The number of women in the United States judiciary has increased as more women have entered law school, but women still face significant barriers in pursuing legal careers.
Sidney Runyan Thomas is an American lawyer and jurist serving as a senior U.S. circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit since 1996. He served as the Ninth Circuit's chief judge from 2014 to 2021. His chambers are located in Billings, Montana.
Karla Marie Gray was an American attorney and judge who served as the chief justice of the Montana Supreme Court; she was the first woman to serve as Chief Justice and to be elected to the Montana Supreme Court.
Susan Pamela Watters is an American attorney serving as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Montana. She is the first female judge to serve in the District of Montana.
Diane MacDonald Barz was an American judge. In 1978, she became the first female Montana District Court judge. She was also the first woman to serve as a member of the Montana Supreme Court, a position she held from September 1989 to 1991. She also served as an assistant United States attorney from 1991 to 1994.
William Edward Hunt, Sr. was an American soldier, lawyer, and jurist. He served as the County Attorney for Liberty County, Montana, and later as the mayor of Chester, Montana. During his tenure as mayor, he founded the Montana Consumers Council. From 1970 to 1975, he served as the Director of the Montana Aeronautics Commission. He was appointed the first Montana Workers' Compensation Court judge in July 1975, organizing the court and serving until August 1981. He won a nonpartisan election as an associate justice of the Montana Supreme Court in 1984, and served from January 2, 1985, until his retirement on December 31, 2000.
Kimberly Dudik is an American politician and attorney who served as a member of the Montana House of Representatives from 2013 to 2021. Dudik was a candidate for attorney general of Montana in the 2020 Democratic primary.
Doris Swords Poppler was an American attorney who served as the United States Attorney for the District of Montana from 1990 to 1993.
Laura Lykins was Oklahoma's first female lawyer. She was born on the Shawnee Indian Reservation in Kansas. Her mother was Caucasian whereas her father was the brother of the Shawnee chief Blue Jacket. Lykins graduated from the law department of the Carlisle Indian School in 1898 before relocating to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Later that same year, Lykins became the first female admitted to the Oklahoma State Bar.
Mary Frances Garrigus (1891-1918) was Montana's first Native American female lawyer.
