List Of First Minority Male Lawyers And Judges In The United States

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

Firsts nationwide

Law degrees

*First African American male law graduate: George Lewis Ruffin (1869)
*First Chinese male to seek an American legal education: Sit Ming Cook (he was denied admission to a law school around 1878)
*First Chinese male to graduate from an American law school: Hong Yen Chang (1888) (c. 1886)
*First blind male law graduate: Josiah McIntyre (1889)
*First Filipino American law graduate: Gonzalo Manibog (1917)
*One of the first Cape Verdean-born Americans to graduate with a J.D.: Alfred J. Gomes (1923)
*First Navajo male law graduate: Thomas Dodge (1924)
*First African American male to enroll in a predominantly-White Southern university since the Reconstruction era: Silas Herbert Hunt (1948)

Lawyers

*First Jewish American male lawyer: Moses Levy (1778)
*First Native American (Choctaw) male lawyer: James McDonald (c. 1820s)
*First African American male lawyer: Macon Bolling Allen (1844)Hornby, D. Brock (Spring 2020)
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*First African American male lawyer to win a jury trial: Robert Morris (1847) in 1848
*First male lawyer of Czech descent: Augustin Haidusek (c. 1870)
*First deaf male lawyer: Joseph G. Parkinson (1880)
*First Turkish American male lawyer: James Ben Ali Haggin (c. 1880s)
*First Chinese male lawyer: Hong Yen Chang (1888)
*First Native American (Creek people (1908)
*First male lawyer of Filipino descent: Pablo Manlapit (1919)
*First Korean American male lawyer: Herbert Choy (1941)
*First blind male lawyer: Leonard Staisey (c. 1950)
*First African American male lawyer in the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division: Thelton Henderson (1962)
*First openly gay male lawyer: Harris L. Kimball
*First Hmong American male lawyer: Christopher Thang Tao (c. 1986)
*First Nepali American male lawyer: Khagendra Gharti-Chhetry (1987)
*First U.S.-educated Uyghur American male lawyer: Nury Turkel (c. 1990s)
*First undocumented immigrant male admitted to practice law in the U.S.: Sergio C. Garcia (2014)

Lawyers and the U.S. Supreme Court

* First Native American male to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court: Elias Cornelius Boudinot (1856) during the 1860s
* First African American male to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court: John Rock (1861) in 1865
* First African American male to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court : Samuel R. Lowery (1874) in 1880
* First Native American (Omaha people) male to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court: Thomas L. Sloan (1892) in 1904
* First Chinese American male to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court: You Chung Hong (1923) in 1933
*First African American male to argue and win a case before the U.S. Supreme Court: Charles Hamilton Houston (1924)
*First Latino American male to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court: Manuel Ruiz (1930) in 1952
*First Asian American to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court: Benjamim Gim (c. 1949) in 1957
*First Arab male to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court: Taher Helmy in 1979
*First deaf male to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court: Michael A. Chatoff (c. 1960s) in 1982
*First Native American (Gila River Indian Community) male to win a U.S. Supreme Court case: Rodney B. Lewis (1972) in (1980)
*First openly gay male to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court: John Ward in 1995
*First male with cerebral palsy to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court: Randall M. Howe at around 2006
*First undocumented male to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court: Luis Cortes Romero in 2019

Law clerks

*First African American male to clerk for a U.S. Supreme Court Justice: William Thaddeus Coleman Jr. (1946) in 1947
*First Orthodox Jewish male to clerk for a U.S. Supreme Court Justice : Louis Henkin from 1946–1947
*First South Asian male to clerk for a U.S. Supreme Court Justice : Vikram Amar from 1989–1990
*First Hispanic American male to clerk for a Chief Justice of the United States: Ted Cruz (c. 1995) in 1996
*First blind male to clerk for a U.S. Supreme Court Justice: Isaac Lidsky in 2008

