List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Virginia explained

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

Lawyers

• First Jewish American male: James M. Wolfe (1821)^{[1] [2]}
• First African American male: Wathal G. Wynn (1871)^{[3] [4] [5]}
• First African American male (practice before the Supreme Court of Virginia): Joseph (J.) Thomas Newsome^[6]

Law Clerk

• First African American male to clerk for the Supreme Court of Virginia: Jerrauld Jones (1980)^[7]

State judges

• First African American male (elected): Daniel M. Norton in 1866^{[8] [9]}
• First African American male (actively serve): James A. Fields in 1879^[10]
• First African American male (since Reconstruction Era): Willard Douglas (1949) in 1974^{[11] [12] [13]}
• First African American male (Virginia Supreme Court): John Charles Thomas (1975) in 1983^{[14] [15]}
• First African American male (Virginia Court of Appeals): James W. Benton in 1984
• First Native American (Cherokee) male: Charles Riley Cloud in 1986^[16]
• First African American male (Chief Justice; Virginia Supreme Court): Leroy R. Hassell Sr. (1980) in 2003^[17]
• First Asian American male (Vietnamese descent): John M. Tran (1984) in 2013^{[18] [19]}
• First openly gay male: Tracy Thorne-Begland in 2013^[20]
• First Indian American male: Rupen Shah in 2017^[21]

Federal judges

• First African American male: James R. Spencer (1974) in 1986^{[22] [23] [24]}
• First African American male (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit): Roger Gregory (1978) in 2000^[25]
• First African American male (United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia): Ivan D. Davis in 2008^[26]
• First African American male (Chief Justice; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit): Roger Gregory (1978) in 2016
• First (African American) openly LGBT male (United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia): Jamar K. Walker in 2023^[27]

• First Latino American male: Jason Miyares in 2022^[28]

Assistant United States Attorney

• First African American male (Eastern District of Virginia): William T. Mason, Jr.^[29]

Bar associations

• First Jewish American male (Virginia State Bar): Michael A. Glasser in 2014^[30]
• First African American male (Virginia Bar Association): Victor Cardwell in 2022^[31]

Firsts in local history

• Eugene Butler:^[32] First African American male to serve as a Judge of the 24th Judicial District (2023) [<nowiki/>[[Amherst County, Virginia|Amherst]], Bedford, Campbell, Lynchburg (city) and Nelson Counties, Virginia]
• Jesse Pollard:^[33] First African American male judge in Arlington County, Virginia
• Daniel T. Lopez:^[34] First Latino American male judge in Arlington County, Virginia (2019)
• Gregory Swanson:^[35] First African American male admitted to the University of Virginia School of Law (1950)
• John Merchant:^[36] First African American male to graduate from the University of Virginia School of Law (1958)
• Larry S. Gibson (1967):^[37] First African American male to serve as a law professor for the University of Virginia School of Law (1972)
• James Ghee (c. 1970s):^[38] First African American male lawyer in Farmville, Cumberland County and Prince Edward County, Virginia
• Marcus Doyle Williams:^[39] First African American male judge in Fairfax County, Virginia (1987)
• Thomas Calhoun "T.C." Walker:^{[40] [41]} First African American male lawyer in Gloucester County, Virginia
• Garland P. Faison:^[42] First African American male to serve as a Justice of the Peace in Greensville County, Virginia
• Wilford Taylor, Jr.:^[43] First African American male judge in Hampton, Virginia
• David F. Pugh:^[44] First African American male judge in Newport News, Virginia (1990)
• R.G.L. Paige:^[45] Reputed to be the first African American male lawyer in Norfolk, Virginia
• Lester V. Moore:^[46] First African American male judge in Norfolk, Virginia (c. 1975)
• Carlos Flores Laboy:^[47] First Latino American male judge in Prince William County, Virginia (2020)
  • Herman Benn (1958):^[48] First African American male lawyer, Assistant City Attorney (1967), and Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney (1976) in Richmond, Virginia T.D. Taylor (c. 1969):^[49] First African American male lawyer in Warsaw, Richmond County, Virginia
• Onzlee Ware:^[50] First African American male to serve as a Judge of the Roanoke Circuit Court (2020)
• Kevin Duffan:^[51] First African American male to serve as a circuit judge in Virginia Beach, Virginia (2020)
• James A. Fields:^{[52] [53]} First African American male lawyer and judicial officer in Warwick County, Virginia
• Albert Durant Sr.:^[54] First African American male to serve as a Justice of the Peace and magistrate in Williamsburg, Virginia [<nowiki/>[[Williamsburg, Virginia|Williamsburg]]-James City County, Virginia]
• William Stone:^[55] First African American male judge in Williamsburg-James City County, Virginia
• A. Benjamin Spencer:^[56] First African American male to serve as the Dean of the College of William & Mary (2020)

