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

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. 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 Ohio's history

Law School

* First female law graduate: Clara Millard in 1911

Lawyers

*First female:

Nettie Cronise Lutes Annette "Nettie" Cronise Lutes (September 26, 1843, Tiffin, Ohio - July 31, 1923, Tiffin, Ohio) was the first woman admitted to the bar in the state of Ohio. Biography Lutes was born Annette Staub; her parents were Dr. Jacob Staub and Katherine B ...

(1873) *First African American female: Daisy D. Perkins (1919)

State judges

* First female Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio: Maureen O'Connor (elected as associate justice in 2002 and 2008, elected as chief justice in 2010 and 2016.) Retirement 2022 by constitutional age limit. * First female:

Florence E. Allen Florence Ellinwood Allen (March 23, 1884 – September 12, 1966) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. She was the first woman to serve on a state supreme court and one of the first two wom ...

(1914) in 1920 * First female (

Supreme Court of Ohio The Ohio Supreme Court, Officially known as The Supreme Court of the State of Ohio is the highest court in the U.S. state of Ohio, with final authority over interpretations of Ohio law and the Ohio Constitution. The court has seven members, a ...

(1914) in 1922 * First female (municipal court): Mary B. Grossman (1912) in 1923 * First African American female: Lillian W. Burke (1951) in 1969 * First African American female (elected): C. Ellen Connally (1971) in 1979 * First openly lesbian female: Mary Wiseman (1998) in 2007 * First Hispanic American (female) (

Ohio Court of Appeals The Ohio District Courts of Appeals are the intermediate appellate courts of the U.S. state of Ohio. The Ohio Constitution provides for courts of appeals that have jurisdiction to review final appealable orders. There are twelve appellate districts ...

; appointed): Keila Cosme in 2009 * First African American female (

): Yvette McGee Brown in 2011 * First (Asian American) female (Fourth District Court of Appeals): Marie Hoover (1994) in 2012 * First Egyptian American female:

Sherrie Mikhail Miday Sherrie Miday (born 12 October 1976) is a judge for the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas in Ohio. Early life and career Sherrie was born in Cleveland two years after her parents, one of which is a Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, Cop ...

(2001) in 2016 * First Latino American female (

; elected): Marilyn Zayas-Davis in 2016 * First African American female (

Melody J. Stewart Melody J. Stewart (born February 19, 1962) is a justice of the Ohio Supreme Court. She formerly served as a Judge on the Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals. Stewart was elected to the Ohio Supreme Court in 2018, having defeated incumbent Justi ...

in 2018 * First African American female (Tenth District Court of Appeals): Laurel Beatty Blunt in 2018 * First Hispanic American female (

; sit-in): Marilyn Zayas-Davis in 2020

Federal judges

*First female (U.S. Court of Appeals - Sixth Circuit):

(1914) in 1934 *First female (federal district court):

Ann Aldrich Anna Louise "Ann" Aldrich (June 28, 1927 – May 2, 2010) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. Education and career Born in Providence, Rhode Island, Aldrich received a Bache ...

(1950) in 1980 *First African American female (U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio): Benita Y. Pearson (1995)

Attorney General of Ohio

* First female:

Betty Montgomery Betty Montgomery (born April 3, 1948) is an American politician from the state of Ohio. A Republican, she formerly served as Ohio State Auditor and is the first woman Ohio Attorney General. Education Montgomery earned a Bachelor of Arts degre ...

from 1995-2003

Assistant Attorney General

* First African American female: Helen Elsie Austin (1930) in 1937

United States Attorney

* First African American female (Northern District of Ohio): Marisa T. Darden was confirmed in 2022, though she withdrew before she officially took office

Assistant United States Attorney

* First female (

Northern District of Ohio Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...

): Carole S. Rendon

Ohio State Bar Association

* First female admitted to bar: Clara Millard (1911) * First female president: Kathleen Burke from 1993-1994

Firsts in local history

* Clam M. Millard: First woman admitted to the Bar in Northwest Ohio Allen County, et al.">Allen_County,_Ohio.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Allen County, Ohio">Allen County, et al.* Jazmin Torres-Lugo: First Latino American female elected as a judge in Northeast Ohio [Ashland County, Ohio, Ashland County, et al.] * Terri Kohlrieser: First female to serve as a Judge of the Common Pleas Court in Allen County, Ohio (2018) * Megan Bickerton: first female common pleas judge in

Columbiana County, Ohio Columbiana County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 101,877. The county seat is Lisbon and its largest city is Salem. The county name is derived from the explorer of the Americas, Christo ...

