List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Missouri explained

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

Lawyers

• First African American male: John H. Johnson (1871)^[1]
• First African American male to argue a case before the Missouri Supreme Court: Walter M. Farmer (1889) in 1893^{[2] [3] [4]}

State judges

• First African American male: Walter M. Farmer (1889) during the 1890s
• First African American male (elected): Crittenden Clark in 1922
• First African American male (Missouri Court of Appeals): Theodore McMillian (1949) in 1972
• First African American male (Missouri Supreme Court): Ronnie L. White (1983) in 1995
• First openly gay male: Lawrence E. Mooney:^{[5] [6]}
• First blind/Jewish male (Missouri Supreme Court): Richard B. Teitelman (1973) in 2002^{[7] [8]}
• First African American male (Missouri Supreme Court; Chief Justice): Ronnie L. White (1983) in 2003
• First quadriplegic male: Jason Sengheiser in 2017^{[9] [10]}

Federal judges

• First African American male (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit): Theodore McMillian (1949) in 1978
• First African American male (U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri): Clyde S. Cahill Jr. (1951) in 1980

• First African American male president: Charlie J. Harris, Jr.^[11]

Firsts in local history

• I. J. Ringolsky:^[12] First Jewish male to serve as the President of the Kansas City Bar Association (1940) [<nowiki/>[[Cass County, Missouri|Cass]], Clay, Jackson and Platte Counties, Missouri]
• Fernando J. Gaitan Jr.:^[13] First African American male corporate lawyer in Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri (upon working for Southwestern Bell Telephone Company)
• Filiberto (Filbert) Muñoz:^[14] First Latino American male lawyer in Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri
• Lewis W. Clymer:^[15] First African American male to serve as a Judge of the Jackson County Circuit Court (1970)
• Homer G. Phillips:^[16] First African American male lawyer in Pettis County, Missouri
• Noah W. Parden (c. 1890):^[17] First African American male lawyer in St. Clair County, Missouri
• Eleazer Block (1814):^[18] First Jewish male lawyer in the independent city of St. Louis, Missouri (1817)
• Crittenden Clark:^[19] First African American male to serve as the Justice of the Peace for St. Louis, Missouri (1922)
• William Sherwood Diuguid:^[20] First African American male magistrate in St. Louis, Missouri

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 Missouri

Notes and References

1. Book: Smith, Jr., J. Clay. Emancipation: The Making of the Black Lawyer, 1844-1944. 1999-01-01. University of Pennsylvania Press. 0812216857.
2. Book: Smith, Jr., J. Clay. Emancipation: The Making of the Black Lawyer, 1844-1944. 1999-01-01. University of Pennsylvania Press. 0812216857.
3. Web site: Celebrating African-Americans' contributions to Missouri's justice system. www.courts.mo.gov. 2018-01-12.
4. Web site: WULS: Fast Facts on the School of Law. law.wustl.edu. 2018-02-16.
5. Web site: 2019-08-14. Judge Lawrence E. Mooney’s keynote speech at the 2019 Diversity & Inclusion Awards - Missouri Lawyers Media. 2022-02-16. en-US.
6. Upon Mooney's appointment to the Missouri Court of Appeals in 1998
7. News: First Blind Judge Elected to Michigan Supreme Court JDJournal . 2018-01-16.
8. News: Missouri Supreme Court Judge Richard Teitelman dies . azcentral . 2018-01-16.
9. Web site: Martin . Catherine . 2016-02-11 . Missouri’s first quadriplegic judge sworn in - Missouri Lawyers Media . 2022-04-15 . en-US.
10. Web site: Erickson . Kurt . Greitens names new judge for city of St. Louis . 2022-04-15 . STLtoday.com . en.
11. Web site: Charlie J. Harris, Jr.. en-US. 2019-01-04.
12. Book: Schultz, Joseph P.. Mid-America's Promise: A Profile of Kansas City Jewry. 1982. Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Kansas City. en.
13. Web site: 2024-02-02 . Passing the Baton Groundbreaking African American Lawyer . 2024-07-11 . en-US.
14. Web site: Diversity, Inclusion and Empowerment School of Law University of Missouri - Kansas City . 2024-05-23 . law.umkc.edu.
15. Web site: Judge Lewis W. Clymer. Staff. MO Lawyers Media. 2001-09-03. Missouri Lawyers Media. en-US. 2020-02-14.
16. Web site: Barnes . Donald . March 4, 2016 . Women and minorities have played role in Pettis County . 2024-04-12 . infoweb.newsbank.com.
17. News: Mickel. Timothy. Of him shall much be required: The trials of Noah W. Parden. August 29, 2014. Hamilton County Herald.
18. Web site: Eleazer Block, the First Jewish Lawyer in St. Louis, Missouri in the Early 1820s – JMAW – Jewish Museum of the American West. en-US. 2018-12-11.
19. Book: Wright, John Aaron. Discovering African American St. Louis: A Guide to Historic Sites. 2002. Missouri History Museum. 978-1-883982-45-4. en.
20. Web site: October 5, 2012 . Progress in South means blacks can safely return . 2024-04-13 . infoweb.newsbank.com.