List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Connecticut

This is a list of the first minority male lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Connecticut. It includes the year in which the men were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are other distinctions such as the first minority men in their state to graduate from law school or become a political figure

Firsts in state history

Jose A. Cabranes: First Puerto Rican male Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut (1979)

Andrew J. McDonald: First gay male appointed as Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court (2013)

William Tong: First Asian American male Attorney General of Connecticut (2018)

Lawyers

• First Jewish American male: Morris Goodhart (1867) ^[1]
• First African American male admitted to the Connecticut State Bar: Edwin Archer Randolph (1880) ^[2]
• First African American to actually practice law in Connecticut: Walter J. Scott (1882) ^{[3] [4]}
• First African American male (federal prosecutor): Robert D. Glass (1951) in 1966 ^[5]
• First to found a black law firm: John F. Merchant, Eugene Spear and L. Scott Melville (1962) ^[6]
• First Latino American male: Antonio Robaina (1972) ^[7]
• First Asian American male: Jackie Chan (1974) ^[7]

State judges

• First Jewish American male (judicial officer): Solomon Elsner in 1921 ^[8]
• First African American male (judicial officer): Howard Drew (c. 1940s) ^{[9] [3]}
• First African American male (judge): Boce W. Barlow Jr. in 1957 ^[10]
• First Jewish American male (Connecticut Supreme Court): Samuel Mellitz in 1958 ^[8]
• First African American male (now-defunct Connecticut Circuit Court): John Daly in 1961 ^[7]
• First African American male (Connecticut Common Pleas Court): Robert L. Levister (1956) in 1974 ^{[7] [11]}
• First African American male (Connecticut Superior Court): Robert L. Levister (1956) in 1976 ^{[7] [11]}
• First Greek American male (Connecticut Superior Court): Socrates Mihalakos in 1985 ^[12]
• First African American male (Connecticut Court of Appeals): Flemming L. Norcott Jr. in 1987 ^[7]
• First African American male (Connecticut Supreme Court): Robert D. Glass (1951) in 1987 ^{[13] [14]}
• First African American male (administrative judge): Eugene Spear in 1989 ^[7]
• First African American male (chief judge): Eugene Spear in 1991 ^[7]
• First Latino American male: Eddie Rodriguez in 1994 ^{[7] [15]}
• First Muslim and South Asian male (Pakistani descent): M. (Mohammad) Nawaz Wahla in 2010 ^{[16] [17]}
• First openly gay male (Connecticut Supreme Court): Andrew J. McDonald (1991) in 2013 ^{[18] [19] [20]}
• First African American male (Chief Justice; Connecticut Supreme Court): Richard A. Robinson in 2018 ^{[21] [22]}

Federal judges

• First Puerto Rican male (U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut): José A. Cabranes (1965) in 1979 ^{[23] [24]}
• First (male) public defender of color (U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut): Omar A. Williams ^[25]

Attorney General of Connecticut

• First Italian American male: Francis A. Pallotti in 1939 ^[26]
• First Jewish American male (to serve in a full-time capacity): Joe Lieberman in 1983 ^[27]
• First Asian American male: William Tong in 2018 ^{[28] [29]}

Assistant Attorney General of Connecticut

• First Jewish American male: Joseph A. Levy in 1936 ^[8]
• First South Asian male: Rupal Shah Palanki in 2003 ^[7]

Assistant United States Attorney / United States Attorney

• First Jewish American male to serve in both capacities: George H. Cohen (c. 1934-1935) ^[8]

Public Defender

• First African American male: Eugene Spear in 1978 ^[7]

Political Office

• First African American openly LGBT male (Connecticut State Treasurer elect): Erick Russell in 2022 ^[30]

Firsts in local history

• Henry J. Marks (1940): ^[31] First Jewish male to serve as the President of the Hartford County Bar Association
• Robert Glass (1949): ^{[13] [14]} First African American male lawyer in Waterbury, Connecticut
• Robert L. Levister (1956): ^[11] First African American male lawyer in Stamford, Connecticut
• Jackie Chan (1974): ^[7] First Asian American male to serve as the President of the Danbury Bar Association, Connecticut
• Sung Ho Hwang: ^[7] First Asian American male to serve as the President of the New Haven Bar Association (2012)