State judges

* First Jewish American male judge: Issac Miranda (1727)
* First African American male justice of the peace: Wentworth Cheswell (1805)
*First African American male judge: Macon Bolling Allen (1844) in 1847
*First African American male elected as a county judge in the South since Reconstruction: James Dean (1884) in 1888
*First Chinese American male judge: William "Billy" Heen in 1917
*First African American male judge in the South since Reconstruction: Lawson E. Thomas (1923) in 1950
*First Asian Indian-American elected male judge: Dalip Singh Saund in 1950
*First Japanese American male judge in the contiguous U.S.: John Aiso (1941) in 1952
*First Chinese American male judge in the contiguous U.S.: Delbert E. Wong (1948) in 1959
*First Syrian Lebanese American male judge: Elias Shamon during the 1960s
*First openly gay male judge: Stephen Lachs (1963) in 1979
*First African American male elected as a probate judge: William McKinley Branch in 1970
*First Filipino American male judge: Mel Red Recana (1974) in 1981
*First Muslim American male judge: Adam Shakoor in 1981
*First Samoan American male family court judge: Bode Uale in 1991
*First African American male to preside over an American courtroom television show: Joe Brown in 1998
*First openly gay male to preside over an American courtroom television show: David Young in 2007
*First Hmong American male judge: Paul C. Lo (1994) in 2013
*First Zoroastrian male judge in the U.S. and California: Firdaus Dordi in 2017
*First openly bisexual male judge: Mike Jacobs in 2018
*First Palestinian American male judge: Abdel Majid Abdel Hadi in 2019
*First Burmese American male judge: Bryant Yang in 2020
*First Yemeni American male judge: Rashad Hauter in 2021

State supreme courts

*First African American male: Jonathan Jasper Wright (1865) in 1870
*First Japanese American male: Masaji Marumoto in 1956
*First Japanese American male to become a chief justice: Wilfred Tsukiyama (c. 1924) in 1959
*First Filipino American male: Ben Menor in 1974
*First African American male to become a chief justice: Robert N. C. Nix Jr. (c. 1954) in 1984
*First Hispanic American male to become a chief justice: Luis Rovira in 1990
*First blind male (who was also Jewish): Richard B. Teitelman (1973) in 2002
* First openly gay male: Rives Kistler (1981) in 2003

Federal judges

*First Jewish American male (federal judge): Jacob Trieber in 1900
*First African American male (federal judge): William H. Hastie (1931) in 1937
*First Greek American male (federal judge/chief judge): Thomas Demetrios Lambros in 1967 and 1990 respectively
*First Korean American male (federal judge): Herbert Choy (1941) in 1971
*First Asian American/Pacific Islander male (magistrate judge): Richard R. Komo in 1971
*First Japanese American male (federal judge): Shiro Kashiwa (1936) in 1972
*First African American male (chief judge): William B. Bryant (1939) in 1977
*First Filipino American male (federal judge): Alfred Laureta in 1978
*First African American male in the Deep South (federal judge): Robert Frederick Collins in 1978
*First Mexican American male (federal judge/U.S. Court of Appeals): Reynaldo Guerra Garza (1939) in 1961 and 1979 respectively
*First Chinese American male (federal judge): Thomas Tang (1950) in 1977
*First Puerto Rican male (continental U.S.): José A. Cabranes (1965) in 1979
*First Native American male ikely_Cherokee_Nation.html" ;"title="Cherokee_Nation.html" ;"title="ikely Cherokee Nation">ikely Cherokee Nation">Cherokee_Nation.html" ;"title="ikely Cherokee Nation">ikely Cherokee Nation(federal judge): Frank Howell Seay in 1979
*First African American male to head a Deep South federal court: James Lopez Watson during the 1980s-1990s
*First Armenian American male (federal judge): Dickran Tevrizian (1965) in 1985
*First Chinese American male in the contiguous U.S. (federal judge): : Ronald S. W. Lew (1971) in 1987
*First Asian American/Pacific Islander male in the continental U.S. (magistrate judge): George H. King in 1987
*First Native American male nowiki/>Choctaw_Nation_of_Oklahoma.html" ;"title="Choctaw_Nation_of_Oklahoma.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma">nowiki/>Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma">Choctaw_Nation_of_Oklahoma.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma">nowiki/>Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma(federal judge): Michael Burrage (1974) in 1994
*First Cuban American male (federal judge): Eduardo C. Robreno (1978) in 1992
*First Armenian immigrant male (federal judge): Samuel Der-Yeghiayan (1978) in 2003
*First Haitian American male ( Article III): Raymond Lohier in 2010
*First openly gay male (federal judge): Joseph H. Gale in 2011
*First openly gay African American male (federal judge): Darrin P. Gayles (1993) in 2014
*First Muslim American male (federal judge): Mustafa T. Kasubhai in 2018
*First South Asian American male ( Article III in the Eleventh Circuit): Anuraag Singhal (1989) in 2019
*First Panamanian American male ( Article III): Franklin U. Valderrama in 2020
*First Muslim American male ( Article III ): Zahid Quraishi in 2021

