List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Washington explained

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

Lawyers

• First African American male: Robert O. Lee (1889)^[1]
• First Chinese American male: Warren Chan (1950)^[2]
• First Korean American male: Eddie Yoon (1976)^{[3] [4] [5] [6]}

Law Clerk

• First African American male to clerk for the Washington Supreme Court: Charles Z. Smith (1955)^{[7] [8] [9]}

State judges

• First African American male: John E. Prim (1927) in 1954^{[10] [11]}
• First Jewish American male: Solie M. Ringold in 1961^[12]
• First African American male (municipal court): Charles Z. Smith (1955) in 1965
• First Native American (Cherokee) male: James Phillips in 1929^[13]
• First Asian American male (Chinese ancestry; judge pro tem): Warren Chan (1950) in 1956^{[14] [15]}
• First African American male (superior court): Charles Z. Smith (1955) in 1966
• First Asian American male (Chinese ancestry; superior court): Warren Chan (1950) in 1968
• First African American male (district court): Charles M. Stokes (c. 1943) in 1968^[16]
• First elected Japanese American male: Richard Ishikawa in 1979^{[17] [18]}
• First Filipino American male: Douglas W. Luna^[19]
• First African American male (Washington Supreme Court): Charles Z. Smith (1955) from 1988-2002
• First Asian American male (elected to district court): Mark Chow in 1990^[20]
• First Latino American male: Ricardo S. Martinez (1980) in 1990^[21]
• First openly gay male: Tim Bradbury in 1995^[22]
• First Latino and Jewish American male (Washington Supreme Court): Steven Gonzalez (1991) in 2012^{[23] [24] [25] [26]}
• First Samoan American male: Fa’amomoi Masaniai in 2021^[27]
• First Latino and Jewish American male (Washington Supreme Court; Chief Justice): Steven Gonzalez (1991) in 2021
• First South Asian male (judge; presiding judge of a Washington court): Ketu Shah in 2019 and 2024, respectively^[28]

Federal judges

• First African American male (U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington; U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington): Jack Edward Tanner (1955) in 1978^{[29] [30]}
• First Latino American male (U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington): Ricardo S. Martinez (1980) in 2004^{[31] [32]}
• First Hispanic American male (U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington): Salvador Mendoza Jr. (1997) in 2014^{[33] [34] [35]}
• First Asian American male (of South Korean descent) (United States District Court for the Western District of Washington): John H. Chun in 2022^[36]
• First Hispanic American male (United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit): Salvador Mendoza Jr. (1997) in 2022

United States Attorney

• First African American male (United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington): Nicholas W. Brown in 2021^[37]

Assistant United States Attorney

• First Jewish American (Western District of Washington): Jeffrey Heiman^[38]

Political Office

• First Iranian American and blind male (Lieutenant Governor of Washington): Cyrus Habib in 2017^[39]

• First African American male president: Ronald Ward from 2004-2005^[40]
• First openly gay male president: Anthony Gipe:^[41]
• First South Asian male president: Rajeev Majumdar in 2019^[42]

Firsts in local history

• (Leonard) Carl Maxey (1951):^[43] First African American male lawyer in Eastern Washington
• Jack Edward Tanner (1955): Considered "the first African American in the Pacific Northwest to be elevated to the federal bench"
• Cameron Mitchell:^[44] First African American male to serve as a Judge of the Benton-Franklin Superior Court (2004)
• Salvador Mendoza Jr. (1997): First Hispanic American male to serve as a Judge of the Benton-Franklin Superior Court (2013-2014)
• John Edward Hawkins (1895):^[45] First African American male lawyer in King County, Washington
• Warren Chan (1950): First Chinese American male lawyer in Seattle, Washington [King County, Washington]
• Solie M. Ringold: First Jewish American male judge in Washington (1961)
• Charles Z. Smith (1955): First African American male appointed as a municipal court judge in Seattle, Washington (1965)
• Charles M. Stokes (c. 1943): First African American male to serve as a Judge of the King County District Court, Washington (1968)
• Mark Chow:^{[46] [47]} First Asian American male elected as a district court judge in King County, Washington (1990)
• Ricardo S. Martinez (1980):^[48] First Latino American male to serve as a judge in King County, Washington (1990)
• Gary Maehara:^[49] First Asian American male to serve as the President of the King County Bar Association, Washington (2005)
• Dan Gandara: First Latino American male to serve as the President of the King County Bar Association, Washington (2008)
• James Andrus: First African American male to serve as the President of the King County Bar Association, Washington (2009)
• Eduardo Peñalver