See also

• List of first minority male lawyers and judges in the United States

Other topics of interest

• List of first women lawyers and judges in the United States
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Connecticut

References

1. The Menorah: A Monthly Magazine for the Jewish Home. Menorah Publishing Company. 1893.
2. Dubois, Mark A. (March 2015). "President's Message: "All Progress in Social Matters is Gradual"" (PDF). Connecticut Lawyer.
3. Smith, J. Clay Jr. (1999). Emancipation: The Making of the Black Lawyer, 1844-1944. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN   978-0-8122-1685-1.
4. Although Randolph proceeded Scott, he returned to his home state of Virginia soon after being admitted to the Connecticut State Bar in 1880.
5. "So Far: Sixty Years of Helping People Learn to Help Others - 60th Anniversary". North Carolina Central University School of Law. Retrieved 2021-02-28.
6. Tepfer, Daniel (March 6, 2020). "John Merchant, civil rights, golf legend dies". Connecticut Post.
7. "Historical Context: Pre-1900 to Present". Connecticut Bar Foundation.
8. Rhode Island Jewish Historical Notes. Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association. 2005.
9. "Black History Month: Howard Drew". connecticut.news12.com. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
10. "Boce W. Barlow Jr., 89; Connecticut's First Black Judge, Senator". Los Angeles Times. 2005-02-02. ISSN   0458-3035 . Retrieved 2018-01-10.
11. Legislation, Law &. "LibGuides Home: Judge & Attorney Biographies: Judges & Attorneys - L". libguides.ctstatelibrary.org. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
12. "The AHEPAN - Summer 2009 - AHEPA Family Chapter News". www.nxtbook.com. Retrieved 2024-06-06.
13. "Leaving Behind More Than Memories". The New York Times. 2002. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2018-01-11.
14. "The Legacy of the Hon. Robert Glass: The First African-American Connecticut Supreme Court Justice | UConn School of Law". www.law.uconn.edu. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
15. Rodriguez was the first Latino male to serve as a judge in Connecticut. He was preceded by Judge Carmen Espinosa, who became the first Latino judge in Connecticut in 1992.
16. "Honorable M. Nawaz Wahla | EastWest Institute". www.eastwest.ngo. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
17. "Diverse group of judges approved-- for three months". CT Mirror. 2010-11-05. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
18. "Andrew McDonald '91 Nominated Chief Justice of CT Supreme Court | UConn School of Law". www.law.uconn.edu. Retrieved 2018-01-29.
19. "Connecticut Bar Association LGBT Section Gathering with Connecticut Supreme Court Justice Andrew McDonald". Freed Marcroft LLC. 2013-11-15. Retrieved 2018-01-29.
20. Anapol, Avery (2018-01-09). "Connecticut set to have first openly gay state supreme court chief justice". TheHill. Retrieved 2018-01-29.
21. Keating, Christopher. "Senate Approves Richard Robinson As First African-American Chief Justice Of The State Supreme Court". courant.com. Retrieved 2019-07-22.
22. Jones, Harriet. "Robinson Sworn In As Connecticut's First Black Chief Justice". www.wnpr.org. Retrieved 2019-07-22.
23. Vile, John R. (2003). Great American Judges: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. ISBN   9781576079898.
24. Schultz, Jeffrey D. (2000). Encyclopedia of Minorities in American Politics: Hispanic Americans and Native Americans. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN   9781573561495.
25. "Recap: Latino Judicial Nominations in 2021". The White House. Retrieved 2022-01-27.
26. LaCava, Louis S. (2007). Egidio: Ora Et Labora, Volume II. Dorrance Publishing Company, Incorporated. ISBN   978-0-8059-7269-6.
27. Pazniokas, Mark (2024-03-27). "Joe Lieberman, former U.S. senator and VP candidate, has died". CT Mirror. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
28. "Connecticut's first Asian American attorney general". Northwest Asian Weekly. 2018-12-02. Retrieved 2018-12-14.
29. Kei-Rahn, Jordan (2018-11-25). "Tong '95 elected Connecticut's first Asian-American attorney general". Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 2018-12-14.
30. Golvala, Katy (2022-11-09). "Erick Russell wins CT treasurer election in historic win". CT Mirror. Retrieved 2022-11-09.
31. Hartford County Bar Association (2008). "Hartford County Bar Association Presidents" (PDF). Hartford County Bar Association.