List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Washington D.C. explained

This is a list of the first minority male lawyers and judges in Washington, D.C. 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 the federal district's history

Law School

• Yasimori Asada:^[1] First Japanese male student to enroll at the Georgetown University School of Law (1877) [<nowiki/>[[:File:DC locator map with state names.jpg|Washington, D.C.]]]
• Winston A. Douglas, Elmer W. Henderson, William D. Martin and Lutrelle F. Parke: First African American male students to enroll at the Georgetown University School of Law (1948) [<nowiki/>[[:File:DC locator map with state names.jpg|Washington, D.C.]]]
• Albert T. Gonzales (1935):^{[2] [3]} First blind male to graduate from Georgetown University School of Law [<nowiki/>[[:File:DC locator map with state names.jpg|Washington, D.C.]]]

Lawyer

• George Boyer Vashon (1869):^[4] First African American male lawyer in Washington, D.C.

Judicial Officers

Justice of the Peace

• John A. Moss:^[5] First African American male Justice of the Peace in Washington, D.C. (1873)

Judges

• Robert Heberton Terrell (1893):^[6] First African American male judge in Washington, D.C.
• Spottswood William Robinson III (1939): First African American male serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (1966) and the chief justice of the District of Columbia Circuit (1981)
• Austin L. Fickling:^[7] First African American to serve on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals (1968)
• William B. Bryant (1939):^{[8] [9]} First African American male appointed as the chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (1977)
• David S. Tatel (1966)

^{[10] [11]} First blind male to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (1994)

• Theodore Roosevelt Newman Jr. (1958):^[12] First African American male appointed as the chief judge of the Washington Court of Appeals (1976)
• Ricardo M. Urbina (1970):^[13] First Latino American male judge in Washington, D.C. (1981). He would later become a district court judge.
• Maurice B. Foley

^[14] First African American male to serve as a Judge of the United States Tax Court (1995)

• Amit P. Mehta (1997):^[15] First Asian Pacific American male serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (2013)
• Sri Srinivasan (1995):^{[16] [17] [18]} First South Asian American male serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (2013) and serve as its chief judge (2020)
• Brad Garcia

^[19] First Latino American male to serve as a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (2023)

Attorney General

• Karl Racine:^[20] First Haitian-born American male elected as the Attorney General of the District of Columbia (2010)

United States Attorney

• Eric Holder (1976):^{[21] [22]} First African American male to serve as the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia (1993-1997)

Assistant United States Attorney

• William B. Bryant (1939): First African American male as the Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia (1951-1954)

Bar Association

• Charles Duncan:^[23] First African American male to serve as the president of the D.C. Bar Association
• Darrell G. Mottley:^[24] First Hispanic American male to serve as the president of the D.C. Bar Association (2011)

Faculty

• Viet D. Dinh:^[25] First Vietnamese American law professor tenured at Georgetown University

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 D.C.

References

1. Web site: Georgetown Law Chronology . 2022-03-15 . www.law.georgetown.edu . en-US.
2. Web site: NFBNM Newsletter - June 2013. www.nfbnm.org. 2018-12-18.
3. Web site: Albert T. Gonzales Office of the President New Mexico State University. mchavira. en. 2018-12-18.
4. Book: Smith, J. Clay Jr.. Emancipation: The Making of the Black Lawyer, 1844-1944. 1999-01-01. University of Pennsylvania Press. 0812216857.
5. Book: Smith, J. Clay Jr.. Emancipation: The Making of the Black Lawyer, 1844-1944. 1999-01-01. University of Pennsylvania Press. 0812216857.
6. Web site: Terrell, Robert H. (1857-1925) The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed. www.blackpast.org. 2018-01-10.
7. Andrews. Dale C.. Mintz. Lawrence A.. 1979. Austin L. Fickling: A Memorial and Retrospective. Howard Law Journal. 22. 169.
8. Book: Office, U. S. Government Printing. Congressional Record, V. 151, Pt. 18, October 27 to November 7, 2005. Government Printing Office.
9. Web site: From the President: Diversity and the D.C. Bar. www.dcbar.org. 2019-01-07.
10. News: First Blind Judge Elected to Michigan Supreme Court JDJournal. 2018-01-16.
11. News: Blind Judge Makes History, Joins Michigan's Supreme Court. 2014-12-28. Huffington Post. 2018-01-16.
12. Book: Blacks at Harvard: A Documentary History of African-American Experience At Harvard and Radcliffe. Sollors. Werner. Titcomb. Caldwell. Underwood. Thomas A.. March 1993. NYU Press. 9780814779729.
13. Book: Print, Congress (U S.) Joint Committee on. 2011-2012 Official Congressional Directory, 112th Congress, Convened January 5, 2011. 2012. Government Printing Office. 9780160886539.
14. Web site: 2022-08-19 . UC Hastings Law Welcomes New Visiting Professors . 2022-09-14 . UC Hastings Law San Francisco . en-US.
15. News: West . Richard Springer, India . Senate Confirms Amit P. Mehta District Court Judge in D.C. . India West . 2018-01-19.
16. News: Sri Srinivasan: Supreme Court justice in the making?. USA TODAY. 2018-01-19.
17. Web site: Amit Priyavadan Mehta nominated to U.S. District Court - New York. www.thesouthasiantimes.info. 2018-01-19.
18. Web site: Indian-American Sri Srinivasan is US appeals court's chief judge, the country's 2nd most powerful court. indica. 2020-02-15. Indica News. en-US. 2020-03-14.
19. Web site: First Latino Garcia Confirmed to Powerful D.C. Circuit Court (2) . 2023-06-02 . news.bloomberglaw.com . en.
20. Web site: Karl Racine wins first-ever race for D.C. attorney general. Shapiro. T. Rees. DeBonis. Mike. November 4, 2014. Washington Post.
21. Book: Introduction to Criminal Justice: Systems, Diversity, and Change. Rennison. Callie Marie. Dodge. Mary. 2016-12-01. SAGE Publications. 9781506347745.
22. Web site: America could get its first black attorney general. mcclatchydc. en. 2018-12-15.
23. Web site: Legends in the Law: Charles T. Duncan. www.dcbar.org. 2019-01-07.
24. Web site: July 6, 2011 . HBA-DC Congratulates Member Darrell G. Mottley on Becoming First Hispanic President of The DC Bar . Hispanic Bar Association - District of Columbia.
25. News: Mui . Ylan Q. . 2001-08-29 . From East to West, Then Up and to the Right . en-US . Washington Post . 2022-03-17 . 0190-8286.