List of first women lawyers and judges in Arkansas explained

This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Arkansas. It includes the year in which the women were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are women who achieved other distinctions such becoming the first in their state to graduate from law school or become a political figure.

Firsts in Arkansas' history

Degree

• First female (master's degree in judicial studies): Cindy Thyer in 2019^[1]

Lawyers

• First female: Sarah Shields (1918)^[2]
• First African American female: Sharon E. Bernard Miller (1970)^[3]
• First Vietnamese American (female): Niki T. Cung (1996)^[4]

Law Clerk

• First (African American) female to clerk for the Arkansas Supreme Court: Joyce Williams Warren (1976) in 1977^{[5] [6] [7]}

State judges

• First female: Elsijane Trimble Roy (1939)^{[8] [9]}
• First female (Sixth Judicial District): Elsijane Trimble Roy (1939) in 1966
• First female (Arkansas Supreme Court): Elsijane Trimble Roy (1939) from 1975-1977
• First African American female: Joyce Williams Warren (1976) in 1988
• First African American female (First Circuit): Kathleen Bell in 1988
• First African American female (Arkansas Supreme Court):Andree Layton Roaf (1979) circa 1995-1996^{[10] [11]}
• First female (Chief Justice; Arkansas Supreme Court): Betty Dickey (1985) in 2004^{[12] [13]}
• First female (Third Judicial Circuit): Michelle Huff in 2019^[14]

Federal judges

• First female (U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas): Elsijane Trimble Roy (1939) in 1977

• First female (elected): Leslie Rutledge in 2023^[15]

• First female: Mary Stallcup in 1991^{[16] [17]}
• First female (elected): Leslie Rutledge in 2015

Prosecuting Attorney

• First female elected: Betty Dickey in 1995

• First female (president): Carolyn Witherspoon in 1995

Firsts in local history

• Betty Dickey: First female to be elected as a Prosecuting Attorney for the Eleventh Judicial District [<nowiki/>[[Arkansas County, Arkansas|Arkansas]], Jefferson and Lincoln Counties, Arkansas; 1995]
• Carol Crews:^[18] First female Prosecuting Attorney for the Twentieth Judicial District, Arkansas [Faulkner], Searcy and Van Buren Counties, Arkansas; 2018]
• Michelle Huff: First female appointed as a Judge of the Third Judicial Circuit in Arkansas (2019) [<nowiki/>[[Jackson County, Arkansas|Jackson]], Lawrence, Randolph and Sharp Counties, Arkansas]
• Stephanie Black:^[19] First female Prosecuting Attorney for the Eighth Judicial District, Arkansas [<nowiki/>[[Lafayette County, Arkansas|Lafayette]] and Miller Counties, Arkansas; 2015]
• Georgia Kimbro Elrod:^[20] First female lawyer in Benton County, Arkansas (1974)
• Ruth LaVerne Grayson:^[21] First female county judge in Boone County, Arkansas
• Kim Bridgeforth:^[22] First female judge in Jefferson County, Arkansas
• Pauline LaFon Gore (1936):^{[23] [24]} First female lawyer in Texarkana, Arkansas [<nowiki/>[[Miller County, Arkansas]]]^[25]
• Cathy Hardin Harrison:^[26] First elected female county judge in Miller County, Arkansas (2019)
• Maud Crawford (1927):^[27] First female lawyer in Camden, Arkansas [<nowiki/>[[Ouachita County, Arkansas]]]
• Joyce Williams Warren (1976): First African American female judge in Pulaski County, Arkansas (1988)
• Barbara Webb:^[28] First female circuit judge in Saline County, Arkansas (2017)
• Stacy Leeds:^[29] First Native American (Cherokee) female to become the Dean of the University of Arkansas Law School [<nowiki/>[[Washington County, Arkansas]]]
• Suzanne Lighton:^{[30] [31]} First female lawyer in Washington County, Arkansas

See also

• List of first women lawyers and judges in the United States
• Timeline of women lawyers in the United States
• Women in law

Other topics of interest

• List of first minority male lawyers and judges in the United States
• List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Arkansas

