List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Utah explained

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

Lawyers

• First African American male: Lawrence Marsh (1909)^[1]
• First Japanese American male: Yoshio Katayama (1946)^{[2] [3] [4]}
• First Native American males admitted to the Utah State Bar: Thomas G. Nelford and Larry Echo Hawk (1973)^{[5] [6]}
• First Hispanic American males admitted to the Utah State Bar: Melvin H. Martinez (1975), Armando R. Ibañez (1975), and Michael N. Martinez (1976).^{[7] [8]} Martinez was the first minority male to sit on the Utah State Bar Commission.^[9]
• First Tongan American male: Phil Uipi (1986)^{[10] [11]}

State judges

• First Asian American male (Japanese descent): Raymond Uno (1959)^{[12] [13] [14]}
• First African American male: Tyrone Medley (1977) in 1984^{[15] [16] [17]}
• First Native American (Pomo) male: William A. Thorne Jr. (1977) in 1986^{[18] [19]}
• First Hispanic American male: Andrew Valdez (1977) in 1993^{[20] [21] [22]}
• First Chinese American male: Michael Kwan in 1998^[23]
• First Native American (Pomo) male (Utah Court of Appeals): William A. Thorne Jr. (1977) in 2000^{[24] [25]}
• First Greek American male (Utah Supreme Court): Deno Himonas in 2015^[26]

Federal judges

• First Hispanic American male (U.S. District Court for the District of Utah): Samuel Alba (1980)^{[27] [28] [29]}

• First Asian American male (Filipino descent): Sean Reyes (1997) in 2013^{[30] [31]}

Assistant Attorney General

• First African American male: Henry Lee Adams^[32]

Firsts in local history

• Joseph Greco:^[33] First male lawyer of Italian descent in Carbon County, Utah
• Henry Lee Adams: First African American male to graduate from the University of Utah's S.J. Quinney College of Law (1959) [<nowiki/>[[Salt Lake County, Utah]]]
• Robert Archuleta: First Latino American male to graduate from the University of Utah's S.J. Quinney College of Law (1974) [<nowiki/>[[Salt Lake County, Utah]]]
• Keith N. Hamilton:^[34] First African American male to graduate from the J. Reuben Clark Law School of Brigham Young University [<nowiki/>[[Utah County, Utah]]]

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 Utah

Notes and References

1. News: First black attorney's disbarment a mystery. 2005-10-14. DeseretNews.com. 2016-10-09.
2. News: Utah Minority Bar Association Receives Prestigious Honors - Thanks Utah State Bar and Bar Members for Support - Utah State Bar. 2007-01-08. Utah State Bar. 2018-01-30.
3. Book: Nagata, Ted. Japanese Americans in Utah. 1996. JA Centennial Committee.
4. Web site: Mori . Floyd . 2022-02-18 . An Early Minority Lawyer In Utah . 2022-03-08 . ILLUMINATION . en.
5. News: 2005-08-06 . Utah Minority Bar Association First 50 Event - Utah State Bar . Utah State Bar . 2016-10-20.
6. Web site: 2015 . The First 50 - the Utah State Bar . Utah State Bar Association . en.
7. Other sources may consider Michael N. Martinez Utah's first Hispanic male lawyer, as Melvin H. Martinez and Armando R. Ibañez (both of whom were admitted on September 29, 1975) left the state not long after admittance for other opportunities.
8. Web site: Archives West: Michael Martinez papers, 1956-2013. archiveswest.orbiscascade.org. 2016-10-13.
9. Web site: Michael Martinez papers - Archives West . 2024-05-20 . archiveswest.orbiscascade.org.
10. Book: Swain . Liz . Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America . Gale . 2000 . Lehman . Jeffrey . 2nd . 1364–1374 . Pacific Islander Americans . June 23, 2020.
11. News: Parker . Douglas L . January 7, 1991 . Islandlike Neutrality Makes Lawmaker Fresh . Salt Lake Tribune.
12. News: Rolly: Admirers pay tribute to retired Utah Judge Ray Uno, who became a legend in the Asian community. The Salt Lake Tribune. 2018-02-15.
13. Web site: Raymond Uno - College of Social and Behavioral Science - The University of Utah. csbs.utah.edu. 2018-02-15.
14. Mori. Floyd. March 2011. Day of Remembrance Events Are a Good Reminder. Pacific Citizen. 152:4. 2.
15. News: Utah's First Black Judge. AP. 1984-06-10. The New York Times. 2018-01-11. 0362-4331.
16. News: Tyrone Medley: From basketball court to Utah's first black judge. The Salt Lake Tribune. 2018-01-11.
17. Book: Smith, Jessie Carney. Black Firsts: 4,000 Ground-Breaking and Pioneering Historical Events. 2012-12-01. Visible Ink Press. 9781578594252.
18. Web site: Utah judge made a career of treating people with respect. The Salt Lake Tribune. en-US. 2020-03-10.
19. Upon Thorne's appointment as a Judge of the Third Circuit Court in 1986
20. News: Writer . By EARLE CORNELIUS Staff . Judge creates tennis program to help at-risk kids . LancasterOnline . 2018-02-15.
21. News: interviews latino leaders . CDEA . 2018-02-15.
22. Book: Hispanic Link Weekly Report . 1993 . Hispanic Link News Service.
23. State Railroad Museum, C. (2023, April 28). Event celebrates Chinese culture, contributions to westward expansion. Mountain Democrat (Placerville, CA). Available from NewsBank: Access World News: https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AWNB&docref=news/1913414548AE6980 .
24. News: Utah's first minority lawyers saluted. 2005-10-14. DeseretNews.com. 2018-02-11.
25. Web site: Utah State Courts - Senior Judges. www.utcourts.gov. 2018-02-11.
26. Web site: Manson . Pamela . 'Immigrant's choice' launched the inspiring rise of Utah's newest justice . 2023-12-18 . The Salt Lake Tribune . en-US.
27. News: Utah's first Latino federal judge to leave bench. The Salt Lake Tribune. 2018-02-15.
28. News: THE COLOR OF JUSTICE IN UTAH: STATISTICS POINT TO RACIAL BIAS. 1993-02-25. DeseretNews.com. 2018-02-15.
29. Alba is also considered the first Hispanic American male state and federal judge in Utah's history.
30. News: Fil-Am lawyer becomes first Asian-American attorney general in Utah. GMA News Online. 2018-02-16.
31. News: Reyes tackles tall tasks as Utah's new attorney general. The Salt Lake Tribune. 2018-02-16.
32. Web site: Henry Lee Adams, pioneering figure in Utah law, dies at 86 . 2022-05-19 . The Salt Lake Tribune . en-US.
33. Web site: A look back: October 3, 1973 Times News Online. www.tnonline.com. 2018-02-16.
34. Web site: Parole boss has sense of mission . 2022-05-19 . The Salt Lake Tribune . en-US.