List Of First Women Lawyers And Judges In Texas on:
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This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in
and Harris Counties, Texas">Harris County, Texas">Harris Counties, Texas*Angela Saucier: First female to serve as a Judge of the 76th Judicial District (2019) Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
. 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 state history
Law School
* Hattie Ruth Elam Briscoe: First African American female to graduate from law school in Texas (1956)
Lawyers
*Edith W. Locke (1902): First female admitted to practice law in Texas, though she did not exercise the right *Hortense Sparks Ward
Hortense Sparks Ward (July 21, 1872 – December 5, 1944) was a pioneering Texas lawyer and women's rights activist.
Biography
Born Hortense Sparks in Matagorda County, Texas, Ward grew up in Edna, Texas and attended Nazareth Academy, a convent ...
(1910): First female lawyer in Texas, as well as the first female admitted to practice law before the U.S. Supreme Court (1915)
* Florence Bates (1914): One of the first female lawyers in Texas. She would leave the profession and become a Hollywood actress later in life.
*Beverly Tarpley (1952): First female lawyer in Texas to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court
*Charlye O. Farris
Charlye Ola Farris (1929-2010) was Texas’ first African American female lawyer.
She was born on June 30, 1929, in Wichita Falls, Texas, to educators James Randolph Farris, Sr. and Roberta Bell. Upon earning her political science degree from P ...
(1953): First African American female lawyer in Texas
* Edna Cisneros (1955): First Hispanic American female lawyer in Texas
Judicial Officers
State
= Judges
= *Sarah T. Hughes
Sarah Tilghman Hughes (August 2, 1896 – April 23, 1985) was an American lawyer and federal judge who served on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas. She is best known as the judge who swore in Lyndon B. Johnson as ...
(1922): First female judge in Texas (1935)
*Charlye O. Farris (1953): First African American female to serve as a judge pro tem in Texas (1954)
* Harriet Mitchell Murphy (1969): First African American female judge in Texas (1973)
* Wendy Duong: First Vietnamese American (female) judge in Texas (1992)
*Barbara Hartle: First openly LGBT female judge in Texas (2006)
*Phyllis Frye
Phyllis Randolph Frye is an Associate Judge for the Municipal Courts in the US city of Houston, Texas. Frye is the first openly transgender judge appointed in the world.
Biography
Phyllis Frye, born circa 1946, is a transgender woman. She was ...
(1981): First openly LGBT judge in Texas (2010)
*Tonya Parker: First openly LGBT African American (female) elected to a judicial seat in Texas (2010)
*Rabeea Sultan Collier: First Muslim American and Pakistani American (female) judge in Texas (2019)
*Manpreet Monica Singh: First Sikh female judge in Texas (2023)
County Court * Mary Velma Davenport: First female county judge in Texas (c. 1938) *Charlye O. Farris (1953): First African American female elected as a county judge pro tem in Texas (1954) *Alicia Chacón: First Latino American female elected as a judge of a major county in Texas (c. 1990s)
Municipal Court * Barbara Hartle: First openly LGBT female to become a municipal court judge in Texas (2006) * Elia Cornejo Lopez First Female to be appointed Municipal court Judge in Brownsville Texas (2008) *
Phyllis Frye
Phyllis Randolph Frye is an Associate Judge for the Municipal Courts in the US city of Houston, Texas. Frye is the first openly transgender judge appointed in the world.
Biography
Phyllis Frye, born circa 1946, is a transgender woman. She was ...
(1981): First openly LGBT individual appointed as a municipal court judge in Texas (2010)
= District Court
= *Sarah T. Hughes
Sarah Tilghman Hughes (August 2, 1896 – April 23, 1985) was an American lawyer and federal judge who served on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas. She is best known as the judge who swore in Lyndon B. Johnson as ...
(1922): First female appointed as a Judge of the District Court in Texas (1935)
*Elma Salinas Ender
Elma Teresa Ender ( Salinas; born August 11, 1953) is an American attorney, who was the youngest woman and the first Hispanic female to serve as a state district court judge in the U.S. state of Texas.
In 1983, she was appointed by then Gove ...
