List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Georgia

This is a list of the first minority male lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Georgia. It includes the year in which the men were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are other distinctions such as the first minority men in their state to obtain a law degree or become a political figure.

Firsts in state history
Judson Whitlock Lyons: First African American male lawyer in Georgia (1884)

Lawyer
Judges
  • Austin "A.T." Walden (1911):[4] First African American male judge in Georgia (1964)
  • Alvin "Al" T. Wong (1976):[5] First Asian American male elected as a state court judge in Georgia (1998)
  • J. Antonio DelCampo:[6][7] First Hispanic American male to serve as a trial court judge in Georgia (2002)
  • Dean Carlos Bucci (1997):[8][9] First Hispanic American male to serve as a superior court judge in Georgia (2015)
Superior Court
  • Meng H. Lim (1998):[10][11][12] First Asian American male (Cambodian American) elected as a Superior Court judge in Georgia (2014)
Trial Court
Court of Appeals
Supreme Court
District Court

Attorney General

Assistant Solicitor General
  • Mazi Mazloom (1998):[26] First Iranian American male to serve as the Assistant Solicitor General for Georgia

United States Attorneys

District Attorney
  • Paul L. Howard, Jr.:[30] First African American male elected to serve as a District Attorney in Georgia (1997)

Political office
  • Sam Park:[31] First openly LGBT male (a Korean American lawyer) elected to the state legislature in Georgia (2017)

Firsts in local history

Alphabetized by county name

Region

Bibb County

Chatham County
  • Lester B. Johnson III (1979):[34] First African American male to serve as the President of the Savannah Bar Association (1996) [Chatham County, Georgia]

Columbia County
  • John "Jack" H. Ruffin Jr.:[18][19] First African American male admitted to the Augusta Bar Association (1961) and to serve as a Superior Court judge in the Augusta Judicial Circuit (1986) [Columbia and Richmond Counties, Georgia]

DeKalb County
  • William A. Pledger (c. 1880s):[35] First African American male lawyer in Atlanta, Georgia [DeKalb County and Fulton County, Georgia]
  • Clarence Cooper (1967):[36] First African American male Judge of the Atlanta Municipal Court (DeKalb County and Fulton County, Georgia; 1975). He would later become a district court judge.
  • Edward L. Baety (1968):[4] First African American male judge of the municipal traffic court in Atlanta, Georgia (DeKalb County and Fulton County, Georgia; 1975)
  • Alvin "Al" T. Wong (1976):[5] First Asian American male elected as a judge in DeKalb County, Georgia (1998)
  • Seth Kirschenbaum:[37] First Jewish male to serve as the President of the Atlanta Bar Association, Georgia (2001)
  • J. Antonio DelCampo:[6][7] First Hispanic American male to serve as a Judge of the State Court of DeKalb County in Georgia (2002)
  • Mike Jacobs:[38] First openly LGBT judge in DeKalb County, Georgia (2018)[39]

Fulton County
  • Bill Pledger (c. 1880s):[35] First African American male lawyer in Atlanta, Georgia [DeKalb County and Fulton County, Georgia]
  • Horace Ward (c. 1960):[40][14][15] First African American male to serve as a Judge of the Civil Court of Fulton County (1974) and Superior Court of Fulton County (1977), Georgia
  • Clarence Cooper (1967):[36] First African American male Judge of the Atlanta Municipal Court (DeKalb County and Fulton County, Georgia; 1975). He would later become a district court judge.
  • Edward L. Baety (1968):[4] First African American male judge of the municipal traffic court in Atlanta, Georgia (DeKalb County and Fulton County, Georgia; 1975)
  • Paul L. Howard, Jr.:[30] First African American male elected to serve as the District Attorney of Fulton County, Georgia (1997)

Gwinnett County
  • Robert D. Walker Jr. (1989):[41] First African American male judge in Gwinnett County, Georgia
  • Chung Hun Lee (1983):[42][43] First Korean American male lawyer and judge in Gwinnett County, Georgia
  • DJ Jeyaram:[44] First South Asian male judge in Gwinnett County, Georgia (2016)
  • Ramon Alvarado:[45] First Latino American and Korean American male judge in Gwinnett County, Georgia (2019)

Hall County
  • Joe Diaz:[46] First Latino American male to serve as a Judge in the Northeastern Judicial District, Georgia (2015) [Hall County, Georgia]

Haralson County

Henry County

Muscogee County

Paulding County
  • Dean Carlos Bucci (1997):[8][9] First Hispanic American male to serve as a Superior Court Judge of the Paulding Judicial Circuit, Georgia (2015)

Richmond County
  • John "Jack" H. Ruffin Jr.:[18][19] First African American male admitted to the Augusta Bar Association (1961) and to serve as a Superior Court judge in the Augusta Judicial Circuit (1986) [Columbia and Richmond Counties, Georgia]

Rockdale County

Thomas County

Tift County

Upson County

Whitfield County
  • Rodney B. Weaver:[54] First African American male to serve as a Judge of the Whitfield County Magistrate Court (2019)

See also

Other topics of interest

References
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