List of first women lawyers and judges in North Dakota

Last updated May 31, 2024

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

Firsts in North Dakota's history

Lawyers

First female: Helen Hamilton (c. 1925)^[1]
First female to argue before the North Dakota Supreme Court: Mildred Johnson (1939)^[2]^[3]^[4]

State judges

First female (tribal judge for the Lakota on the Pine Ridge Reservation): Rose K. Ecoffey during the 1940s^[5]^[6]^[7]
First female (North Dakota Supreme Court): Beryl J. Levine (1974) in 1985^[8]
First female (district court): Cynthia A. Rothe-Seeger (1975) in 1988^[9]
First female (Southwest Judicial District): Rhonda Ehlis in 2015^[10]
First female (Southeast Judicial District): Cherie Clark in 2017^[11]

Federal judges

First female (bankruptcy court): Shon Hastings in 2011^[12]

Attorney General for North Dakota

First female: Heidi Heitkamp (1980) from 1993-2000^[13]

Political Office

First female (U.S. Senate): Heidi Heitkamp (1980) in 2013^[13]

State Bar Association of North Dakota

First female president: Rebecca Thiem in 1996^[14]

Firsts in local history

Rhonda Ehlis:^[10] First female appointed as a Judge of the Southwest Judicial District in North Dakota (2015) [Adams, Billings, Bowman, Dunn, Golden Valley, Hettinger, Slope and Stark Counties, North Dakota]
Cherie Clark:^[11] First female judge appointed to the Southeast Judicial District [Barnes, Dickey, Eddy, Foster, Griggs, Kidder, LaMoure, Logan, McIntosh, Ransom, Richland, Sargent, Stutsman and Wells Counties]
Cynthia A. Rothe-Seeger (1975):^[9] First female appointed as a Judge of the East Central Judicial District in North Dakota (1988) [Cass, Steele and Traill Counties, North Dakota]
Beryl J. Levine (1974):^[8]^[15] First female to serve as the President of the Cass County Bar Association, North Dakota (1984)
Haley Wamstad:^[16] First female elected as the state's attorney in Grand Forks County, North Dakota (2018)
Robin A. Schmidt:^[17] First female district judge in McKenzie County, North Dakota (2013)
Kirsten Sjue (2006):^[18]^[19] First female judge in Williams County, North Dakota (2015)

Related Research Articles

The North Dakota State College of Science (NDSCS) is a public college in Wahpeton, North Dakota. It is part of the North Dakota University System. Founded in 1903 by provision of the state constitution, the State College of Science offers degrees, certificates, and diplomas in more than 80 academic options in traditional career and technical studies as well as the liberal arts. The college also offers a variety of distance education and online courses.

Beryl Joyce Levine was a justice of the North Dakota Supreme Court from 1985 to 1996. Levine was the first ever female justice of the state's court.

Lisa K. Fair McEvers is a North Dakota lawyer and jurist who serves as a justice of the North Dakota Supreme Court since 2014. She previously served as Commissioner of the North Dakota Department of Labor from 2005 to 2010 and district judge from 2010 to 2014.

Cara D. Mund is an American attorney and former beauty pageant titleholder from Bismarck, North Dakota. In June 2017, she was crowned Miss North Dakota 2017. On September 10, 2017, she was crowned Miss America 2018 in Atlantic City and became the first contestant from North Dakota to win the competition.

Jon J. Jensen is an American lawyer and judge, who is the chief justice of the North Dakota Supreme Court. He previously served as a district court judge in North Dakota from 2013 to 2017.

Eugene Allan Burdick was a judge in North Dakota's Fifth Judicial District and a surrogate judge of the North Dakota Supreme Court. He was on the bench from 1953 until he retired in 1978.

John Francis Cowan was a prominent North Dakota lawyer, politician, Attorney General, and judge. While serving as the Judge of the Second Judicial District of North Dakota, Cowan became the first person in state history to face impeachment charges.

Michael A. Dwyer is an American attorney, farmer, and politician serving as a member of the North Dakota Senate from the 47th district. Elected in November 2018, he assumed office on December 1, 2018.

Douglas Bahr is an American lawyer who has served as a justice of the North Dakota Supreme Court since 2023. He served as a state court judge from 2018 to 2023.

