List of first women lawyers and judges in Rhode Island

This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Rhode Island. 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 state history

Mary Ann Greene: First female lawyer to argue a case before the Rhode Island Supreme Court (1907)

Lawyers

• First female to argue a case before the Rhode Island Supreme Court: Mary Ann Greene (1888; Massachusetts) in 1907 ^[1]
• First female: Ada Lewis Sawyer (1920) ^[2]
• First African American female: Dorothy Crockett (1932) ^{[3] [4]}

Law Clerk

• First female to clerk for Rhode Island's federal courts: Sandra L. Lynch (1971) ^[5]

State judges

• First female: Florence K. Murray (1942) in 1956 ^[6]
• First female (district court): Corinne P. Grande in 1969 ^{[7] [8]}
• First female (Chief Justice; Rhode Island Superior Court): Florence K. Murray (1942) from 1978-1979 ^[6]
• First female (Rhode Island Supreme Court): Florence K. Murray (1942) from 1979-1996 ^[6]
• First Jewish American female (Rhode Island Supreme Court): Victoria Lederberg in 1993 ^[9]
• First openly lesbian female: Melissa Dubose in 2019 ^[10]
• First African American (female) (Rhode Island Supreme Court): Melissa A. Long in 2021 ^[11]
• First Asian American (female) (superior court): Linda Rekas Sloan in 2021 ^[12]
• First Latino American female (Rhode Island Family Court): Elizabeth Ortiz in 2021 ^[12]
• First Indian American (female) (Rhode Island Family Court): Shilpa Naik in 2022 ^[13]

Federal judges

• First African American female (U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit): Ojetta Rogeriee Thompson (1976) in 2010 ^[14]
• First female (United States Magistrate Judge; United States District Court, District of Rhode Island): Patricia Sullivan in 2012 ^[15]
• First African American and LGBT [female] (United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island): Melissa R. DuBose in 2024 ^[16]

Attorney General of Rhode Island

• First female: Arlene Violet (1974) in 1985 ^{[17] [18]}

Deputy Attorney General

• First female: Susan E. McGuirl ^[19]

United States Attorney

• First female: Margaret E. Curran (1983) from 1998-2003 ^[20]

Public Defender

• First female: Mary S. McElroy in 2012 ^[21]

Rhode Island Bar Association

• First female president: Beverly Glen Long from 1981-1982 ^[22]
• First Jewish American female president: Susan DeBlasio in 1989 ^[9]
• First African American (female): Jametta Alston in 2004 ^[23]

Political Office

• First female (senator): Florence K. Murray (1942) ^[6]
• First openly lesbian female (Rhode Island Senate; Fifteenth District): Donna Nesselbush (c. 1991) in 2011 ^[24]

Firsts in local history

• Angelyne Cooper: ^[12] First African American (female) to serve as a municipal court judge in Cranston, Providence County, Rhode Island (2021)
• Elizabeth Ortiz: ^[25] First Latino American female to serve as a municipal court judge in Central Falls (2019) [ Providence County, Rhode Island]
• Debra L. Chernick: ^[26] First female President of the Washington County Bar Association, Rhode Island (2000-2004)

See also

• List of first women lawyers and judges in the United States
• Timeline of women lawyers in the United States
• Women in law

Other topics of interest

• List of first minority male lawyers and judges in the United States
• List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Rhode Island

References

1. "Women's Legal History | Biographical Search". Women's Legal History. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
2. Association, American Bar (June 1975). ABA Journal. American Bar Association.
3. "New England Law | Boston – Centennial Exhibit (Blanche Braxton and Dorothy Crockett - Portia Law School 1921 and 1931)". student.nesl.edu. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
4. Bell, Andrew J. (May 1997). An assessment of life in Rhode Island as an African American in the era from 1918 to 1993. Vantage Press. ISBN   9780533120659.
5. "Sandra L. Lynch '68". Wellesley College. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
6. Delaney, Michael. "Irish who left their mark on Rhode Island sod". providencejournal.com. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
7. Mooney, Tom. "Passages: Judge Corinne P. Grande, 89, presided over von Bulow retrial". providencejournal.com. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
8. Friendly, Jon (June 2, 1985). "Judge Grande: She Keeps Von Bulow Case on Track". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved July 14, 2019.
9. Rhode Island Jewish Historical Notes. Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association. 2005.
10. Mulvaney, Katie. "Raimondo leaves legacy of diversity in RI courts". The Providence Journal. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
11. "Melissa Long sworn in as first Black justice in RI Supreme Court". WPRI.com. January 11, 2021. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
12. "Judicial appointments of women of color make R.I. history". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
13. "Governor McKee Swears in Five Judges | Governor's Office, State of Rhode Island". governor.ri.gov. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
14. "Senate Confirms O. Rogeriee Thompson for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit | U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island". www.whitehouse.senate.gov. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
15. Mulvaney, Katie. "Pushing the bar in R.I.: 5 women who blazed trails through the legal system". providencejournal.com. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
16. "Melissa DuBose, a Black lesbian judge, makes R.I. history". www.advocate.com. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
17. Weatherford, Doris (2012). Women in American Politics: History and Milestones. Los Angeles: CQ Press. pp. 76–77. ISBN   978-1-60871-007-2.
18. Rutgers, Center for American Women And Politics (accessed 5/23/2007) Archived May 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
19. Mulvaney, Katie. "Judge who unseated Corrigan has worked on high-profile RI cases". providencejournal.com. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
20. Congressional Record, V. 144, Pt. 19, October 19, 1998 to December 19, 1998. Government Printing Office.
21. Botelho, Jessica. "McElroy sworn in as first female RI Public Defender". Warwick Beacon. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
22. "Rhode Island Bar Association". www.ribar.com. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
23. Botelho, Bridget (May 17, 2004). "Incoming bar president promotes diversity". Providence Business News. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
24. "Marriage Equality Rhode Island: Sen. Donna Nesselbush talks to GET (signing ceremony VIDEO) - Rhode Islands Premier All Inclusive Magazine | GET RI Magazine". get-ri.com. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
25. Brito, Arelis Peña (January 29, 2019). "Nombran primera jueza latina en Tribunal Municipal de Central Falls". Acontecer Latino (in European Spanish). Retrieved July 28, 2022.
26. "Debra L. Chernick Esq. | Sayer Regan & Thayer, LLP | Newport, Rhode Island". Sayer Regan & Thayer, LLP. Retrieved December 25, 2018.