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

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

. 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 New Mexico's history

Lawyers

*First female admitted: Henrietta Hume Pettijohn Buck (1892) * First female (actively practice): Nellie C. Brewer Pierce (1908) *First Hispanic American female: Betty Ann Camunez (1972) *First

Pueblo In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) refers to the Native tribes of Puebloans having fixed-location communities with permanent buildings which also are called pueblos (lowercased). The Spanish explorers of northern New Spain ...

female: Carol Jean Vigil (c. 1977) *First undocumented female: Jazmín Irazoqui-Ruiz in 2017

State judges

* First female: Olga Melinda Victoria Miller in 1910 * First female (district court):

Mary Coon Walters Mary Coon Walters (January 29, 1922 – April 4, 2001) was the first female New Mexico Supreme Court justice, the first woman in New Mexico to be a district judge, and the first president of the National Women's Political Caucus, New Mexico Women' ...

(1962) in 1972 * First Mexican American female (Second Judicial District):

Patricia A. Madrid Patricia A. Madrid (born 1947) is an American politician and the former Attorney General for the U.S. state of New Mexico. She is a member of the Democratic Party. She also sits on the bipartisan advisory board of States United Democracy Center. ...

(1973) in 1978 * First female (

New Mexico Supreme Court The New Mexico Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is established and its powers defined by Article VI of the New Mexico Constitution. It is primarily an appellate court which reviews civil and criminal decisi ...

(1962) in 1984 * First female (

New Mexico Court of Appeals The New Mexico Court of Appeals (in case citation, N.M. Ct. App.) is the intermediate-level appellate court for the state of New Mexico. History The court of appeals was created by a constitutional amendment submitted to the electorate in a ...

Christina Armijo Maria Christina Armijo (born January 17, 1951) is an inactive Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico. Early life and education Born in Las Vegas, New Mexico, Armijo graduated from ...

(1975) from 1996-2011 * First Native American (

) (female): Carol Jean Vigil (c. 1977) in 1998 * First African American female (district court): Angela Jewell in 1999 * First female (Chief Justice;

): Pamela B. Minzner (1972) in 1999 * First Hispanic American female (Chief Justice;

): Petra F. Jimenez Maes (1973) in 2003 * First openly lesbian female (

): Linda Vanzi in 2010 * First female (Seventh Judicial District): Mercedes C. Murphy in 2014 *First female (Sixth Judicial District): Jennifer Delaney *First African American (female) (

): Shammara Henderson in 2020

Federal judges

*First female (Navajo Nation Judicial Branch): Marie Roanhorse Neswood from 1976–1989 *First (Latino American) female (U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico): Martha Vázquez (1978) in 1993

Attorney General of New Mexico The Attorney General of New Mexico, an elected executive officer of the state, oversees the New Mexico Attorney General's Office and serves as head of the New Mexico Department of Justice. The officeholder, who is required to be a licensed attor ...

* First Mexican American female:

(1973) in 1999

District Attorney

* First female: Margaret Weldon Lamb (1969) from 1978-1980

Political Office

*First Hispanic American female (

Governor of New Mexico , insignia = Seal of the Governor of New Mexico.svg , insigniasize = 110px , insigniacaption = Seal of the Governor , image = File:Michelle Lujan Grisham 2021.jpg , imagesize = 200px , alt = , incumbent = Michelle Lujan Grisham , incu ...

Susana Martinez Susana Martinez (born July 14, 1959) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 31st governor of New Mexico from 2011 to 2019. A Republican, she served as chair of the Republican Governors Association (RGA) from 2015 to 2016. She ...

(1986) in 2011 *First Hispanic American female (elected from the Democratic Party as the

Michelle Lujan Grisham Michelle Lynn Lujan Grisham (; born October 24, 1959) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 32nd governor of New Mexico since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, Lujan Grisham previously served as the U.S. representative for N ...

(1987) in 2018

State Bar of New Mexico The State Bar of New Mexico (SBNM) is the integrated (mandatory) bar association of the U.S. state of New Mexico. History The State Bar of New Mexico first met on January 19, 1886 in Santa Fe, New Mexico as a voluntary professional organizati ...

* First African American female admitted: Barbara Brown Simmons (c. 1974) * First female president: Amanda L. Ashford in 1990 *First Latino American female president: Mary Torres in 2002

Firsts in local history

* Barbara Brown Simmons (c. 1974): First African American female graduate from the

University of New Mexico School of Law The University of New Mexico School of Law (UNM Law or New Mexico Law) is the law school of the University of New Mexico, a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1947, it is the first and only law school in the state. ...

nowiki/> nowiki/>Bernalillo_County,_New_Mexico">Bernalillo_County,_New_Mexico.html"_;"title="nowiki/>Bernalillo_County,_New_Mexico">nowiki/>Bernalillo_County,_New_Mexico*_Kari_Brandenburg:_First_female_District_Attorney_for_Bernallilo_County,_New_Mexico_(2000) *_Kea_W._Riggs.html" ;"title="Bernalillo_County,_New_Mexico.html" ;"title="Bernalillo_County,_New_Mexico.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Bernalillo County, New Mexico">nowiki/>Bernalillo County, New Mexico">Bernalillo_County,_New_Mexico.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Bernalillo County, New Mexico">nowiki/>Bernalillo County, New Mexico* Kari Brandenburg: First female District Attorney for Bernallilo County, New Mexico (2000) * Kea W. Riggs">Kea Riggs: First female district court judge in Chaves County, New Mexico * Esther Smith Van Soelen: First female lawyer in Clovis, New Mexico [Curry County, New Mexico] * Olga Melinda Victoria Miller: First female judge in

Doña Ana County, New Mexico Doña Ana County is located in the southern part of the State of New Mexico, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 219,561, which makes it the second-most populated county in New Mexico. Its county seat is Las Cruces, t ...

(1910) * Nancy Beard: First female Magistrate Judge in

Eddy County, New Mexico Eddy County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 53,829. Its county seat and largest city is Carlsbad. The county was created in 1891 and later organized in 1892. It is north of the Tex ...

* Edith Gutierrez: First female (non-attorney) judge in

Silver City, New Mexico Silver City is a town in Grant County, New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat and the home of Western New Mexico University. As of the 2010 census the population was 10,315. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,704. History ...

rant County, New Mexico/nowiki> * Bettye Dean: First female magistrate in

Lincoln County, New Mexico Lincoln County is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 20,497. Its county seat is Carrizozo, while its largest community is Ruidoso. History Lincoln County was named in honor of President Abrah ...

(1983) * Irene Saiz Mirabal-Counts: First female to serve as a Magistrate Judge in

Otero County, New Mexico Otero County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 63,797. Its county seat is Alamogordo. Its southern boundary is the Texas state line. It is named for Miguel Antonio Otero (born 1859), ...

(2016)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:First women lawyers and judges in New Mexico Lawyers, New Mexico, first New Mexico, first Women, New Mexico, first Women, New Mexico, first Women in New Mexico New Mexico lawyers Lists of people from New Mexico