List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Maryland explained

This is a list of the first minority male lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Maryland. It includes the year in which the men were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are men who achieved other distinctions such becoming the first in their state to graduate from law school or become a political figure.

Firsts in Maryland's history

Law Clerk

• First African American male to clerk for a federal judge: Larry S. Gibson (1967)^{[1] [2]}

Lawyers

• First African American male to petition for admission to the Maryland State Bar: Edward Garrison Draper in 1857, but he was denied^[3]
• First African American male admitted to practice before Maryland's federal courts: James Harris Wolff in 1875^[4]
• First African American male: Everett J. Waring (1885)^[5]

State judges

• First Jewish American male (Maryland Court of Appeals): Simon Sobeloff in 1952^[6]
• First African American male (court of record): E. Everett Lane (1923) in 1957^[7]
• First African American male (municipal court): Robert B. Watts in 1960^[8]
• First African American male (circuit court): George L. Russell Jr. (1954) in 1966^{[9] [10] [11]}
• First African American male (district court): J. Franklyn Bourne, Jr. (1948) in 1971
• First African American male (Maryland Special Court of Appeals): David T. Mason in 1974^[12]
• First African American male (Maryland Court of Appeals): Harry A. Cole (1949) in 1977^[13]
• First African American male (chief judge of any Maryland court): Michael Waring Lee in 1984^{[14] [15] [16]}
• First African American male (Chief Judge; Maryland Court of Appeals): Robert M. Bell (1969) in 1996^[17]
• First Hispanic American male: Ricardo Zwaig in 2010^[18]
• First African American and openly gay male (Chief Judge; Maryland Court of Special Appeals): E. Gregory Wells in 2022^[19]

Federal judges

• First African American male (U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland): Joseph C. Howard Sr. (1955) in 1979^[20]
• First Asian American male (U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland): Theodore D. Chuang (1994)^{[21] [22] [23]}

• First African American male:^[24] Anthony Brown in 2022

Assistant Attorney General

• First African American male: Harry A. Cole (1949) in 1953^[25]

• First Jewish American male: Simon Sobeloff in 1931^[26]
• First Asian American male: Robert Hur in 2018^[27]
• First African American male: Erek Barron in 2021^[28]

Assistant United States Attorney

• First African American male: John R. Hargrove Sr. (1950) in 1957^[29]

County Attorney

• First African American male: Larnzell Martin, Jr. in 1986^[30]

• First African American male president: Harry S. Johnson in 2003^[31]
• First African American male posthumously admitted to the Bar by Supreme Court of Maryland: Edward Garrison Draper in 2023^{[32] [33]}

Firsts in local history

• Clayton Greene Jr. (1977):^[34] First African American male judge in Anne Arundel County, Maryland (1989)
• Everett Waring (1885):^[35] First African American male lawyer admitted to the Supreme Bench of Baltimore City on October 10, 1885
• Harry Sythe Cummings and Charles W. Johnson:^[36] First African American males to graduate from the Maryland School of Law (1889)
• George L. Russell Jr. (1954): First African American male appointed as a City Solicitor and Judge of the Supreme Bench of Baltimore City, Maryland
• Joseph C. Howard Sr. (1955): First African American male to serve on the Baltimore City Supreme Court (1968)
• John R. Hargrove Sr. (1950): First African American male appointed as the Administrative Judge of the District Court of Maryland for Baltimore City (1971)
• George L. Rosedom:^[37] First African American male to serve as an Assistant State's Attorney for the City of Baltimore
• Michael L. "M.L." McCampbell:^{[38] [39]} First African American male judge in Baltimore County, Maryland (1990)
• James R. Benjamin, Jr.:^{[40] [41]} First African American male to serve as the County Attorney of Baltimore County, Maryland (2019)
• E. Gregory Wells: First African American (male) to serve as the Calvert County State’s Attorney
• William Davis, Jr.:^[42] First African American male judge in Cecil County, Maryland
• Anthony "Tony" Covington:^[43] First African American male to serve as the State's Attorney for Charles County, Maryland (2011)
• George Ames, Jr.:^{[44] [45]} First African American male judge in Dorchester County, Maryland. In 2023, he became the first African American male Chief Justice of the Dorchester County Orphans Court.^[46]
• Ricardo Zwaig: First Hispanic American male in Howard County, Maryland (2010)
• Richard "Rich" Gibson:^[47] First African American male to serve as the State’s Attorney for Howard County, Maryland (2019)
• DeLawrence Beard (1974):^{[48] [49]} First African American male judge in Montgomery County, Maryland (1982)
• Brian G. Kim:^[50] First Asian American male judge in Montgomery County, Maryland
• Victor Del Pino:^[51] First Latino American male to lead the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office’s gang prosecution unit. He later became a judge.
• J. Franklyn Bourne, Jr. (1948):^[52] First African American to set up a law practice (c. 1950s) and serve as a Judge of the District 5 Court (1971) in Prince George’s County, Maryland
• Larnzell Martin, Jr.: First African American male to serve as the County Attorney for Prince George's County, Maryland (1986)
• James H. Taylor: First African American male to serve as the Assistant State’s Attorney and a Circuit Court Judge for Prince George’s County, Maryland. He was also the first African American male member of the Prince George’s County Bar Association.
• Howard S. Chasanow:^[53] First Jewish American male to serve as the Assistant State’s Attorney for Prince George’s County, Maryland
• Andrew Yslas:^[54] First Hispanic American male to serve as the Assistant State’s Attorney for Prince George’s County, Maryland
• Alexander Wiliiams Jr. (1973):^[55] First African American male elected as the State's Attorney in Prince George's County, Maryland. He would later become a district court judge.
• Gerald Purnell:^[56] First African American male lawyer in Berlin, Worcester County, Maryland