(1978): First Latino American female to serve as a state district court judge in Texas (1983)
*Mary Roman: First Latino American female elected as a state district court judge in Texas (1992)
* Kristen Hawkins (2000): First female elected as a Judge of the Eleventh District Court in Texas (2017)
* Renee Rodriguez-Betancourt: First female to become the youngest district court judge in Texas (2017)
= Court of Appeals
= *Shirley W. Butts (1954): First female appointed as Justice of the Fourth Court of Appeals in Texas (1981) *Camille Hutson–Dunn (1963): First female appointed as a Justice of the First Court of Appeals in Texas (1984) *Alice Oliver–Parrott: First female to serve as a Chief Justice in the Texas Court of Appeals (1991-1996) * Gaynelle Griffin Jones: First African American female to serve as an appellate court judge in Texas (1992) * Linda Reyna Yanez: First female to serve as a Justice of the Thirteenth Court of Appeals in Texas (1993) * Dori Contreras: First female justice appointed as the Chief Justice of the Thirteenth Court of Appeals in Texas (2019) *Frances Bourliot: First Asian American female elected as an appellate court judge in Texas (2020) *Robbie Partida-Kipness: First Hispanic American (female) to serve as a Judge of the Fifth Court of Appeals in Texas (2018) *Yvonne T. Rodriguez: First Latino American female to serve as the Chief Justice of the Eighth Court of Appeals (2021)= Criminal Court of Appeals
= *Sharon Keller
Sharon Faye Keller (born August 1, 1953) is the Presiding Judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. She is a Republican.
Education and early career
Born in Texas, Keller graduated from Rice University in Houston in 1975 with a major in philo ...
(1978): First female to serve as the Presiding Judge of the Texas Criminal Court of Appeals (2000)
* Elsa Alcala
Elsa R. Alcala, also known as Elsa Spjut (born 1964), is a former Republican official who most recently served (2011–2018) as one of the nine judges of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. She was appointed to the Place 8 on the bench by then G ...
: First Latino American female to serve as a Judge of the Texas Criminal Court of Appeals (2011)
= Supreme Court
= *Margaret Harris Amsler
Margaret Thomas Arnold Foster Greer Harris (Gordon) Amsler (June 15, 1908 – May 14, 2002) was a law professor in Texas. In 1955 she became the third female full law professor
at a US law school, after Harriet Spiller Daggett in 1931 and Barbar ...
(1937): First female to serve as the Marshall of the Supreme Court of Texas (1941)
*Ruby Kless Sondock
Ruby Kless Sondock (born April 26, 1926) is a former Associate Justice of the Texas Supreme Court. She was the first woman to serve on the Texas Supreme Court.
Sondock initially attended the University of Houston Law Center in order to become a ...
(1961): First female appointed as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas (1982)
*Rose Spector
Rose Spector (born July 9, 1933) is a lawyer and judge based in Texas. In 1992, she became the first woman to be elected to the state's highest court.
Early life and education
Spector was born in San Antonio, Texas, the daughter of Jack Birenbe ...
: First female (who was also Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
) elected as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas (1992)
*Eva Guzman
Eva Martinez Guzman (born January 12, 1961) is an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as a Republican member of the Texas Supreme Court from 2009 to 2021. Justice Guzman is a Shareholder at Chamberlain Hrdlicka in the Houston an ...
: First Hispanic female appointed as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas (2009)
Federal
= District Court
= *Sarah T. Hughes
Sarah Tilghman Hughes (August 2, 1896 – April 23, 1985) was an American lawyer and federal judge who served on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas. She is best known as the judge who swore in Lyndon B. Johnson as ...
(1922): First female appointed as a Judge of the Federal District Court (1961) in Texas
*Barbara M.G. Lynn (1976): First female to become the Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas (2016)
* Gabrielle Kirk McDonald: First African American female appointed as a Judge of the Southern District of Texas (1979)
*Hilda G. Tagle
Hilda G. Tagle (born 1946) is a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
Early life and education
Born in Corpus Christi, Texas, Her last name is of Spanish and Arabic origins. ...
: First Hispanic American female to serve as an appellate judge in Texas
* Alia Moses (1986): First female as a Judge of the U.S. States District Court for the Western District of Texas (2002) and its Chief Judge (2022)
*Brenda T. Rhoades: First Asian American (female) to serve as a Judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Texas (2003)
*Judith K. Guthrie: First female appointed as a Magistrate Judge of the U.S. States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
*Karen Gren Scholer
Karen Anne Gren Scholer (born December 2, 1957) is an American lawyer who serves as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
Biography
Scholer received a Bachelor of Arts degree i ...
: First Asian American (female) U.S. district court judge in Texas (2018)
*Ada E. Brown
Ada Elene Brown (born November 8, 1974) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas. She is a former trial judge of the Dallas County courts and a former Justice of the Fifth Court of A ...
: First African American and Native American female to serve as a Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas (in case citations, N.D. Tex.) is a United States district court. Its first judge, Andrew Phelps McCormick, was appointed to the court on April 10, 1879. The court convenes in D ...
(2019)
= Court of Appeals
= *Carolyn Dineen King
Carolyn Dineen King (born January 30, 1938, in Syracuse, New York) is a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Her chambers are in Houston, Texas.
Education and career
Born in Syracuse, N ...
