List of first women lawyers and judges in Indiana

This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Indiana. 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 obtain a law degree or become a political figure.

Firsts in state history

Lawyers
  • Elizabeth Eaglesfield (1875):[1] First female lawyer in Indiana
  • Antoinette Dakin Leach (1893):[2] First female admitted to practice law after appealing to the Indiana Supreme Court
  • Helen Elsie Austin (1930):[3] First African American female lawyer in Indiana
  • Lourdes Dellota Alba (1966):[4] First Asian American female (of Filipino descent) female lawyer in Indiana
Judges
  • Ella Groninger:[5] First female judge in Indiana (1919)
  • V. Sue Shields:[6][7] First female elected judge in Indiana (1964)[8]
  • Linda Lucille Chezem:[9] First female to serve as a county judge in Indiana (1975)
  • Phyllis Senegal (1975):[10] First African American female judge in Indiana
Circuit Court
  • Linda Lucille Chezem:[9] First female to serve as a circuit court judge in Indiana (1982)
Appellate Court
  • V. Sue Shields:[6] First female appointed as a Judge of the Indiana Court of Appeals (1978)
Supreme Court
  • Myra C. Selby (1995):[11] First female (and African American) appointed as a Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court
  • Loretta Rush:[12] First female justice to become the Chief Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court (2014)
District Court
  • Sarah Evans Barker (1969):[13][14] First female appointed as a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana
  • Tanya Walton Pratt (2010):[15] First African American (and African American female) appointed as a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana

Attorney General
  • Pamela Carter:[16][17] First female (and African American) to serve as the Attorney General of Indiana (1993-1997)

Public Defender

United States Attorney

Assistant United States Attorney

Bar Association
  • Jeanne S. Miller:[20] First female to serve as the President of the Indiana State Bar Association (1988)
  • Mary Y. Marsh:[21] First female to serve as President of the Indianapolis Bar Association (1988)
  • Cynthia J. Ayers:[21] First African American female to serve as President of the Indianapolis Bar Association (2006)

Firsts in local history

Alphabetized by county name

Allen County
  • Carina Warrington (1915):[22] First female lawyer in Allen County, Indiana
  • Karen E. Richards:[23] First female to serve as the Prosecutor for Allen County, Indiana

Cass County

Clark County

Daviess County

Dubois County

Fayette County

Floyd County

Greene County

Jackson County
  • AmyMarie Travis:[32] First female appointed as a Judge of the Superior Court of Jackson County (2018)

Johnson County

LaPorte County

Lawrence County
  • Linda Lucille Chezem:[9] First female to serve as a Judge of the Lawrence County Court, Indiana (1975)

Madison County
  • Hentietta Trisch Willkie (1897):[35] First woman admitted to the bar in Madison County.
  • Angela Warner Sims:[36] First female circuit judge for Madison County, Indiana (2012)

Marion County
  • Ella Groninger:[5] First female judge in Marion County, Indiana (1919)
  • Z. Mae Jimison:[37] First African American female appointed as a Judge of the Superior Court in Marion County, Indiana (1988)
  • Cynthia J. Ayers:[38] First African American female elected as a Judge of the Superior Court in Marion County, Indiana (1991)
Helen Hironimus was appointed by the U. S. Attorney General to be Supt. of new Federal Reformatory for Women at Alderson, W. Va. here on Dec. 14., 1939

Posey County

Porter County
  • Frances Tilton Weaver (1925):[40] First female lawyer in Porter County, Indiana
  • Shelli Wright Johnson (1979):[41] First female lawyer in Portage, Indiana [Porter County, Indiana]
  • Mary Harper:[42] First female to serve as the Deputy Prosecutor and Chief Deputy Prosecutor (1975-1981), a Superior Court Judge (1984), and a Judge of the Circuit Court (1996) in Porter County, Indiana

Pulaski County

St. Joseph County

Tippecanoe County

Vanderburgh County

Vigo County

Wabash County
  • Amy Catherine Cornell:[55] First female appointed as a Judge of the Wabash County Superior Court, Indiana (2017)