References

↑ "20th Annual Helen Hamilton Day". www.ndcourts.gov. Archived from the original on 2013-10-26. Retrieved 2016-10-06.
↑ "Mildred Johnson, 96". Daily News & News Monitor. Archived from the original on 2019-07-14. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
↑ "INFORUM: One of ND's first female lawyers reflects on career: North Dakota State College of Science (NDSCS) | Wahpeton/Fargo". www.ndscs.edu. Archived from the original on 2019-07-14. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
↑ Glass-Moore, Adrian; Sep 19th 2014 - 11pm, Forum News Service |. "Mildred Johnson, first woman to serve on ND higher education board, dies at age 96". The Dickinson Press. Archived from the original on 2019-07-14. Retrieved 2019-07-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
↑ Dowling, Timothy C. (2005). Personal Perspectives: World War II. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781851095759. Archived from the original on 2022-03-27. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
↑ The Michigan Historical Review. Clarke Historical Library at Central Michigan University. 1994. Archived from the original on 2022-03-27. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
↑ Reyer, Carolyn; Medicine, Beatrice; Plume, Debra Lynn White (December 1991). Cante ohitika win (brave-hearted women): images of Lakota women from the Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota. University of South Dakota Press. ISBN 9780929925141.
1 2 "Beryl J. Levine". www.ndcourts.gov. Archived from the original on 2017-10-23. Retrieved 2018-01-09.
1 2 "Cynthia A. Rothe-Seeger, District Judge". www.ndcourts.gov. Archived from the original on 2018-05-28. Retrieved 2018-01-09.
1 2 Wernette, Andrew (2017-11-16). "Ehlis, first female Southwest District judge talks life, experience..." www.thedickinsonpress.com. Archived from the original on 2019-01-03. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
1 2 Nelson, TJ (September 14, 2017). "ND Judicial District to Swear in First Female Judge - KVRR Local News". KVRR Local News. Archived from the original on 2018-01-06. Retrieved 2018-01-06.
↑ "ND's federal bankruptcy court judge sworn in". Archived from the original on 2018-01-10. Retrieved 2018-01-10.
1 2 "Election Night in North Dakota on KFYR-TV North Dakota's NBC News Leader". 2013-05-20. Archived from the original on 2013-05-20. Retrieved 2018-11-19.
↑ "From Carbon Paper To The Cloud—50 Years Of Change - State Bar Association of North Dakota". www.sband.org. Archived from the original on 2019-01-03. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
↑ "Mother of Five Beryl Levine Cooks Up a Second Career—as a State Supreme Court Judge". PEOPLE.com. Archived from the original on 2019-01-03. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
↑ Williams, Tess (2018-11-10). "Haley Wamstad first woman elected as Grand Forks County state's..." www.grandforksherald.com. Archived from the original on 2019-01-03. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
↑ Ruggles, Kate (September 18, 2013). "SCHMIDT BECOMES STATE'S NEWEST DISTRICT JUDGE". www.watfordcitynd.com. Archived from the original on 2019-01-03. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
↑ "Kirsten M. Sjue, District Judge". www.ndcourts.gov. Archived from the original on 2018-02-18. Retrieved 2018-01-05.
↑ Hackenburg, Elizabeth (October 3, 2015). "Williston's own Sjue first female judge in Williams County". Williston Herald.

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[1] "20th Annual Helen Hamilton Day". www.ndcourts.gov. Archived from the original on 2013-10-26. Retrieved 2016-10-06.

[2] "Mildred Johnson, 96". Daily News & News Monitor. Archived from the original on 2019-07-14. Retrieved 2019-07-14.

[3] "INFORUM: One of ND's first female lawyers reflects on career: North Dakota State College of Science (NDSCS) | Wahpeton/Fargo". www.ndscs.edu. Archived from the original on 2019-07-14. Retrieved 2019-07-14.

[4] Glass-Moore, Adrian; Sep 19th 2014 - 11pm, Forum News Service |. "Mildred Johnson, first woman to serve on ND higher education board, dies at age 96". The Dickinson Press. Archived from the original on 2019-07-14. Retrieved 2019-07-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

[Dowling_2005-5] Dowling, Timothy C. (2005). Personal Perspectives: World War II. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781851095759. Archived from the original on 2022-03-27. Retrieved 2018-05-29.

[The_Michigan_Historical_Review-6] The Michigan Historical Review. Clarke Historical Library at Central Michigan University. 1994. Archived from the original on 2022-03-27. Retrieved 2018-05-29.

[7] Reyer, Carolyn; Medicine, Beatrice; Plume, Debra Lynn White (December 1991). Cante ohitika win (brave-hearted women): images of Lakota women from the Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota. University of South Dakota Press. ISBN 9780929925141.

[:4-8] 1 2 "Beryl J. Levine". www.ndcourts.gov. Archived from the original on 2017-10-23. Retrieved 2018-01-09.

[:1-9] 1 2 "Cynthia A. Rothe-Seeger, District Judge". www.ndcourts.gov. Archived from the original on 2018-05-28. Retrieved 2018-01-09.

[:2-10] 1 2 Wernette, Andrew (2017-11-16). "Ehlis, first female Southwest District judge talks life, experience..." www.thedickinsonpress.com. Archived from the original on 2019-01-03. Retrieved 2019-01-02.

[:0-11] 1 2 Nelson, TJ (September 14, 2017). "ND Judicial District to Swear in First Female Judge - KVRR Local News". KVRR Local News. Archived from the original on 2018-01-06. Retrieved 2018-01-06.

[12] "ND's federal bankruptcy court judge sworn in". Archived from the original on 2018-01-10. Retrieved 2018-01-10.

[:3-13] 1 2 "Election Night in North Dakota on KFYR-TV North Dakota's NBC News Leader". 2013-05-20. Archived from the original on 2013-05-20. Retrieved 2018-11-19.

[14] "From Carbon Paper To The Cloud—50 Years Of Change - State Bar Association of North Dakota". www.sband.org. Archived from the original on 2019-01-03. Retrieved 2019-01-02.

[15] "Mother of Five Beryl Levine Cooks Up a Second Career—as a State Supreme Court Judge". PEOPLE.com. Archived from the original on 2019-01-03. Retrieved 2019-01-02.

[16] Williams, Tess (2018-11-10). "Haley Wamstad first woman elected as Grand Forks County state's..." www.grandforksherald.com. Archived from the original on 2019-01-03. Retrieved 2019-01-02.

[17] Ruggles, Kate (September 18, 2013). "SCHMIDT BECOMES STATE'S NEWEST DISTRICT JUDGE". www.watfordcitynd.com. Archived from the original on 2019-01-03. Retrieved 2019-01-02.

[18] "Kirsten M. Sjue, District Judge". www.ndcourts.gov. Archived from the original on 2018-02-18. Retrieved 2018-01-05.

[19] Hackenburg, Elizabeth (October 3, 2015). "Williston's own Sjue first female judge in Williams County". Williston Herald.

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