: First female to serve as the Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (in case citations, 5th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following federal judicial districts:
* Eastern District of Louisiana
* M ...
(1999)
* Leanne Johnson: First female elected to serve as a Justice of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for Texas (2014)
Deputy Attorney General
*Elizabeth B. Lacy
Elizabeth Bermingham Lacy (born January 12, 1945) is a Virginia jurist. She was the first woman named to the Virginia State Corporation Commission and later was the first woman named to be a justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia, where she se ...
: First female to serve as the Deputy Attorney General for Texas (1973)
Assistant Attorney General
* Ethel F. Hilton: First female to serve as the Assistant Attorney General for Texas (1927-1931)District Attorney
* Bonnie Leggat Hagan: First female to become a District Attorney in Texas * Edna Cisneros (1955): First Hispanic American female to become a District Attorney in TexasAssistant District Attorney
* Sarah Menezes: First female to serve as the Assistant District Attorney in TexasUnited States Attorney
* Gaynelle Griffin Jones: First female (and African American female) to serve as a U.S. Attorney for Texas (1993-1997) *Sarah Saldaña
Sarah Ruth Saldana was the fourth director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), serving from December 23, 2014,
: First Latino American female to serve as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas (2011)
County Attorney
*Nellie Gray Robertson
Nellie Gray Robertson (February 28, 1894 – May 20, 1955) was a lawyer and jurist in Texas. She was nominated to the All-Woman Supreme Court of 1925, though she did not serve in the position. She was the first female county attorney in the stat ...
: First female to serve as a County Attorney in Texas (1918)
Political Office
* Barbara Jordan (1959): First African American female lawyer elected to the Texas Senate (1966) * Irma L. Rangel (1969): First Hispanic American female elected to the Texas State Legislature (1976) *Sylvia Garcia
Sylvia Rodriguez Garcia (born September 6, 1950) is an American lawyer and politician who has been serving as the U.S. representative for Texas's 29th congressional district since 2019. Her district covers much of eastern Houston. A member of the ...
(1978) and Veronica Escobar
Veronica Escobar (born September 15, 1969) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for , based in El Paso, since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as an El Paso County commissioner from 2007 to 2011 and the ...
: First Hispanic American females (both former judges) elected to Congress in Texas (2018)
*Nandita Berry (1995): First Indian American female (and Indian American in general; a lawyer) to serve as the Secretary of State for Texas (c. 2014)
* Jolanda Jones (1995): First openly lesbian African American (a lawyer) elected to the Texas State Legislature (upon winning a special election in House District 147 in 2022)
Bar Association
*Harriet Miers
Harriet Ellan Miers (born August 10, 1945) is an American lawyer who served as White House Counsel to President George W. Bush from 2005 to 2007. A member of the Republican Party since 1988, she previously served as White House Staff Secretary f ...
(1970): First female to serve as President of the State Bar of Texas (1992)
*Lisa Tatum: First African American female (and African American in general) to serve as the President of the State Bar of Texas (2013-2014)
*Sylvia Borunda Firth: First Hispanic American female to serve as the President of the State Bar of Texas (2020)
Firsts in local history
''Alphabetized bycounty
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
name''
Regions
* Leticia Hinojosa: First female judge in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas (1996) *Ginger D. Fagan: First female county judge elected inSouth Texas
South Texas is a region of the U.S. state of Texas that lies roughly south of—and includes—San Antonio. The southern and western boundary is the Rio Grande, and to the east it is the Gulf of Mexico. The population of this region is about 4.96 ...
(upon becoming a judge in Refugio County in 1978)
*Erum Jivani-Gillani: First Asian American female to serve as a Judge of the Pearland Municipal Court (2018) Brazoria, Fort Bend County, Texas">Fort Bend
Fort Bend was a blockhouse built in a large bend of the Brazos River in what is now Fort Bend County, Texas, to provide protection against Indian raids. It was erected in November 1822 by several members of Stephen F. Austin's Old Three Hundred, ...Camp
Camp may refer to:
Outdoor accommodation and recreation
* Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site
* a temporary settlement for nomads
* Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...
, Morris and Titus Counties, Texas">Titus_County,_Texas.html" ;"title="Morris County, Texas">Morris and Titus County, Texas">Titus Counties, Texas*Hortense Sparks Ward
Hortense Sparks Ward (July 21, 1872 – December 5, 1944) was a pioneering Texas lawyer and women's rights activist.
Biography
Born Hortense Sparks in Matagorda County, Texas, Ward grew up in Edna, Texas and attended Nazareth Academy, a convent ...