Notes and References

1. Web site: First woman in state to receive master's degree in judicial studies. Newsdesk. Region 8. KAIT8. en-US. 2019-07-22.
2. Web site: Reforming the Bar: Women and the Arkansas Legal Profession. Ross. Frances Mitchell. 1998. University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review. October 6, 2016.
3. Book: Remembrances in Black: Personal Perspectives of the African American Experience at the University of Arkansas, 1940s–2000s. II. Charles F. Robinson. Williams. Lonnie R.. 2015-02-20. University of Arkansas Press. 9781557286758.
4. Web site: Niki T. Cung - Arkansas Lawyers - Setting the Bar . 2022-03-17 . Super Lawyers . en.
5. Book: 3 Blacks Get Judgeships in Arkansas from Governor. 1989-10-09. Jet. 22. Johnson Publishing Company.
6. Book: The American Bench. Finn. Marie T.. Irvine. Diana R.. Bliss. Mary Lee. Pratton. Gina L. (CON). Morgan. Samantha (CON). 2009. Forster-Long. 9780931398582.
7. Web site: Joyce Williams Warren - Judge.
8. News: Arkansas Women's Hall of Fame: Judge Elsijane Trimble Roy, Legal Trailblazer . Arkansas Business . 2018-01-09.
9. Encyclopedia: Elsijane Trimble Roy (1916–2007) . Encyclopedia of Arkansas . 2018-01-09.
10. Web site: Andree Yvonne Layton Roaf (1941–2009) - Encyclopedia of Arkansas . 2018-12-27 . www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net.
11. Web site: Dillard . Tom . November 8, 2015 . Women of the Bar . 2018-12-27 . Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
12. Web site: Betty Dickey (1940–) - Encyclopedia of Arkansas . 2018-12-27 . www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net.
13. Web site: January 2004 . New Chief Justice Sworn In . Arkansas Administrative Office of the Courts.
14. Web site: The Times Dispatch ~ Walking on the glass ceiling ... Huff takes the bench. www.thetd.com. 2019-03-04.
15. Web site: Lieutenant Governor Leslie Rutledge . 2023-07-31 . Lieutenant Governor . en-US.
16. News: Another woman made history earlier in attorney general's office. Brantley. Max. Arkansas Times. 2018-11-19. en.
17. News: Interim Attorney General Steps Down in Arkansas. Tulsa World. 2018-11-19. en.
18. Web site: Hicks . Marisa . Crews is first woman to serve as district's elected prosecutor . 2018-12-27 . Log Cabin Democrat . en.
19. Web site: KSLA Staff . Carlton Jones sworn in as District Judge for Miller and Lafayette Counties . 2018-12-27 . en-US.
20. News: Georgia Kimbro Elrod is First Female Lawyer in Benton County, AR. Northwest Arkansas Times. 2018-12-27.
21. Web site: Obituary for Ruth LaVerne Grayson. www.rollerfuneralhomes.com. 2019-01-23.
22. News: First female firefighter promoted to first female lieutenant. Briggs. Shakari. Pine Bluff Commercial. 2018-02-09.
23. Web site: Washingtonpost.com: Gore Cultivates Women Voters. www.washingtonpost.com. 2018-03-01.
24. Book: J, Clinton, William. Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton, 1995. 1996-01-01. Best Books on. 9781623767990.
25. Gore was the mother of former U.S. Vice President Al Gore.
26. Web site: 1st female county judge takes Miller County reins. 2019-01-02. Arkansas Online. en. 2019-01-09.
27. Web site: Maud Robinson Crawford (1891–1957) - Encyclopedia of Arkansas. www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net. 2018-01-05.
28. Web site: Hutchinson names Barbara Webb to fill vacant judgeship in Saline County. Brantley. Max. Arkansas Times. en. 2018-12-27.
29. Web site: Judge Stacy Leeds. www.americanbar.org. 2018-02-05.
30. News: WORKING IN A LAW FIRM WITH HER HUSBAND. January 27, 1974. Northwest Arkansas Times. 2018-02-13. Fayetteville, Arkansas. 9. Newspapers.com.
31. Book: The Arkansas Lawyer. 1979. Arkansas Bar Association.