List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Arizona explained

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

Lawyers

• First Hispanic American male: Joseph C. Padilla (1936)^[1]
• First Asian American male: Wing F. Ong (1943):^{[2] [3]}
• First African American male: Hayzel Burton Daniels (1948)^{[4] [5]}
• First Native American (Pascua Yaqui Tribe) male: Lawrence Huerta (1953)
• First Native American (Gila River Indian Community) male: Rodney B. Lewis (1972)^{[6] [7] [8] [9]}
• First undocumented male: Daniel Rodriguez in 2014^[10]

State judges

• First Jewish American male: Charles C. Bernstein (1929) in 1946
• First Mexican American male (Superior Court of Arizona): Raúl Héctor Castro (1949) in 1959^[11]
• First Jewish American male (Supreme Court of Arizona; Chief Justice): Charles C. Bernstein (1929) in 1962^[12]
• First Asian American male (superior court):^[13] Thomas Tang in 1962
• First African American male: Hayzel Burton Daniels (1948) in 1965
• First Hispanic American male (Arizona Appeals Court): Joe W. Contreras in 1979^[14]
• First African American male (Arizona Appeals Court): Cecil B. Patterson Jr. (1971) in 1985^[15]
• First Latino American male (Supreme Court of Arizona): John Lopez IV (1998):^[16] First Latino American male to serve on (2016)

Federal judges

• First Asian American male (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Arizona): Thomas Tang (1950) in 1977^[17]
• First Hispanic American male (U.S. District Court): Valdemar Aguirre Cordova (1950) in 1979
• First African American male (Chief Judge; U.S. District Court): Raner Collins (1975) in 2013^[18]
• First Asian American male (Article III judge; U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona): Sharad H. Desai in 2024^[19]

Attorney General of Arizona

• First African American male (work for Attorney General): Cecil B. Patterson Jr. (1971)
• First Jewish American male: Tom Horne (1970) from 2011-2015^[20]

Assistant Attorneys General

• First Hispanic American male: Albert García (1937)^[21]
• First African American male: Hayzel Burton Daniels (1948)

County Attorney

• First Mexican American male: Raúl Héctor Castro (1949) from 1954-1959^{[22] [23]}

Political office

• First Mexican American male (Governor of Arizona): Raúl Héctor Castro (1949) from 1975-1977

State Bar of Arizona

• First Asian American male (President): Thomas Tang in 1977^[24]
• First Latino American male (President): Ernest Calderón in 2002^[25]
• First African American male (President): Benjamin Taylor in 2023^[26]

Firsts in local history

• Greg Garcia: Reputed to be the first Hispanic American male lawyer in Maricopa County, Arizona
• Cecil B. Patterson Jr. (1971): First African American male to serve on the Maricopa County Superior Court
• Kevin Kane:^[27] First openly LGBT male to serve on the Phoenix Municipal Court (2006)
• Raúl Héctor Castro (1949): First Mexican American male to serve on the Superior Court of Pima County, Arizona (1959)
• Harry Gin:^[28] First Chinese American male to serve on the Superior Court of Pima County, Arizona (1975)
• James Don:^[29] First Chinese American male to serve as the Pinal County Attorney and a Judge of the Pinal County Superior Court, Arizona

See also

• List of first minority male lawyers and judges in the United States

Other topics of interest

• List of first women lawyers and judges in the United States
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Arizona

Notes and References

1. Ryan. Michael D.. November 2000. Arizona Trailblazers: Honoring 100 Women & Minority Lawyers. AZ Attorney. 37. 20.
2. Book: Nakanishi . Don T. . Distinguished Asian American Political and Governmental Leaders . Wu . Ellen D. . 2002 . Greenwood Press . 978-1-57356-325-3 . en.
3. Book: Watts, Stan . A Legal History of Maricopa County . 2007 . Arcadia Publishing . 9780738548159.
4. News: Diversity. Arizona. State Bar of. State Bar of Arizona. 2016-10-08.
5. Web site: Daniels, Hayzel B. (1913-1992) The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed. www.blackpast.org. 19 January 2007 . 2018-01-10.
6. Book: Congress. Congressional Record: Bound Volumes. 2015-01-21. Government Printing Office.
7. Web site: Slush fund defendants claim sovereign immunity. navajotimes.com. 2018-01-17.
8. Book: Ross, Andrew. Bird on Fire: Lessons from the World's Least Sustainable City. 2011-11-03. Oxford University Press. 9780199828272.
9. Web site: Arizona Attorney - April 2019 - page51 . 2022-03-05 . www.azattorneymag-digital.com . en.
10. Web site: Alam . Adnan . 2017-09-08 . Local attorney helps DREAMers plan for uncertain future . 2022-10-26 . Cronkite News - Arizona PBS . en-US.
11. Web site: AZ Legal Timeline . 2019-01-25 . www.legallegacy.org.
12. Web site: Boy Scout Awards, 1951 . Arizona Memory Project.
13. Web site: Rogers . John W. . January 1, 2019 . Judge Thomas Tang . American Bar Association.
14. Irvine . Patrick . June 2005 . ARTICLE: 1965-2005: THE ARIZONA COURT OF APPEALS . AZ Attorney . 41 . 12.
15. News: 2017-02-24 . ASU Law establishes endowment for trailblazing black judge . ASU Now: Access, Excellence, Impact . 2017-10-31.
16. Web site: Robb: Ducey never mentioned first Latino Arizona Supreme Court justice's race . 2018-12-14 . USA TODAY . en.
17. Web site: Tang, Thomas Federal Judicial Center. www.fjc.gov. 2018-01-15.
18. Web site: First African-American Leads Arizona Federal Court. www.ca9.uscourts.gov. 2018-01-19.
19. Web site: November 21, 2024 . NAPABA Applauds the Confirmation of Sharad Desai to the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona . NAPABA.
20. Web site: Tom Horne visits Yeshiva High School. www.jewishaz.com. 27 November 2013 . 2018-12-14.
21. Web site: María García :: Arizona Latina Trailblazers. azmemory.azlibrary.gov. 2018-01-13.
22. News: Raul Castro, Arizona's only Latino governor, dies at 98. azcentral. 2018-01-29.
23. News: Raul Hector Castro, ambassador and Arizona governor, dies at 98. Davenport. Paul. 2015-04-14. Washington Post. 2018-01-29. 0190-8286.
24. Web site: Legends of the Judiciary: Judge Thomas Tang . 2024-06-05 . supremestateaz.granicus.com.
25. Web site: Eigo . Tim . 2002 . Leader for All: New Bar President Jessica Sanchez . Arizona Attorney.
26. Web site: First Black president of the State Bar of Arizona . 2023-11-30 . Arizona PBS . en-US.
27. Web site: Gardiner. Dustin. Diversity debate slows selection of Phoenix's chief judge. 2022-02-17. The Arizona Republic. en-US.
28. Web site: 2011-11-09 . Harry Gin 2/19/1927 11/2/2011 . 2024-06-05 . Arizona Daily Star . en.
29. Ryan. Michael D.. November 2000. FEATURE: ARIZONA TRAILBLAZERS: HONORING 100 WOMEN AND MINORITY LAWYERS. AZ Attorney. 37. 20.