(1910): First female lawyer in Houston, Texas Fort Bend County, Harris County, Texas">Harris County and Montgomery County, Texas">Montgomery County">Fort Bend County, Texas">Fort Bend County, Harris County, Texas">Harris County and Montgomery County, Texas">Montgomery County*Lois L. Woods: First African American female graduate from the Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law (1951) [Fort Bend, Harris, and Montgomery Counties, Texas]
*Lynne Liberato: First female to serve as the President of the Houston Bar Association (1993) nowiki/>Fort Bend County, Texas, Fort Bend County, Harris County, Texas, Harris County and Montgomery County]
*Kristen Brauchle Hawkins: First female appointed as a Judge of the Eleventh District Court in Houston, Texas (2019) nowiki/>Fort Bend County, Texas, Fort Bend County, Harris County, Texas, Harris County and Montgomery County]
*Irene Gertrude Brown (1911) and Rose Zelosky: First females to graduate from the University of Texas at Austin, University of Texas law school (1914) [Anderson County
* Allyson Mitchell: First female District Attorney for Anderson County, Texas (2015)Andrews County
* Jeneane Anderegg: First female to serve as Commissioner for the Commissioners' Court of Andrews County, Texas (2014)Aransas County
* Lola L. Bonner: First female to serve as the President of the Aransas County Bar Association, TexasAustin County
* Carolyn Bilski: First female to serve as the County Judge of Austin County, Texas">Aransas County, Texas">Aransas County Bar Association, TexasAustin County
* Carolyn Bilski: First female to serve as the County Judge of Austin County, TexasBastrop County
* Emma Webb (1923): First female lawyer in Bastrop County, TexasBee County
* Stephanie Moreno: First female county judge in Bee County, TexasBell County
* Martha Trudo: First female judge in Bell County, Texas *Ebony Todd: First African American female to serve as a municipal court judge inNolanville, Texas
Nolanville is a city in Bell County, Texas, Bell County, Texas, United States. The population was 5,917 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Killeen, Texas, Killeen–Temple, Texas, Temple–Fort Hood Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood metropolitan ...
(2020) nowiki/>Bell County, Texas">Bell_County,_Texas.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Bell County, Texas">nowiki/>Bell County, TexasBexar County
* Judge Antonia “Toni” Arteaga - 1st woman to be elected to the historic 57th District Court which was created in 1899. * Irene Gertrude Brown (1911): First female lawyer in San Antonio, Texas nowiki/>Bexar County, Texas">Bexar_County,_Texas.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Bexar County, Texas">nowiki/>Bexar County, Texas*Lanette Heilbron Glasscock (1931): One of the first practicing female lawyers inBexar County, Texas
Bexar County ( or ; es, Béxar ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in South Texas and its county seat is San Antonio.
As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,009,324. Bexar County is included in the San Antonio–New Bra ...
*Mary Agnes Aird: First female law graduate of St. Mary's University (1936) nowiki/>Bexar County, Texas">Bexar_County,_Texas.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Bexar County, Texas">nowiki/>Bexar County, Texas*Elizabeth Carrie Jandt: First female law graduate of St. Mary's University who was the daughter of an alumnus nowiki/>Bexar County, Texas">Bexar_County,_Texas.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Bexar County, Texas">nowiki/>Bexar County, Texas*Hattie Ruth Elam Briscoe: First African American female lawyer in Bexar County, Texas (c. 1956)
*Carol Bexar County, Texas
Bexar County ( or ; es, Béxar ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in South Texas and its county seat is San Antonio.
As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,009,324. Bexar County is included in the San Antonio–New Bra ...
*Janice S. McCoy: First female to serve as a Judge of the San Antonio Municipal Court (1977) exar County, Texas*Sparta Christ Bitsis: First female lawyer to work for San Antonio’s Corporation Court
*Mary Roman: First Latino American female elected as a state district court judge in Bexar County, Texas
Bexar County ( or ; es, Béxar ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in South Texas and its county seat is San Antonio.
As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,009,324. Bexar County is included in the San Antonio–New Bra ...
(1992)
* Susan Reed: First female to serve as the District Attorney for Bexar County, Texas (1998)
*Jane Macon: First female to serve as the City Attorney for San Antonio, Texas (1977-1983) exar County, Texas*Rosie Speedlin Gonzalez: First openly LGBT (female) judge in Bexar County, Texas
Bexar County ( or ; es, Béxar ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in South Texas and its county seat is San Antonio.
As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,009,324. Bexar County is included in the San Antonio–New Bra ...