Federal District court

*First African American male: James Benton Parsons (1949) in 1961
*First Chinese American male: Dick Yin Wong (1950) in 1975
*First blind male: Richard C. Casey (1958) in 1997
*First Armenian immigrant male: Samuel Der-Yeghiayan in 2003
*First South Asian American male: Amul Thapar (1994) in 2007
*First Asian American male outside of the Ninth Circuit: Denny Chin (1978) in 2010
*First openly gay male: J. Paul Oetken (1991) in 2011

U.S. Court of Federal Claims

* First Latino American male: Armando Bonilla in 2021

Federal Circuit Court

*First Chinese American male: Chuck Mau in 1950
*First Filipino American male: Ben Menor in 1968
*First Latino American male (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit): Arthur Alarcón in 1979
*First Latino American male (United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit): Julio M. Fuentes (1975) in 2000
*First openly gay male: Todd M. Hughes (1992) in 2013
*First openly gay male (9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals): Patrick J. Bumatay in 2019

Bankruptcy Court

* First African American male: Harry G. Hackett in 1954
* First Asian American/Pacific Islander male: Jon Chinen in 1976
* First Asian American male (of Chinese descent): Robert Kwan in 2007

U.S. Customs Court

*First African American male: Irvin Charles Mollison (1923) in 1945

U.S. Tax Court

* First Latino American male: Juan F. Vasquez in 1995
* First African American male: Maurice B. Foley in 1995

U.S. Court of Appeals

*First Mexican American male : Reynaldo Guerra Garza (1939) in 1979
*First African American male (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ): Wade H. McCree (1948) in 1966
*First Japanese American male: A. Wallace Tashima (1961) in 1995
*First blind male: David S. Tatel (1966) in 1994
*First African American male ( U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit): Roger Gregory (1978) in 2000
*First South Asian American male: Sri Srinivasan (1995) in 2013

U.S. Supreme Court

*First Jewish American male: Louis Brandeis (1878) in 1916
*First African American male: Thurgood Marshall (1933) in 1967

Judge Advocate General of the U.S. Army

* First Chinese American male: John Fugh (1960) from 1991-1993

U.S. Attorneys General

* First Jewish American male: Edward H. Levi (1938) from 1975–1977
* First African American male: Eric Holder (1976) from 2009–2015
* First Hispanic American male: Alberto Gonzales (1982) from 2005–2007

Deputy Attorney General of the U.S.

* First African American male: Eric Holder (1976) from 1997-2001

Associate Attorney General of the U.S.

* First African American male: Wayne Budd from 1992-1993

Deputy Associate Attorney General of the U.S.

* First Chinese American male: Nelson Dong (1974) from 1979-1980

Assistant Attorney General of the U.S.

