List of first women lawyers and judges in Hawaii

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This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Hawaii. 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.

Contents

Firsts in Hawaii's history

Almeda Eliza Hitchcock: First female lawyer in Hawaii (1888) Almeda Eliza Hitchcock, c. 1886.jpg
Almeda Eliza Hitchcock: First female lawyer in Hawaii (1888)
Emma Kaili Metcalf Beckley Nakuina: Regarded as the first female judge in Hawaii (1892) Emma Kaili Metcalf Beckley Nakuina.jpg
Emma Kaili Metcalf Beckley Nakuina: Regarded as the first female judge in Hawaii (1892)
Patsy Mink: First Asian American female lawyer in Hawaii (1953) Patsy Mink 1970s.jpg
Patsy Mink: First Asian American female lawyer in Hawaii (1953)

Law School

Lawyers

State judges

Federal judges

Attorney General of Hawaii

United States Attorney

Assistant United States Attorney

Political Office

Hawaii Bar Association

Firsts in local history

See also

Other topics of interest

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linda Lingle</span> Governor of Hawaii from 2002 to 2010

Linda Lingle is an American politician who served as the sixth governor of Hawaii from 2002 to 2010. She was the first Republican elected governor of Hawaii since 1959, and was the state's first female and first Jewish governor. Prior to serving as governor, Lingle served as mayor of Maui County from 1991 to 1999 and as chair of the Hawaii Republican Party from 1999 to 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mazie Hirono</span> American lawyer and politician (born 1947)

Mazie Keiko Hirono is an American lawyer and politician serving since 2013 as the junior United States senator from Hawaii. A member of the Democratic Party, Hirono previously served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for Hawaii's 2nd congressional district from 2007 to 2013. Hirono also served as a member of the Hawaii House of Representatives from 1981 to 1995 and as Hawaii's tenth lieutenant governor from 1994 to 2002, under Ben Cayetano. She was the Democratic nominee for governor of Hawaii in 2002, but lost to Republican Linda Lingle.

Paula Aiko Nakayama is an American lawyer who served as an associate justice of the Hawaii State Supreme Court from 1993 to 2023. After Rhoda V. Lewis, Nakayama is second woman to ever serve on the Hawaii State Supreme Court. She is also the first Asian American woman to serve as a state supreme court justice nationwide. Currently serving her third term, Nakayama served her first term from 1993 to 2003 and her second term from 2003 to 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clayton Hee</span> American politician

Clayton H. W. Hee is a former Democratic Party member of the Hawaii Senate who represented the 23rd District from 2004 to 2014 and 1984 to 1988. Hee served as chairman of the state senate's Judiciary and Labor Committee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of Hawaii</span>

The politics of the U.S. state of Hawaii typically take place within the framework of a Democrat-dominated government. The Democratic Party in Hawaii was formed in 1900, by supporters of Queen Liliʻuokalani. For the first half of the twentieth century, the Republican Party ruled comfortably, dominating local politics until the end of World War II. After the war, Honolulu police officer John A. Burns began organizing plantation laborers, including many Japanese Americans and Filipino Americans and built a coalition that gradually strengthened the Democratic Party in Hawaii. This culminated in the Hawaii Democratic Revolution of 1954, after which Republican political influence in the islands was greatly diminished.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elections in Hawaii</span>

Elections in Hawaii are held for various local, state, and federal seats in the state of Hawaii. Regular elections are held every even year, although special elections may be held to fill vacancies at other points in time. The primary election is held on the second Saturday in August, while the general election is held on Election Day, which is the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2002 Hawaii gubernatorial election</span>

The 2002 Hawaii gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2002, to select the Governor of Hawaii. Incumbent Democratic Governor of Hawaii Ben Cayetano was term-limited and therefore could not run for re-election. Former Maui Mayor Linda Lingle, who had narrowly lost the 1998 election, was nominated once again by the Republicans while Lieutenant Governor Mazie Hirono earned the Democratic nomination in a tight race. Lingle and Hirono duked it out in a hard-fought campaign, with Hirono's campaign crippled by allegations of corruption within the Hawaii Democratic Party and many voters desiring a change. Ultimately Lingle defeated Hirono in a close election, making her the first Republican Governor of Hawaii elected since 1959 and the state's first-ever female governor. She was the first white person to be elected governor of the state since 1970. Lingle and Hirono faced off again in Hawaii’s 2012 U.S. Senate election; Hirono won that race and thus became the first female U.S. Senator in Hawaii history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Oki Mollway</span> American judge (born 1950)

Susan Naomi Oki Mollway is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii and the first East Asian woman and Japanese-American woman ever appointed to a life-time position on the federal bench.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 United States Senate election in Hawaii</span>

The 2012 United States Senate election in Hawaii took place on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the 2012 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate and House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic senator Daniel Akaka decided to retire instead of seeking a fourth full term. Democrat Mazie Hirono defeated Republican Linda Lingle in a rematch of Hawaii's 2002 gubernatorial election. This was the first open Senate seat in the state of Hawaii since 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Hawaii</span>

The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Hawaii were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, to elect the two U.S. representatives from the state, one from each of the state's two congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial presidential election and an election for the United States Senate. Primary elections were held on August 11, 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 United States Senate election in Hawaii</span>

The 2018 United States Senate election in Hawaii took place on November 6, 2018. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono ran for reelection to a second term. Hirono ran unopposed in her party's primary and was easily reelected, defeating Republican challenger Ron Curtis. She won the highest vote percentage of any U.S. Senate candidate in 2018. This election was the fifth consecutive cycle in which a senate election was held in Hawaii after elections in 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clare E. Connors</span> American attorney (born 1974)

Clare Elizabeth Connors is an American lawyer who has served as the United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii since 2022. She served as the 16th attorney general of Hawaii from January 3, 2019, to December 10, 2021. She was also a former nominee for United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jill Otake</span> American judge (born 1973)

Jill Aiko Otake is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marguerite Kamehaokalani Ashford</span> American lawyer

Marguerite Kamehaokalani Ashford became the first woman attorney to practice in the Territory of Hawaii. At the time of her 1916 admission to the Hawaii bar, she was the only woman attorney in Hawaii. Almeda Eliza Hitchcock had previously practiced law in the islands while Hawaii was still a kingdom, but had ceased her practice before the 1893 overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii. The third woman attorney in Hawaii was Carrick Hume Buck who was admitted to the Hawaii bar in 1924, making Ashford and Buck the only two practicing women attorneys in the territory as of that date.

Carrick Hume Buck was the first woman to be appointed a judge in Hawaii.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 United States Senate election in Hawaii</span>

The 2024 United States Senate election in Hawaii will be held on November 5, 2024, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Hawaii. Incumbent two-term Democratic senator Mazie Hirono was re-elected with 71.2% of the vote in 2018. Hirono is running for a third term. Primary elections took place on August 10, 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helaine Greenfeld</span> American lawyer

Helaine Ann Greenfeld is an American attorney who was the nominee to serve as Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs in the Biden administration.

Marybeth Yuen Maul was the first Asian-American female magistrate in Hawaii. She also served as a Molokai District Court judge for the County of Maui. Maul died on April 23, 2010, in Eugene, Oregon, at 85 years old.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Micah W. J. Smith</span> American judge (born 1981)

Micah William Janso Smith is an American lawyer from Hawaii who has served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii since 2024. He served as an assistant United States attorney for the District of Hawaii from 2018 to 2024.

References

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