Firsts in state history
Lawyers
- William A. Price (1873) and Allen W. Wilder (1873) [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] First African American male lawyers in Texas. Due to his mixed ancestry, Price was also the first Native American male lawyer in Texas. [7]
- John N. Johnson (1883): [5] [8] First African American male lawyer admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Texas
- José Tomás Canales (1899), Manuel C. Gonzales (1924), and Alonso S. Perales (1926): [9] [10] First Mexican American male lawyers respectively in Texas
- Wellington Yee Chew (1951) and Jimmie F.Y. Lee (1957): [11] [12] First Chinese American male lawyers respectively in Texas
Judicial Officers
State
Judges
- William A. Price (1873): [5] [6] First African American male judge in Texas. He may also be considered the first Native American male judge in Texas. [7]
- Harrel Tillman (1962): [13] First African American male to serve as a municipal court judge in Texas (1964)
- Carlos Cadena (1940): [14] First Hispanic American male to serve as a Chief Justice of a Texas court (1977)
- Jerry Birdwell: [15] First openly LGBT male judge in Texas (1992)
- John Paul Barnich (1980): [16] First openly LGBT male to become a city judge in Texas (1999)
- Jay (Ceyhun) Karahan: [17] First Turkish American male judge in Texas (2003)
- Jim Evans: [18] First openly LGBT male to become a family court judge in Texas (2017) [19]
- Nick Chu: [20] [21] First Asian American male to serve as a Justice of the Peace in Texas (2017)
- Jason Luong: [22] [23] First Asian American male (who is of Vietnamese descent) elected as a criminal district court judge in Texas (2019)
County Court
District Court
- Steven Kirkland: [26] [27] First openly LGBT male district court judge in Texas (2008)
- Ravi Sandill: [28] First South Asian male district court judge in Texas (2009)
Appellate Court
- Henry E. Doyle: [12] First African American male to serve as an appellate judge in Texas (1978) [29]
- Albert Armendariz, Sr. (1950): [30] [31] First Hispanic American male appointed as a Judge of the Texas Court of Appeals (1986)
- Louis Sturns: [32] First African American male appointed as a Judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (1990)
- Morris Overstreet (1975): [33] First African American male elected as a Judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (1991)
- Fortunato "Pete" Benavides: [34] First Latino American male to serve as Judge on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
- Charles Spain: [35] First openly LGBT male to serve as an appellate court judge in Texas (2018)
Supreme Court
- Raul A. Gonzalez Jr. (1966): [36] First Hispanic American male appointed as an Associate Justice of the Texas Supreme Court (1984)
- David Wellington Chew: [37] First Asian American male to serve as a Justice (1995) and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas (2006)
- Wallace B. Jefferson: [38] First African American male appointed as a Justice of the Texas Supreme Court (2001) and Chief Justice (2004)
Federal
- Robert L. Pitman: [39] First openly LGBT male to become a federal judge in Texas (2014) [40]
District Court
- Reynaldo Guerra Garza: [41] First Hispanic American male appointed as a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas (1974)
- Hipolito Frank Garcia (1951): [42] First Hispanic American male appointed as a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas (1979)
- Sam A. Lindsay (1977): [43] First African American male appointed as a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas (1998)
- Jason K. Pulliam: [44] First African American male appointed as a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas (2019)
Attorney General
- Dan Morales (c. 1981): [45] [46] First Mexican American male to serve as the Attorney General of Texas (1990)
Solicitor General
- Ted Cruz (c. 1995): [47] [48] First Hispanic American male to serve as the Solicitor General of Texas (2003-2008)
- James C. Ho: [49] First Asian American male to serve as the Solicitor General of Texas (2008–2010)
United States Attorney
- Jose Antonio "Tony" Canales: [50] First Hispanic American male to serve as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas (1977)
- Robert L. Pitman: [39] First openly LGBT male to serve as a U.S. Attorney in Texas (2011-2014)
- Nicholas Ganjei: [51] First person of color to serve as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas (2021)
- Alamdar S. Hamdani: [52] First Asian American male to serve as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas (2022)
- Damien Diggs: [53] First African American male to serve as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas (2023)
District Attorney
- William A. Price (1873) and Craig Watkins (1994): [6] [54] [55] First African American males elected respectively as a District Attorney in Texas (1876; 2006). Price was also the first Native American male to serve as a District Attorney in Texas. [7]
Assistant District Attorney
Political Office
- Ted Cruz (c. 1995): [47] [48] First Hispanic American male to serve as the United States Senator from Texas (2013)
Bar Association
- Richard Pena: [59] [60] First Hispanic American male (and first minority in general) to serve as the President of the State Bar of Texas (1998)
- Rehan Alimohammad: [28] First Asian American male and immigration law attorney to serve as Chair of the Board for the State Bar of Texas