^[50] First Latino American male to serve as the President of Seattle University School of Law (2021) [King County, Washington]

• Nathan Sargeant:^[51] First African American male to serve as a Justice of the Peace in Kitsap County, Washington (1897)
• Theodore "Ted" Spearman Jr.:^[52] First African American male judge in Kitsap County, Washington (2004)
• Sergio Armijo:^[53] First Latino American male to serve as a Judge of the Pierce County Superior Court (1994)

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 Washington

Notes and References

1. Web site: Robert O. Lee becomes first African American to practice law in Washington in 1889. - HistoryLink.org. www.historylink.org. 2016-10-09.
2. Web site: 2015-07-02 . Announcement: Memorial service for Judge Warren Chan set for July 3 . 2024-06-03 . International Examiner . en-US.
3. News: 2014-10-23 . Time to vote — API candidates that will be on your ballot . Northwest Asian Weekly . 2018-02-14.
4. Web site: 2014 . Eddie Yoon (Pages - Online Voters' Guide) . 2018-02-14 . wei.sos.wa.gov.
5. News: A recap of all races in the Washington and Idaho 2014 Election . Spokesman.com . 2018-02-14.
6. Web site: January 10, 2019 . Eddie Yoon, proud Lincoln Abe and the state's first Korean... . News Tribune.
7. News: Charles Z. Smith: Trailblazer - Legacy Washington - WA Secretary of State . 2018-01-11.
8. Web site: Former state Supreme Court Justice Charles Smith dies The Spokesman-Review. 2020-06-05. www.spokesman.com.
9. Web site: Alexander. Gerry. 2007-07-11. Charles Z. Smith (1927-2016) •. 2020-06-05. en-US.
10. Web site: Prim, John E. (1898-1961) The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed. www.blackpast.org. 2018-01-11.
11. Web site: John E. Prim behind judge's bench, Seattle, ca. 1950 :: Black Heritage Society (KCS). digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu. 2018-01-11.
12. Web site: State's first Jewish judge dies. products.kitsapsun.com. 2019-01-25.
13. Web site: Washington State Courts - Washington Court News. www.courts.wa.gov. 2018-01-23.
14. News: Former King County Superior Court Judge Warren Chan dies. 2015-06-26. The Seattle Times. 2018-02-16.
15. News: BLOG: Honoring Warren Chan — Icon of an incredible generation. 2015-07-09. Northwest Asian Weekly. 2018-02-16.
16. Web site: Stokes, Charles Moorehead (1903-1996) The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed . 2019-01-17 . blackpast.org . en.
17. Web site: 2009-03-09. Judge Richard Ishikawa, pioneer and mentor. 2020-07-03. The Seattle Times. en-US.
18. Web site: 2009-03-03. Richard Moriye Ishikawa. 2020-07-03. Bellevue Reporter. en-US.
19. Web site: Washington State Courts - Minority and Justice Commission . 2024-06-05 . www.courts.wa.gov.
20. Web site: King County Elections . 2022-05-19 . www.kingcounty.gov.
21. Web site: 2021. King County Bar Association's Annual Awards Celebration. King County Bar Association.
22. Web site: Lowry Choices: Win One, Lose One -- Macinnes, Burrage Will Fill Out Terms The Seattle Times. 2022-02-15. archive.seattletimes.com.
23. Web site: 2012-08-08 . Justice Gonzalez's win raises questions about role of ethnicity . 2019-01-16 . The Seattle Times . en-US.
24. Web site: Gonzalez sworn in as new justice . 2019-01-16 . theolympian . en.
25. Web site: 2021-03-30 . Justice Steven Gonzalez - The Minority Experience in Washington AJC . 2022-03-06 . www.ajc.org . en.