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 Virginia

Notes and References

1. Book: Heller, Nachman . The Coming of Shiloh: Reflections on Zionism . 1928 . Pinski-Massel . en.
2. Book: Ezekiel . Herbert Tobias . The history of the Jews of Richmond from 1769 to 1917 . Lichtenstein . Gaston . 1917 . Richmond, Va., H.T. Ezekiel . Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center . English.
3. Book: Smith, J. Clay Jr.. Emancipation: The Making of the Black Lawyer, 1844-1944. 1999. University of Pennsylvania Press. 978-0-8122-1685-1. en.
4. Book: Harrison, Victoria L.. Fight Like a Tiger: Conway Barbour and the Challenges of the Black Middle Class in Nineteenth-Century America. 2018-10-22. SIU Press. 978-0-8093-3677-7. en.
5. Book: Farmer. Vernon L.. Voices of Historical and Contemporary Black American Pioneers. Shepherd-Wynn. Evelyn. 2012. ABC-CLIO. 978-0-313-39224-5. en.
6. News: . Davidson . Mark . HISTORIC HOME RESTORATION TO BEGIN . Daily Press . 20 November 1989 . B1 .
7. Web site: Press. BARRY FLYNN Daily. HIGH PROFILE: Q&A: JERRAULD C. JONES. 2020-06-05. dailypress.com. 6 February 1995 . en-US.
8. Web site: 2016-06-06. "To Benefit All, to Exclude None": Judicial Trailblazers in Virginia. 2022-02-26. Virginia Appellate Court History. en-US.
9. Norton was denied the ability to serve as a judge despite his election.
10. Web site: 121-5004 James A. Fields House. Virginia Department of Historic Resources.
11. News: Historical Paintings in Amherst County - Amherst County Guidebook. 2013-09-16. Amherst County Guidebook. 2018-01-11.
12. Book: Jet. 1974-02-21. Johnson Publishing Company.
13. News: Willard H. Douglas, Jr., elected judge. 2016-07-29. Virginia Appellate Court History. 2018-01-11.
14. News: Franklin . Ben a . Times . Special to the New York . 1983-04-12 . First Black Named to Virginia Court . The New York Times . 2018-01-30 . 0362-4331.
15. Web site: Former Virginia Supreme Court Justice John Charles Thomas to speak at Convocation William & Mary . 2018-01-30 . www.wm.edu.
16. Book: Johansen, Bruce Elliott . The Encyclopedia of Native American Legal Tradition . 1998 . Greenwood Publishing Group . 978-0-313-30167-4 . en.
17. News: McGlone . Julian Walker, Tim . Va. Supreme Court Justice Leroy Hassell, 55, dies . Virginian-Pilot . 2018-01-12.
18. News: McLean's John Tran named first Asian-American judge in Va. history. Jackman. Tom. 2013-04-05. Washington Post. 2018-02-15.
19. Web site: Alumnus Named First Asian-American Judge in Virginia History GW Law The George Washington University. www.law.gwu.edu. 2018-02-15.
20. Web site: 2013-03-01. Virginia's first openly gay judge takes oath amid tears, applause. 2022-02-15. WTVR. en.
21. News: First Indian-American Judge Appointed in Virginia. 2018-01-26.
22. Upon Spencer's appointment as a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in 1986
23. News: James R. Spencer. 2017-06-28. University of Virginia School of Law. 2018-01-18.
24. Web site: Va.'s first African-American federal judge to semi-retire next year. Times-Dispatch. FRANK GREEN Richmond. Richmond Times-Dispatch. 29 April 2013 . en. 2019-01-14.
25. News: Judge Roger Gregory Makes History Again. 2016-07-18. The Seattle Medium. 2018-01-13.
26. News: . Dujardin . Peter . Macaulay . David . HAMPTON MAN NAMED U.S. MAGISTRATE JUDGE IN ALEXANDRIA . Daily Press . 13 December 2008 . A.5 .
27. Web site: President Biden Makes Second Round of Judicial Nominations in Two days . 2024-02-22 . National Law Journal . en.
28. Web site: 2022-01-15. Jason Miyares, sworn in as attorney general, makes history as first Latino to hold statewide office in Virginia. 2022-02-26. WRIC ABC 8News. en-US.