(2019)
*Kimberly Burley: First female and African American to preside in the Bexar County Children’s Court (2021)
Bowie County
* Kelley Crisp: First female to serve as the Assistant District Attorney for Bowie County, Texas (2019)Brazoria County
*Jerri Lee Mills: First female judge in Brazoria County, Texas (1995)Brewster County
* Val Beard: First female county judge in Brewster County, TexasBrooks County
* Imelda Barrera: First female county judge in Brooks County, TexasBurnet County
* Ophelia "Birdie" Harwood: First female judge in Marble Falls, Texas (1936) nowiki/>Burnet County, Texas">Burnet_County,_Texas.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Burnet County, Texas">nowiki/>Burnet County, Texas*Donna Klaeger: First female judge in Burnet County, TexasCaldwell County
* Rebecca Hawener: First female county judge in Caldwell County, TexasCameron County
* Migdalia Lopez: First female elected as a County Court at Law Judge inCameron County, Texas
Cameron County, officially the County of Cameron, is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 421,017. Its county seat is Brownsville.
The county was founded in 1848 and is named for Capt ...
. She is the first female to serve as a District Court Judge in Cameron
Cameron may refer to:
People
* Clan Cameron, a Scottish clan
* Cameron (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name)
* Cameron (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name)
;Mononym
* Cam'ron (born 197 ...
and Willacy Counties, Texas.
Camp County
* Angela Saucier: First female to serve as a Judge of the 76th Judicial District (2019)Camp
Camp may refer to:
Outdoor accommodation and recreation
* Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site
* a temporary settlement for nomads
* Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...
, Morris and Titus County, Texas">Titus Counties, Texas">Titus_County,_Texas.html" ;"title="Morris County, Texas">Morris and Titus County, Texas">Titus Counties, TexasCass County
* Courtney Shelton: First female District Attorney for Cass County, Texas (2018)Chambers County
* Alma Lois Turner: First female county judge in Chambers County, Texas (1978-1986)Comal County
* Jennifer Tharp: First female District Attorney forComal County, Texas
Comal County ( ) is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 161,501. Comal County is known for its rich German-Texan and European history. Its county seat is New Braunfels.
...
(2011)
*Sue Funk: First female municipal court judge in New Braunfels, Texas
Dallas County
*Louise Raggio
Louise Raggio (June 15, 1919 – January 23, 2011) was a Texas lawyer for more than fifty years. She was the first female prosecutor in Dallas County, Texas. She spearheaded a coalition to establish the Marital Property Act of 1967 (which we ...
(c. 1939): First female prosecutor in Dallas County, Texas
Dallas County is the second-most populous county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 2,613,539, making it the ninth-most populous county in the country. Dallas County is included in the Dallas-Arlington-F ...
* Lillian Brock: First female lawyer in Dallas, Texas allas County, Texas* Adelfa B. Callejo: (1961) First Hispanic American female lawyer in Dallas, Texas allas County, Texas*Harriet Miers
Harriet Ellan Miers (born August 10, 1945) is an American lawyer who served as White House Counsel to President George W. Bush from 2005 to 2007. A member of the Republican Party since 1988, she previously served as White House Staff Secretary f ...
(1970): First female to serve as President of the Dallas Bar Association, Texas (1986)
*Laura Benitez Geisler: First Hispanic American female (and Hispanic American in general) to serve as the President of the Dallas Bar Association, Texas (2018)
* Joan Winn: First African American female judge in Dallas, Texas (1975) allas County, Texas*Margaret Keliher: First female to serve as the Dallas County Judge, Texas (2002-2006)
*Susan Hawk
Susan Hawk (born August 17, 1961 in Waukesha, Wisconsin) is a truck driver who notoriously competed in '' Survivor: Borneo'' (2000) and '' Survivor: All-Stars'' (2004). She appeared in other television shows.
Early life
Hawk was a truck driver ...
: First female District Attorney for Dallas County, Texas (2015-2016)
*Faith Johnson: First African American female District Attorney for Dallas County, Texas (2016)
*Audrey Moorehead: First female (and African American female) elected as the Judge of Dallas County Criminal Court #3 in Texas (2018)
Delta County
* Ginny Phifer: First female Justice of the Peace in Delta County, TexasDenton County
* Mary Horn: First female county judge inDenton County, Texas
Denton County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 906,422, making it the 7th-most populous county in Texas. The county seat is Denton. The county, which was named for John B. Denton, was establish ...