* First African American male: William H. Lewis (c. 1890s) in 1910

Civil Rights Division

*First Asian American male: Bill Lann Lee from 1997-2001
*First Latino American male: R. Alexander Acosta from 2003-2005
*First immigrant and Korean American male: Wan J. Kim from 2005-2007

Special Assistant to the U.S. Attorney General

* First Chinese American male: Nelson Dong (1974) from 1978-1979

Solicitor General of the U.S.

* First African American male: Thurgood Marshall (1933) in 1965
*First Asian American male: Noel Francisco (1996) in 2017

State Attorney Generals

*First African American male: Edward Brooke (1948) in 1962
*First Native American male: Larry Echo Hawk in 1991
*First Sikh American male: Gurbir Grewal (1999) in 2018

State Deputy Attorney General

* First Chinese American male: Chuck Mau around 1936

United States Attorneys

*First African American male: Cecil F. Poole (1939) in 1961
*First African American male in the South since Reconstruction : Mickey Michaux (1964) in 1977
*First Native American male (Sioux Indian): Terry L. Pechota (1972) from 1979-1981
*First Chinese American male: Norman Bay (1986) from 2000-2001
*First Armenian American male: Richard S. Hartunian in 2010
*First Korean American male: B.J. Pak from 2017-2021

State Assistant District Attorney

* First blind male: Leonard Staisey (1948) in 1950

State County Attorney

* First Korean American male: John C. Choi (1995) in 2011

State Public Defender

* First Hispanic American male: Carlos J. Martinez in 2008

American Bar/Federal Bar Association (Presidents)

*First African American male nominated (since 1912): James S. Watson in 1943
*First Jewish American male: Bernard G. Segal in 1969
*First African American male: Dennis Archer from 2003-2004
* First foreign-born male of Italian and Calabrian descent: Michael S. Greco from 2006-2007
* First Hispanic American male: Stephen Zack from 2010-2012
*First Native American (Pawnee) male to lead a national non-minority bar association ( Federal Bar Association): Lawrence R. Baca in 2009

State Bar Association (Presidents)

*First African American male: Wayne Budd from 1979-1980
*First African American male (elected): John A. Howard from 1981-1982
*First openly gay male: Mark Johnson in 1998
*First American male of South Asian descent: Rajeev Majumdar in 2019

Firsts in individual states

* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Alabama
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Alaska
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Arizona
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Arkansas
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in California
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Colorado
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Connecticut
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Delaware
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Florida
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Georgia
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Hawaii
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Idaho
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Illinois
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Indiana
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Iowa
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Kansas
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Kentucky
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Louisiana
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Maine
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Maryland
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Massachusetts
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Michigan
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Minnesota
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Mississippi
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Missouri
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Montana
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Nebraska
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Nevada
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in New Hampshire
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in New Jersey
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in New Mexico
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in New York
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in North Carolina
*List of first minority male lawyers and judges in North Dakota
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Ohio
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Oklahoma
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Oregon
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Pennsylvania
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Rhode Island
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in South Carolina
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in South Dakota
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Tennessee
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Texas
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Utah
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Vermont
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Virginia
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Washington
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in West Virginia
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Wisconsin

Wyoming: Plasa L. Turner was an African American male lawyer that appeared in the Wyoming census (1910). His historical significance is unclear.

Firsts in Washington, D.C. (Federal District)

* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Washington D.C. (Federal District)

Firsts in the territories of the US

* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in the Territories of the US

See also

* Lawyer nternational* List of African American jurists nited States* List of Asian American jurists nited States* List of Hispanic/Latino American jurists nited States* List of Jewish American jurists nited States* List of Native American jurists nited States

Other topics of interest

* List of African-American jurists
* List of Asian American jurists
* List of Hispanic/Latino American jurists
* List of Jewish American jurists
* List of LGBT jurists in the United States
* List of first women lawyers and judges in the United States

References

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