See also

Other topics of interest

References
  1. "Indiana Female "Firsts" In the Legal Profession". Judicial Branch of Indiana. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  2. Bodenhamer, David J.; Barrows, Robert G. (1994-11-22). The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. Indiana University Press. ISBN 0253112494.
  3. Cayton, Andrew R. L.; Sisson, Richard; Zacher, Chris (2006-11-08). The American Midwest: An Interpretive Encyclopedia. Indiana University Press. ISBN 0253003490.
  4. Batas at Katarungan. University of the Philippines Law Center. 1982.
  5. "Woman Special Judge Refuses Man Divorce". 1919-10-14. p. 12. ISSN 2377-7095. Retrieved 2019-02-27.
  6. Selby, Myra C. (1999). "EXAMINING RACE AND GENDER BIAS IN THE COURTS: A LEGACY OF INDIFFERENCE OR OPPORTUNITY?" (PDF). Indiana Law Review. 32:4.
  7. "Vivian Sue (Blodgett) Shields". Notable Alumni. 1939-01-17.
  8. Elected to the Hamilton County Superior Court. See Seager, p. 18.
  9. "Linda Lucille Chezem". Notable Alumni. 1946-09-29.
  10. "Indianapolis Recorder 20 December 1975 — Hoosier State Chronicles: Indiana's Digital Historic Newspaper Program". newspapers.library.in.gov. Retrieved 2018-01-09.
  11. "Courts in the Classroom: Justice Myra Consetta Selby". www.in.gov. Retrieved 2018-01-20.
  12. "Indiana's first female chief justice is named". South Bend Tribune. Associated Press. Retrieved 2018-12-27.
  13. "Barker confirmed as judge". newspaperarchive.com. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
  14. "Judicial Bios". www.indybar.org. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  15. III, AMOS BROWN. "Tanya Walton Pratt named Indiana's first African-American federal judge". Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper. Retrieved 2018-01-09.
  16. Contemporary Black Biography, Volume 67, p. 12.
  17. Jennifer M. York, Who's Who Among African Americans. Gale, 2003.
  18. "Harriette Vesta Baily Conn, '55, Was IU McKinney's First African-American Female Graduate: Law School News: Robert H. McKinney School of Law: IUPUI". IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law. Retrieved 2019-06-22.
  19. "Virginia Dill McCaty Papers, 1824-2003". INPerspective. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society. 24 (2): 14. March 2018.
  20. Seager, Sharon Hannum (Summer 2003). "A Century of Change: Indiana's Women Lawyers". Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society. 15 (3): 18.
  22. "NEWS-SENTINEL GUEST COLUMN: Allen County courts history dates back 195 years". news-sentinel.com/. Retrieved 2019-10-08.
  23. "Richards says she'll seek fifth term as prosecutor | Local | Journal Gazette". www.journalgazette.net. Retrieved 2019-06-27.
  24. Wolf, James D. (December 20, 2019). "Swaim becomes county's first female judge". Pharos Tribune.
  25. TEGNA. "FIrst female Clark Co. judge passes away". WHAS11. Retrieved 2018-01-04.
  26. Grant, Mike. "Former Daviess County judge dies". Washington Times Herald. Retrieved 2018-12-27.
  27. "Award recognizes students' writings". Dubois County Herald. Retrieved 2019-06-29.
  28. "Hon. Beth Ann Butsch | Indiana Court Times". Retrieved 2018-12-27.
  29. chris.morris@newsandtribune.com, CHRIS MORRIS. "Judge Susan Orth decides not to seek re-election". News and Tribune. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  30. "FIRST WOMAN LAWYER IN GREENE COUNTY". www.ancestry.com. October 6, 1921. Retrieved 2018-02-11.
  31. "Martin fulfills dream by becoming county's first female judge". Greene County Daily World. 2008-11-06. Retrieved 2018-01-06.
  32. Richart, Jordan. "Governor appoints county prosecutor to bench". Seymour Tribune. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
  33. Holtkamp, Michele. "Driven for justice". Daily Journal. Retrieved 2018-02-08.
  34. "Kimberly Kiner Obituary - 2017 - Indianapolis, IN - Afterlife". afterlife.co. Retrieved 2018-01-06.
  35. Seager, p. 15.
  36. Hirsch, Stuart (2012). "Angela Warner Sims sworn in as judge". Herald Bulletin. Retrieved 2018-12-27.
  37. "Women's History Month (2015): Z. Mae Jimison (1943–2008)" (PDF). Indiana Commission for Women. 2015.
  38. Indiana Law Review. IUPUI University Library. Indiana University School of Law. 1997.CS1 maint: others (link)
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  40. "The Amicus: Winter 1994". Alumni Magazine: The Amicus. January 1, 1994 – via Valparaiso University School of Law.
  41. "Family Law Attorney | Portage, IN". www.shelliwrightjohnson.com. Retrieved 2017-09-26.
  42. "Commissioners to name courtroom after retiring Circuit Court Judge Mary Harper". chestertontribune.com. Retrieved 2020-01-08.
  43. "The SJCBA Occasional". Welcome to the St. Joseph County Bar Association. 2016-05-02. Retrieved 2017-09-26.
  44. "Local African American History". The History Museum. Retrieved 2017-10-14.
  45. "'Woman of Steele': St. Joseph County Bar Association set to elect first black female president". ABC57. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  46. "St. Joseph County Bar Association". Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  47. "Teacher Guide for "My Place is in the Voting Booth: Hoosier Suffragette Helen M. Gougar"" (PDF).
  48. "Timeline". Retrieved 2017-09-26.
  49. "Tamar (Althouse) Scholz". Digital Repository @ Maurer Law. 1872.
  50. Seager, p. 16.
  51. "Phenomenal Women recognized - University of Southern Indiana". www.usi.edu. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  52. "Judge Mary Margaret "Maggie" Lloyd Selected as a CCO "Outstanding Community Service" Award Winner | City-County Observer". Retrieved 2019-10-08.
  53. Loughlin, Sue (October 22, 2015). "A place that gave them so much: Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College". Terre Haute Tribune Star. Retrieved 2018-01-06.
  54. Greninger, Howard. "Judge Brugnaux seeking another term in Superior Court". Terre Haute Tribune Star. Retrieved 2018-02-09.
  55. Weaver, Wade. "Your News Local | Amy Catherine Cornell Becomes Third Wabash County Superior Court Judge in History". Your News Local. Retrieved 2018-12-27.
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