Ector County
* Sara Kate Billingsley: First female district judge in Ector County, Texas (2015)El Paso County
* Edith Shirley Abbott: First female lawyer in El Paso, Texas nowiki/>El Paso County, Texas">El_Paso_County,_Texas.html" ;"title="nowiki/>El Paso County, Texas">nowiki/>El Paso County, Texasnowiki/> * Edelmira Navarro: Reputed to be the first Latino American female lawyer in El Paso, Texas l Paso County, Texas* Kitty Schild (1972) and Janet Reusch: First female judges in El Paso, Texas l Paso County, Texas* Maxine Shaprow (1979): First African American female Assistant District Attorney for El Paso, Texas l Paso County, TexasEllis County
* Barbara Warren: First female (and African American) judge in Waxahachie, Texas nowiki/>Ellis County, Texas">Ellis_County,_Texas.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Ellis County, Texas">nowiki/>Ellis County, TexasErath County
* Lanelle Harbin: First female judge in Erath County, Texas (1961)Falls County
* Nita Wuebker: First female to serve on the Falls County, Texas, Falls County Commissioners Court (2015)Fannin County
* Mildred Eileen Cox: First female county judge in Fannin County, TexasFort Bend County
*Kathleen Lindsey: First female lawyer in Fort Bend County, Texas * Toni Wallace: First African American female judge in Fort Bend County, Texas (2016) *Juli Mathew: First Judge of Asian descent to be elected to the Bench in Fort Bend County, Texas (2018) First Indian American women elected to the bench in the United States. *Jennifer C. Chiang: First Asian American appointed to serve on the Bench in Fort Bend County, First Asian American Judge to serve on the Sugar Land Municipal Court (2015) G
Gray County
* Rosa Jane White: First female lawyer to try a case in Pampa, Texas nowiki/>Gray County, Texas">Gray_County,_Texas.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Gray County, Texas">nowiki/>Gray County, TexasGregg County
* Olga Lapin: First female lawyer in Gregg County, TexasGrimes County
* Andria Bender: First female District Attorney for Grimes County, Texas (2017)Guadalupe County
* Elizabeth Carrie Jandt: First female lawyer in Guadalupe County, Texas. She was also the first female elected as the County Attorney.Harris County
* Gloria K. Bradford: First African American female to try a case in the Harris County District Court * Hannah Chow: First Asian American female (and Asian American in general) to serve as a Judge of the Harris County Criminal Court at Law No. 5 (1987) *Phyllis Frye
Phyllis Randolph Frye is an Associate Judge for the Municipal Courts in the US city of Houston, Texas. Frye is the first openly transgender judge appointed in the world.
Biography
Phyllis Frye, born circa 1946, is a transgender woman. She was ...
(1981): First openly LGBT individual to serve as a Judge of the Houston Municipal Court in Texas (2010)
* Jo Ann Delgado: First Latino American female elected as a Justice of the Peace, Precinct 2, Place 1 of Harris County, Texas (2001)
* Pat Lykos: First female District Attorney for Harris County, Texas (2009)
* Debra Ibarra Mayfield: First Latino American female to serve as a county court judge in Harris County, Texas (2011)
* Lina Hidalgo: First female (and Hispanic woman of Colombian descent) elected as the Harris County Judge (2018)
* Shannon Baldwin: First openly LGBT African American female judge in Harris County, Texas (2018)
* Joyce M. Burg (1926): First female lawyer in Houston, Texas arris County, Texas* Barbara Hartle: First openly LGBT female to serve as a Judge of the Houston Municipal Court in Texas (2006)
* Sherry D. Tavel: First female municipal judge in Pasadena, Texas arris County, TexasHidalgo County
*Micaela Alvarez
Micaela Alvarez (born June 8, 1958) is a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
Education and career
Born in Donna, Texas, Alvarez received her Bachelor of Science degree fro ...
(1989): First female (and Hispanic woman) appointed as a Judge of the 139th Judicial District Court in Hidalgo County, Texas (1995). She would later become a district court judge.
*Renee Rodriguez-Betancourt: First female to become the youngest district court judge in Hidalgo County, Texas (2017)
Hood County
*Nellie Gray Robertson
Nellie Gray Robertson (February 28, 1894 – May 20, 1955) was a lawyer and jurist in Texas. She was nominated to the All-Woman Supreme Court of 1925, though she did not serve in the position. She was the first female county attorney in the stat ...
: First female to serve as the Hood County Attorney (1918)
*Linda Steen: First female county judge in Hood County, Texas (1999)
Hudspeth County
* Becky Dean: First female judge in Hudspeth County, TexasHunt County
* Keli Aiken: First female elected to serve as a district court judge in Hunt County, TexasJefferson County
* Lindsey Scott: First female to become a state district judge inJefferson County, Texas
Jefferson County is a county in the Coastal Plain or Gulf Prairie region of Southeast Texas. The Neches River forms its northeast boundary. As of the 2020 census, the population was 256,526. The county seat is Beaumont. Jefferson County has t ...
