2016. She served on the Oregon Court of Appeals from 1997 until her election to the state's Supreme Court in the 2006, an electoral campaign in which she defeated former Labor Commissioner and Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Roberts.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaret Chutich</span> American judge (born 1958)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maite Oronoz Rodríguez</span> Puerto Rican judge (born 1976)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elspeth B. Cypher</span> American judge (born 1959)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Cannataro</span> American judge (born 1965)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelli Evans</span> American judge (born 1968 or 1969)

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References

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