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 Maryland

Notes and References

1. Web site: Larry Gibson's Biography . 2022-03-15 . The HistoryMakers . en.
2. Web site: Cassie . Ron . 2013-07-07 . Setting Precedent . 2022-03-15 . Baltimore Magazine . en-US.
3. Web site: Ford . William J. . 2023-10-27 . State Supreme Court posthumously honors Edward Garrison Draper, the state's first Black lawyer . 2024-05-20 . Maryland Matters . en-US.
4. Lovell Banks . Taunya . 2004 . Setting the Record Straight: Maryland's First Black Women Law Graduates . Maryland Law Review . 63 . 4.
5. Web site: SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT: MARYLAND'S FIRST BLACK WOMEN LAW GRADUATES. Banks. Taunya Lovell. 2004. Maryland Law Review.
6. Web site: Art Inventory - Baltimore Courthouse - Simon E. Sobeloff . 2022-04-15 . msa.maryland.gov.
7. Web site: E.E. Lane, 1st Md. Black Judge, Dies. Baltimore Sun. 2020-02-14.
8. Web site: Judge Robert B. Watts, 76, dies Civil rights lawyer, Circuit Court jurist, drew people together. O'Brien. Frederick N. Rasmussen and Dennis. baltimoresun.com. en-US. 2020-02-17.
9. Web site: George L. Russell, MSA SC 3520-11548 . 2018-01-19 . msa.maryland.gov.
10. Web site: Donovan . David Nitkin and Doug . Agreement reached on city schools . 2020-03-06 . baltimoresun.com . en-US.
11. Book: The Maryland Bar Journal . 1986 . Maryland State Bar Association. . en.
12. Web site: Rasmussen . Frederick N. . David Mason, 88, Cabinet secretary, first black appellate judge in Md. . 2020-03-06 . baltimoresun.com . en-US.
13. News: 1999-02-16 . Harry Cole Dies . Washington Post . 2018-01-10 . 0190-8286.
14. Web site: Michael Waring Lee, 42, Orphans' Court chief judge. Rasmussen. Fred. baltimoresun.com. en-US. 2020-03-06.
15. Book: Ltd, Earl G. Graves. Black Enterprise. March 1985. Earl G. Graves, Ltd.. en.
16. Upon Lee's appointment as the Chief Judge of the Orphans' Court of Baltimore City in 1985
17. News: Sun . Jean Marbella and Andrea F. Siegel, The Baltimore . Chief judge of Maryland Court of Appeals retiring . baltimoresun.com . 2018-01-29.
18. Web site: Judge receives first Hispanic Leadership Award - Baltimore Sun . 2023-04-12 . digitaledition.baltimoresun.com.
19. Web site: Governor Hogan Announces Nine Judicial Appointments, Historic Nominees For Maryland's Appellate Courts. 2022-02-23. Governor of Maryland. en.
20. News: Joseph Howard dies, pioneer black judge. tribunedigital-baltimoresun. 2018-01-18.
21. Web site: Congressional Record, Volume 162 Issue 84 (Thursday, May 26, 2016). www.gpo.gov. 2018-02-15.
22. Web site: Nominations Of George Hazel And Theodore Chuang U.S. Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland. www.cardin.senate.gov. 2018-02-15.
23. Web site: CAPAC Lauds Confirmation of Theodore David Chuang to U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC). 2018-02-15.
24. Web site: Anthony Brown Becomes Maryland's First Black Attorney General . 2023-01-09 . NBC4 Washington . en-US.
25. Web site: Portraits of the Bar Library - Judge Harry A. Cole. www.barlib.org. 2019-06-22.
26. Book: Landman . Isaac . The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia ...: An Authoritative and Popular Presentation of Jews and Judaism Since the Earliest Times . Cohen . Simon . 1943 . Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, Incorporated . en.
27. Web site: Biden nominates Erek Barron to be U.S. Attorney for Maryland, first Democrat nominated in 20 years . 2022-03-29 . Baltimore Sun . en.
28. Web site: Fenton. Justin. Former Del. Erek Barron sworn in to become Maryland's first Black U.S. Attorney. 2022-02-05. baltimoresun.com.
