This is a list of the first minority male lawyer(s) and judge(s) in

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

. 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 graduate from law school or become a political figure.

Firsts in Arkansas' history

Mifflin Wistar Gibbs - CM Bell Studios 1902

Lawyer

* First African American male: Thomas P. Johnson (1866)

State judges

* First African American male (justice of the peace): John Milo Alexander * First African American male:

Mifflin Wistar Gibbs Mifflin Wistar Gibbs (April 17, 1823 – July 11, 1915) was an American-Canadian politician, businessman, and advocate for Black rights. He became the first Black person elected to public office in British Columbia on November 16, 1866, upon win ...

in 1873 * First African American male (

Arkansas Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Arkansas is the highest court in the state judiciary of Arkansas. It has ultimate and largely discretionary appellate jurisdiction over all state court cases that involve a point of state law, and original jurisdiction o ...

): George Howard Jr. (1954) in 1977 * First African American male (

Arkansas Court of Appeals The Arkansas Court of Appeals is the intermediate appellate court for the state of Arkansas. It was created in 1978 by Amendment 58 of the Arkansas Constitution, which was implemented by Act 208 of the Arkansas General Assembly in 1979. The court ...

): George Howard Jr. (1954) in 1979 * First African American male (Eleventh Judicial District Court): Jesse Kearney (1979) in 1988 * First African American male (county court): Henry "Hank" Wilkins IV in 2017

Federal judges

*First Jewish American male ( U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas): Jacob Trieber in 1900 *First African American male (U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas): George Howard Jr. (1954) in 1980 *First African American male (Chief Judge; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in Arkansas):

Lavenski Smith Lavenski R. "Vence" Smith (born October 31, 1958) is an American judge, who is the Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. He previously served as an Arkansas state judge, and has been a federal judge since 200 ...

(1987) in 2017

Attorney General of Arkansas The Attorney General of Arkansas, usually known simply as the Attorney General (AG), is one of Arkansas's seven constitutional officers. The officeholder serves as the state's top law enforcement officer and consumer advocate. Since January 1 ...

* First African American male: Leon Johnson in 2003

Assistant Attorney General

* First African American male: Rob Morehead

Arkansas Bar Association

* First African American male admitted: Wiley A. Branton, Sr. (1952) * First African American male (president): Eddie Haywood Walker Jr. in 2015

Firsts in local history

* Henry "Hank" Wilkins IV: First African American male to serve as a county court judge in

Jefferson County, Arkansas Jefferson County, Arkansas is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas in the area known as the Arkansas Delta that extends west of the Mississippi River. Jefferson County consists of five cities, two towns, and 20 townships. The county ...

(2017) * Guillermo Hernández: First Latino American male lawyer to practice immigration law in

Little Rock ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

nowiki/>Pulaski_County,_Arkansas.html" ;"title="Pulaski_County,_Arkansas.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Pulaski County, Arkansas">nowiki/>Pulaski County, Arkansas">Pulaski_County,_Arkansas.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Pulaski County, Arkansas">nowiki/>Pulaski County, Arkansas* Silas Herbert Hunt: First African American male admitted to the

University of Arkansas School of Law The University of Arkansas School of Law is the law school of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas, a State university system, state university. It has around 445 students enrolled in its Juris Doctor (J.D.) and Master of Law (LL.M) ...

(1948) * Chris Mercer and George W.B. Haley: Among the "six pioneers" who integrated the

(1949) * Joseph Wood: First African American male judge in

Washington County, Arkansas Washington County is a regional economic, educational, and cultural hub in the Northwest Arkansas region. Created as Arkansas's 17th county on November 30, 1848, Washington County has 13 incorporated municipalities, including Fayetteville, the ...

(2016)

References

{{Reflist Minority, Arkansas, first Minority, Arkansas, first Lawyers and judges Arkansas lawyers

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

Lists of firsts