This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Kentucky. 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.
The Carmel Indians are a group of Melungeons who lived in Magoffin County, Kentucky and moved to Highland County, Ohio. Dr. Edward Price observed that the most common surnames among the families were Gibson, Nichols and Perkins. His research found that the ancestors of the group were listed as free people of color on census records. Paternal line descendants of Bryson Gibson and Valentine Collins who participated in the Melungeon DNA Project belong to Haplogroup E-M2. The group were listed as free Black and Mulatto in Kentucky prior to the American Civil War.
The United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky is the federal district court for the western part of the state of Kentucky.
William Eugene McAnulty Jr. was an American attorney and judge in Louisville, Kentucky who became the first African American justice on the Kentucky Supreme Court. He served on every level court in Kentucky.
The NAACP in Kentucky is very active with branches all over the state, largest being in Louisville and Lexington. The Kentucky State Conference of NAACP continues today to fight against injustices and for the equality of all people.
Ruth Booker-Bryant (1923-2013) was an American social and human rights activist. Booker-Bryant was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1923 and lived in Kentucky before dying in 2013. She was known for her activism and work in civil rights, fair housing, and the fight for better housing conditions in Louisville. Booker-Bryant received many awards in her life, including the Carl and Anne Braden lifetime achievement award in 2011 and was also inducted into the Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame. Booker-Bryant was also a Buddhist member of the Soka Gakkai International. She was married to Louisville civil rights activist, Roscoe C. Bryant Jr. who fought and became the first African-American physician on the Louisville and Jefferson County Board of Health.
Ashley Tackett Laferty is an American attorney and politician serving as a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from the 95th district. Elected in November 2018, she assumed office on January 1, 2019. Laferty is considered to be a conservative Southern Democrat.
Charles W. Anderson Jr. was a lawyer, state legislator and civil rights leader in Kentucky. He served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1935 until 1946.
The 2024 Kentucky Supreme Court election was held in the 5th district of the Kentucky Supreme Court on November 5, 2024. The court consists of seven justices elected in nonpartisan elections to staggered eight-year terms. District 5, composed of eight counties in the Lexington area, was the only district up for election in 2024.
Pamela R. Goodwine is an American judge serving as Justice-elect of the Kentucky Supreme Court, a position to which she was elected in November 2024. She previously held roles as a district and circuit judge in Fayette County and as a judge on the Kentucky Court of Appeals, becoming the first Black woman from Lexington to serve on both the appellate and Supreme Court levels in Kentucky.