29. Book: Company, Johnson Publishing. Baltimore Judge Tabbed for Federal Bench Post Will Be Maryland's First. 1984-02-27. Jet. en.
30. News: Hill. Retha. GLENDENING APPOINTS 2 COUNTY ATTORNEYS. May 6, 1988. The Washington Post. Hariston. Keith.
31. Web site: State bar elects its first black president. Walker. Andrea K.. baltimoresun.com. en-US. 2019-01-03.
32. Web site: 2023-10-26 . Maryland Supreme Court posthumously admits Black man to bar, 166 years after rejecting him - CBS Baltimore . 2023-11-02 . www.cbsnews.com . en-US.
33. Draper applied for admission to the Maryland State Bar in 1857, but was denied because of his ethnicity.
34. Book: Focus. 1989. Joint Center for Political Studies. en.
35. David S. Bogen, The Transformation of the Fourteenth Amendment: Reflections from the Admission of Maryland's First Black Attorneys, 44 Md. L. Rev. 939-1046 (1986).
36. Banks . Taunya Lovell . 2004 . Setting the Record Straight: Maryland's First Black Women Law Graduates . Maryland Law Review . 63 . 4.
37. Book: Woodson, Carter Godwin. Negro History Bulletin. 1984. Association for the Study of Negro Life and History.. en.
38. Web site: M.L. McCampbell, 63, 1st black judge in Balto. County. O'Brien. Dennis. baltimoresun.com. en-US. 2020-03-13.
39. Web site: Delegate Arnick named as District Court judge Appointment opens Dundalk seat and Judiciary Committee leadership. Carson. Larry. baltimoresun.com. en-US. 2020-03-13.
40. Web site: BSOS Alumnus James R. Benjamin, Jr. Named as Baltimore County Attorney BSOS Behavioral & Social Sciences College University of Maryland. bsos.umd.edu. 2020-03-12.
41. Web site: Baltimore County Council approves James R. Benjamin Jr. as County Attorney The Baltimore Watchdog. baltimorewatchdog.com. 2020-03-12.
42. Web site: Davis Promotes Community Services at Annual MLK Breakfast. Schenke. Leann. January 27, 2019. PressReader. 2020-03-12.
43. Web site: Directors. Charles County Bar Association, Board of. Anthony Covington. 2021-03-30. Charles County Bar Association. en-GB.
44. Web site: Rev. George Ames inducted into Maryland Senior Hall of Fame. MyEasternShoreMD. en. 2020-03-12.
45. Web site: A small Maryland city looks to its future. Trainer. Mark. 2017-07-20. ShareAmerica. en-US. 2020-03-12.
46. Web site: 2023-08-01 . Judge George Ames Jr. sworn in as the first Black Chief Judge of the Dorchester County Orphan's Court . 2023-08-28 . 47abc . en-US.
47. Web site: Howard County's first African-American state's attorney talks about history and his vision for the future. Nocera. Jess. baltimoresun.com. 2019-07-17.
48. News: Circuit Judge Retires After 25 Years. Londo. Ernesto. The Washington Post. 2008-02-07. 2018-11-08. en-US. 0190-8286.
49. Book: Company, Johnson Publishing. People - "DeLawrence Beard". 1984-06-18. Jet. en.
50. News: American Osteopathic Association Taps Veteran Attorney to Lead Accreditation of Osteopathic Medical Schools. Association. Community Contributor American Osteopathic. chicagotribune.com. 2018-02-15.
51. Web site: Andrew Schotz. 2019-11-01. Governor Appoints Montgomery County District Judge. 2022-02-22. Bethesda Magazine. en-US.
52. Web site: J. Franklyn Bourne, Jr. Prince George's County Judicial, MD. www.princegeorgescourts.org. 2019-07-17.
53. News: 2024-05-13 . Military funeral for Arthur A. "Bud" Marshall, longtime Pr. George's state's attorney . 2024-05-19 . Washington Post . en-US.
54. Web site: Saxon . Carolyn Starks . March 2011 . The History Corner . PGCBA News Journal.
55. Book: Focus. 1994. Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.
56. News: Antioch's Tradition Lawyers for The Needy. BONNER. ALICE. 1982-05-26. Washington Post. 2018-02-13. 0190-8286.