(2014)
Karnes County
* Barbara Shaw: First female county judge in Karnes County, Texas (c. 2010) *Audrey Gossett-Louis: First female to serve as the District Attorney for the 281st Judicial District Karnes County, Texas">nowiki/> Karnes County, TexasKaufman County
* Maxine Darst Flatt (1976): First female lawyer in Kaufman County, Texas. She would later become a judge.Liberty County
* Lois Marie Jett: First female to earn a law degree in Liberty County, Texas * Peggy Dunn: First female elected judge in Liberty County, Texas (2007)Llano County
* Mary S. Cunningham: First female judge in Llano County, Texas (2014)Lubbock County
*Emma K. Boone (1918): First female lawyer inLubbock County, Texas
Lubbock County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 census placed the population at 310,639. Its county seat and largest city is Lubbock. The county was created in 1876 and organized in 1891. It is named for Thomas Saltus ...
* Pat Moore (1949): First female lawyer elected to public office in Lubbock County, Texas (upon becoming a Judge of Lubbock County Court at Law, Number 2 in Lubbock, Texas; 1957). She is also the first female appointed as a Judge of the 72nd District Court.
* Aurora Chaides Hernandez (1995): First Hispanic American female to serve as Precinct 3 Justice of the Peace (1994) in Lubbock, Texas ubbock County, TexasMcLennan County
*Margaret Harris Amsler
Margaret Thomas Arnold Foster Greer Harris (Gordon) Amsler (June 15, 1908 – May 14, 2002) was a law professor in Texas. In 1955 she became the third female full law professor
at a US law school, after Harriet Spiller Daggett in 1931 and Barbar ...
(1937): First female to graduate from Baylor Law School nowiki/>McLennan County, Texas">McLennan_County,_Texas.html" ;"title="nowiki/>McLennan County, Texas">nowiki/>McLennan County, TexasMedina County
* Francis C. Richter (1938): First female lawyer in Medina County, TexasMidland County
* Barbara Culver: First female judge in Midland County, Texas (1962) *Teresa Clingman: First female District Attorney for Midland County, TexasMontague County
* Stacy Gamblin: First female to serve as a Commissioner in Montague County, TexasMontgomery County
*Barbara Hale (1982): First female to become the Assistant County Attorney for Montgomery County, Texas (1982-1989)Morris County
*Lynda Munkres: First female judge inMorris County, Texas
Morris County is a county located near the eastern border of the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 11,973. Its county seat is Daingerfield. Morris County is probably named for William Wright Morris, an early judge ...
(2011)
Nacogdoches County
* Sue Kennedy: First female judge in Nacogdoches County, TexasNewton County
* Leona Jones Choate: First female Justice of the Peace inNewton County, Texas
Newton County is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 12,217. Its county seat is Newton. The county is named for John Newton, a veteran of the American Revolutionary War.
Newton County is ...
(1974)
Nueces County
*Rene Haas: First female judge in Nueces County, Texas (1982) *Hilda G. Tagle
Hilda G. Tagle (born 1946) is a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
Early life and education
Born in Corpus Christi, Texas, Her last name is of Spanish and Arabic origins. ...
: First Hispanic American female judge in Nueces County, Texas (1985)
* Nanette Hasette: First Hispanic American female to serve as a district court judge in Nueces County, Texas
*Barbara Canales: First female (and Hispanic American female) elected as a judge in Nueces County, Texas (2019)
* Irma L. Rangel (1969): First female (and Hispanic American) to serve as the Assistant District Attorney for Corpus Christi, Texas
Corpus Christi (; Ecclesiastical Latin: "'' Body of Christ"'') is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat and largest city of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patrici ...
Nueces County, Texas">nowiki/> Nueces County, TexasOrange County
* Courtney Arkeen: First female state district judge inOrange County, Texas
Orange County is a county located in the very southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Texas, sharing a boundary with Louisiana, within the Golden Triangle of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 84,808. The county seat is the cit ...
(2011)
Panola County
* Lee Ann Jones: First female county judge in Panola County, Texas (2014)Potter County
* Nancy Tanner: First female judge inPotter County, Texas
Potter County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 118,525. Its county seat is Amarillo. The county was created in 1876 and organized in 1887. It is named for Robert Potter, a politician, si ...
* Nancy "N.S." Garms: First female to serve as the President of the Amarillo Bar Association
Presidio County
* Cinderela Guevara: First female county judge inPresidio County, Texas
Presidio County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 6,131. Its county seat is Marfa. The county was created in 1850 and later organized in 1875. Presidio County (K-5 in Texas topological ind ...
Real County
* Bella Rubio: First female county judge inReal County, Texas
Real County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,758. The county seat is Leakey. The county is named for Julius Real (1860–1944), a former member of the Texas ...
(2018)
Rockwall County
* Lorie Grinnan: First female to be re-elected as a Commissioner for Rockwall County, TexasSan Patricio County
* Tamara Cochran-May: First female to serve as the County Attorney forSan Patricio County, Texas
San Patricio County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 68,755. Its county seat is Sinton. San Patricio County is part of the Corpus Christi metropolitan statistical area.