29. Web site: Colby Magazine vol. 100, no. 3. Issuu. 31 August 2011 . en. 2020-03-12.
30. Web site: Legal Leaders. Crews. Edward R.. 2014. Richmond Law (via Issuu). en. 2019-01-07.
31. Web site: Walker . Randy . 2022-07-28 . Roanoke's Victor Cardwell is first Black president of Virginia Bar Association . 2024-02-06 . Cardinal News . en-US.
32. Web site: Staff . Web . 2023-04-05 . Lynchburg's First Black Judge To Be Sworn In June 30 - The New Journal and Guide . 2023-04-11 . en-US.
33. Web site: Patterson . Michael Robert . 2023-06-21 . Freedman's Village: a lost chapter of Arlington's Black History. . 2023-06-22 . Arlington National Cemetery . en-US.
34. Web site: First Latino Judge Sworn In at Arlington General District Court. 2019-05-23. ARLnow.com - Arlington, Va. Local News. en. 2019-07-17.
35. Web site: Wharton . Amy . Law Library Guides: Our History: Featured Alumni/ae: Swanson, Gregory H., 1950 . 2022-03-15 . libguides.law.virginia.edu . en.
36. Web site: 2020-03-10 . In Memoriam: John Merchant, UVA's First Black Law Graduate, Advocate for Diversity in Golf . 2022-03-15 . UVA Today . en.
37. Web site: Larry Gibson's Biography . 2022-03-15 . The HistoryMakers . en.
38. Book: Bonastia, Christopher . Southern Stalemate: Five Years Without Public Education in Prince Edward County, Virginia . February 2012 . University of Chicago Press . 9780226063898 .
39. Book: Smith, Jessie Carney. Black Firsts: 4,000 Ground-Breaking and Pioneering Historical Events. 2012-12-01. Visible Ink Press. 9781578594252.
40. Web site: National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. 2009. United States Department of the Interior National Park Service.
41. Web site: 2022-01-15. Black humane history found in great-grandpa's attic near a town called Ark. 2022-02-05. Animals 24-7. en-US.
42. Web site: Celebrating Black History. WRAY-WELSH. TERESA. 18 February 2019. Independent-Messenger. en. 2020-03-13.
43. Web site: Hampton district judge retiring. May 12, 1995. Daily Press. en. 2019-03-28.
44. News: . Barrett . Joe . DEMOCRATS TO ELECT FIRST BLACK JUDGE IN NN . Daily Press . 10 March 1990 . B1 .
45. Web site: Paige, R. G. L. (1846–1904). www.encyclopediavirginia.org. 2017-09-24.
46. Web site: TRAILBLAZING JURIST RETIRES, REFLECTS ON HIS ROLE IN LIVES. scholar.lib.vt.edu. 2019-01-17.
47. Web site: General Assembly approves first Latino judge for Prince William. Berti. Daniel. 11 March 2020. Prince William Times. en. 2020-03-14.
48. News: . Franklin . Katrice . SUFFOLK LAWYER'S CAREER MARKED BY FIRSTS RETIRING ATTORNEY, 85, BROKE RACIAL BARRIERS . The Virginian-Pilot . Daily Press . 1 March 1997 . C3 .
49. News: Lawyer T.D. Taylor, 72, dies. Slayton. Jeremy. Richmond Times-Dispatch. 2018-02-13.
50. Web site: Ex-legislator Onzlee Ware promoted to become Roanoke Circuit Court's first black judge. Friedenberger. Amy. March 12, 2020. Roanoke Times. en. 2020-03-13.
51. Web site: Virginia Beach to get its first black Circuit Court judge. Harper. Jane. pilotonline.com. 5 March 2020 . 2020-03-07.
52. News: Winter Catalog. Virginia Beach Parks & Recreation. 2018-02-13.
53. Book: Smith, J. Clay Jr.. Emancipation: The Making of the Black Lawyer, 1844-1944. 1999-01-01. University of Pennsylvania Press. 0812216857.
54. Web site: ALBERT DURANT SR., CIVIC ACTIVIST, 71. DailyPress.com. dailypress.com. 17 April 1991 . en-US. 2020-03-13.
55. Web site: Faces of 2018: They left their mark, and left us. ROBERTSON. ELLEN. Richmond Times-Dispatch. 30 December 2018 . en. 2019-01-18.
56. Web site: 2020-05-25 . The country's oldest law school names its first Black dean . 2022-03-15 . TheGrio . en-US.