(2018) * Thelma F. Lowe (1943): First female lawyer in Coshocton, Ohio nowiki/>Coshocton County, Ohio">Coshocton_County,_Ohio.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Coshocton County, Ohio">nowiki/>Coshocton County, Ohio* Mary P. Spargo (1885): First female lawyer in Cleveland, Ohio [Cuyahoga County, Ohio] *

(1914): First female to serve as Cuyahoga County's Assistant Prosecuting Attorney * Edna Smith Shalala: First female of Syrian-Lebanese descent to practice law in Cleveland, Ohio * Evelyn Lundberg Stratton: First female elected as a Judge of the Franklin County Common Pleas Court in Ohio (1988) * Katherine (Kay) Lias: First female elected as a Judge of the Franklin County Common Pleas Court, Division of Domestic Relations and Juvenile Branch, Franklin County, Ohio (1988) * Yvette McGee Brown: First African American female elected to serve as a Judge of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas * Tracie Hunter: First African American (female) juvenile court judge in

Hamilton County, Ohio Hamilton County is located in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 830,639, making it the third-most populous county in Ohio. The county seat and largest city is Cincinnati. The county i ...

* Nee Fong: First Asian American female lawyer in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

[

] * Verna Williams: First African American (female) to serve as the Dean of University of Cincinnati College of Law (2017) * Janaya Trotter Bratton: First African American female to serve as President of the Cincinnati Bar Association (2023) * Vadae G. Meekison (1907): Reputed to be the first female lawyer in

Henry County, Ohio Henry County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,662. Its county seat is Napoleon. The county was created in 1820 and later organized in 1834. It is named for American Founding Father Pat ...

* Michelle Miller: First female judge in Jefferson County, Ohio (2014) * Elaine Mayhew (1949): First female lawyer in

Knox County, Ohio Knox County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 62,721. Its county seat is Mount Vernon. The county is named for Henry Knox, an officer in the American Revolutionary War who was later the fir ...

. She would later become a judge. * Addie Nye Norton: First female probate judge in

Lake County, Ohio Lake County is a county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 232,603. The county seat is Painesville. The county was established on March 6, 1840, from land given by Cuyahoga and Geauga Counties. Its name is der ...

(1920) * Irene A. Lennon (1930): First female lawyer in Lake County, Ohio. She was also the first female to serve as the President of the Lake County Bar Association in Illinois (1950). * Francine Bruening: First female elected as the Judge of Common Pleas in Lake County, Ohio (1991) * Karen Lawson: First female to serve as the Juvenile Court Judge in Lake County, Ohio (2008) * Christen N. Finley: First female common pleas judge in Lawrence County, Ohio (2018) * Jennifer L. (Amos) Chesrown: First female judge in Licking County, Ohio * Maude May Marsh Washburn (1894): First female lawyer in Lorain County, Ohio * Geraldine Macelwane: First female to serve as a Judge of the Toledo Municipal Court (1952) as well as a Judge of the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas (1956), Ohio * Julia Bates: First female elected as the Lucas County Prosecutor * Alice McCollum: First female judge of the Dayton Municipal Court (1979) nowiki/>Montgomery County, Ohio">Montgomery_County,_Ohio.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Montgomery County, Ohio">nowiki/>Montgomery County, Ohio* Barb Gorman: First female to serve as a Judge of the General Division for the Montgomery County Common Pleas Court * Helen Wallace: First female juvenile judge for Montgomery County, Ohio (2019) * Janna Woodburn: First native-born female lawyer in Morgan County, Ohio * Luann Cooperrider (1983): First female judge in Perry County, Ohio. She was also the first female assistant prosecutor in the county's history. * Barbara Watson (1980): First female judge in

Portage County, Ohio Portage County is a county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 161,791. Located in Northeast Ohio, Portage County is part of the Akron Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Cleveland–Akr ...

* Shirley Dubetz (1954) First practicing female attorney in Portage County, Ohio. * Cathy Goldman: First female lawyer in Mansfield, Ohio nowiki/>Richland County, Ohio">Richland_County,_Ohio.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Richland County, Ohio">nowiki/>Richland County, Ohio* Lulie Mackey: First female lawyer in Trumbull County, Ohio * Pamela A. Rintala: First female judge of Trumbull County, Ohio (1994) * Patricia McCants DeBoer (1976): First female lawyer in Newcomerstown, Ohio [Tuscarawas County, Ohio] * Rachel Hutzel: First female to serve as the Prosecuting Attorney for

Warren County, Ohio Warren County is a County (United States), county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 242,337. Its county seat is Lebanon, Ohio, Lebanon. The county is ...

* Carol White Millhoan: First female judge in Wayne County, Ohio * Latecia E. Wiles: First female to serve as a Judge of Wayne County's Probate and Juvenile Court (2013) * Molly Mack: First female judge in

Wood County, Ohio Wood County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 132,248. Its county seat is Bowling Green. The county was named for Captain Eleazer D. Wood, the engineer for General William Henry Harrison's ...

(2014). She is also the first female Wood County Common Pleas Court judge (2019).

References

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