History
In 1828, 200 I ...
(2016)
Shackelford County
* Joanne Fincher: First female judge inShackelford County, Texas
Shackelford County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, its population was 3,105. Its county seat is Albany, Texas, Albany. The county was created in 1858 and ...
(1977)
Shelby County
* Allison Harbison: First female judge in Shelby County, Texas (c. 2015)Smith County
* Ruth Blake (1966): First female judge inSmith County, Texas
Smith County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 233,479. Its county seat is Tyler. Smith County is named for James Smith, a general during the Texas Revolution.
Smith County is part of the Tyl ...
*Ruth Yeager: First female to serve as the President of the Smith County Bar Association, Texas
Tarrant County
* Shirley W. Butts (1954): First female Assistant District Attorney in Tarrant County, Texas *Brooke Allen: First female probate court judge in Tarrant County, Texas *Dionne Phillips Bagsby: First African American female elected to the Tarrant County Commissioners Court (1988) *Sharen Wilson: First female District Attorney for Tarrant County, Texas (c. 2017) *Eva Barnes, nee Bloore, (1963) First female District Judge in Tarrant County, Domestic Relations Court No. 1, which later became the 322nd District Court in 1977.Tom Green County
* Marilyn Aboussie (1974): First female district judge in Tom Green County, Texas *Barbara Walther: First female elected as a Judge of the 51st District Court in Tom Green County, Texas (1992)Travis County
*Anna Sandbo: First female lawyer in Austin, Texas nowiki/>Travis County, Texas">Travis_County,_Texas.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Travis County, Texas">nowiki/>Travis County, Texas*Gloria K. Bradford: First African AmericaJulie Kocurek
Julie H. Kocurek (born October 2, 1964) is an American attorney and judge who is currently a Texas state court judge, having served as presiding judge of the 390th District Court in Austin, Texas since January 1999, being appointed by then-governo ...
: First female district court judge in Travis County, Texas (1999)
* Rosemary Lehmberg: First female District Attorney for Travis County, Texas (2009)
* Dimple Malhotra: First female of South Asian descent to serve as a judge in Travis County, Texas (2019)
*Aurora Martinez Jones: First African American female to preside over the 126th District Court in Travis County, Texas (2022)
*Denise Hernández: First openly lesbian Latino American female elected as a county court judge in Travis County, Texas (2022)
Upshur County
* Lauren Parish: First female judge in Upshur County, Texas (c. 1994)Upton County
* Peggy Garner: First female judge in Upton County, Texas (1974)Van Zandt County
* Teresa Drum: First female to serve as a Judge of the 294th District Court inVan Zandt County, Texas
Van Zandt County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas, in the northeastern part of the state. As of the 2020 census, its population was 59,541. Its county seat is Canton. The county is named for Isaac Van Zandt (1813–1847), a memb ...
Webb County
*Elma Salinas Ender
Elma Teresa Ender ( Salinas; born August 11, 1953) is an American attorney, who was the youngest woman and the first Hispanic female to serve as a state district court judge in the U.S. state of Texas.
In 1983, she was appointed by then Gove ...
: First Latino American female to serve as a Judge of the 341st Judicial District of Texas (1983) nowiki/>Webb County, Texas">Webb_County,_Texas.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Webb County, Texas">nowiki/>Webb County, TexasWichita County
* Charlye O. Farris (1953): First female lawyer (and African American female) to practice law in Wichita County, Texas *Pat Norriss: First female to serve on the commissioner’s court in Wichita County, TexasWillacy County
* Migdalia Lopez: First female to serve as a District Court Judge inCameron
Cameron may refer to:
People
* Clan Cameron, a Scottish clan
* Cameron (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name)
* Cameron (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name)
;Mononym
* Cam'ron (born 197 ...
and Willacy Counties, Texas
Williamson County
* Frances Fullerton (1932): First female lawyer inWilliamson County, Texas
Williamson County (sometimes abbreviated as "Wilco") is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 609,017. Its county seat is Georgetown. The county is named for Robert McAlpin Williamson (1804?–1859), ...
Winkler County
* Mary Frances Clark: First femaWise County
* Mary Velma Davenport: First female county judge in Wise County, Texas (c. 1938)Zapata County
* Norma Villarreal Ramírez: First female county judge in Zapata County, Texas (1995)See also
*List of first women lawyers and judges in the United States
This list of the first women lawyers and judges in each state of the United States includes the years in which the women were admitted to practice law. Also included are women of other distinctions, such as the first in their states to get law de ...
* Timeline of women lawyers in the United States
* Women in law
Other topics of interest
*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 stat ...
* List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Texas
This is a list of the first minority male lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Texas. 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 g ...
References