26. Web site: 2021-01-12 . Washington's new chief justice vows to 'follow through' and eradicate bias in the justice system . 2024-05-16 . KNKX Public Radio . en.
27. Web site: 2021-02-17 . First judge of Samoan heritage in state history appointed to the bench . 2022-03-25 . KIRO 7 News Seattle . en.
28. Web site: 2024-01-16 . New Year Marks Start of New Leadership for Superior Court . 2024-01-17 . Medium . en.
29. News: Jack Tanner, First Black U.S. Judge, Dies at 86. . 2006-01-13. 2018-01-18. 0190-8286.
30. Web site: Tanner, Jack (1919-2006) The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed. www.blackpast.org. 2018-01-18.
31. News: Three federal judges speak with Whitman students. 2013-10-07. Whitman College. 2018-01-30.
32. Web site: 2021. King County Bar Association's Annual Awards Celebration. King County Bar Association.
33. Web site: Salvador Mendoza: From migrant farm worker to federal judge. junio 2014. Por: Griselda Nevarez 18. La Opinión. es. 2018-12-24.
34. Web site: US Trial Judge Salvador Mendoza Confirmed to Ninth Circuit (1) . 2022-09-14 . news.bloomberglaw.com . en.
35. Web site: Herald-Republic . TAMMY AYER Yakima . Judge Salvador Mendoza Jr. from the Yakima Valley confirmed to 9th Circuit appeals court . 2022-09-14 . Yakima Herald-Republic . en.
36. Web site: Washington State Courts - Members of the Court of Appeals - Div I Bio - Judge John H. Chun. . 2022-04-12 . www.courts.wa.gov.
37. Web site: Syed . Maleeha . WA's new federal judges signify reversal of Trump-era influence Crosscut . 2022-04-14 . crosscut.com . en.
38. Book: The National Jewish Monthly . 1927 . B'nai B'rith. . en.
39. Web site: Candidate Makes History, Becoming First Iranian American Elected to a State Legislature. 2012-11-07. PAAIA. en. 2018-12-17.
40. Web site: Ronald R. Ward, J.D.. Civility Center for Law. en-US. 2019-01-04.
41. Web site: 2016 General Election Voters' Guide Judicial - Anthony Gipe. weiapplets.sos.wa.gov. 2019-01-06.
42. Web site: 2019-10-07. Rajeev Majumdar is the first state bar president of South Asian descent. 2020-06-06. Northwest Asian Weekly. en-US.
43. Web site: African Americans in the Pacific Northwest: A Select Bibliography. Washington State Library / Office of the Secretary of State.
44. Web site: Benton-County judge, Wenatchee lawyer pegged for Shea replacement. tri-cityherald. en. 2018-12-24.
45. Web site: John Edward Hawkins, King County's first black lawyer to be locally trained, is admitted to the Bar in 1895. - HistoryLink.org. www.historylink.org. 2017-10-31.
46. Web site: Judge Mark Chow - King County. www.kingcounty.gov. 2018-02-16.
47. Book: Chang, Gordon H.. Asian Americans and Politics: Perspectives, Experiences, Prospects. registration. 2001. Stanford University Press. 9780804742016.
48. Web site: 2021. King County Bar Association's Annual Awards Celebration. King County Bar Association.
49. Web site: Mission & History. www.kcba.org. 2019-01-06.
50. Web site: Eduardo M. Peñalver, from 'first' Latino law school dean to 'first' Latino college president . 2022-03-09 . NBC News . en.
51. Web site: Bremerton: A Celebra'ion of Black History. products.kitsapsun.com. 2020-03-13.
52. Web site: Theodore Ferdinand "Ted" Spearman Jr.. Legacy.com (Seattle Times).
53. Web site: Peterson. Josephine. February 2, 2022. Pierce County Superior Court's first Latino judge has died. The News Tribune.