List of first women lawyers and judges in Connecticut explained

This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Connecticut. 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 Connecticut's history

Lawyers

• First female: Mary Hall (1882)^{[1] [2]}
• First females to serve as municipal court prosecutors: Shirley R. Bysiewicz and Lillian Malley Vernon c. 1951^{[3] [4]}
• First African American female: Bessye Anita Warren Bennett (1974)^[5]
• First Latino American (female) prosecutor: Rosita "Bae" Cremer (1978)^[6]
• First Asian Pacific Islander female: Elizabeth Yen (1980)
• First DACA-recipient (female): Denia Perez in 2018^[7]

State judges

• First female (justice of the peace): Alice J. O'Neill during the 1920s^{[8] [9]}
• First female (trial court/circuit court): JoAnne Kulawiz in 1972^{[10] [11]}
• First female (Superior Court of Connecticut): Ellen Bree Burns (1947) in 1976^[12]
• First female (Connecticut Supreme Court): Ellen Ash Peters (1954) in 1978^[13]
• First female (Colorado Court of Appeals/Chief Judge): Antoinette Dupont
• First female (Chief Justice; Connecticut Supreme Court): Ellen Ash Peters (1954) in 1984
• First African American female: E. Curtissa R. Cofield in 1991^[14]
• First Hispanic American (female): Carmen E. Espinosa in 1992^{[15] [16]}
• First Asian American (female): Nina F. Elgo (1990) in 2004
• First Portuguese American female: Maria Araújo Kahn (1989) in 2006^[17]
• First Hispanic American female (Connecticut Court of Appeals): Carmen E. Espinosa in 2011
• First Hispanic American female (Connecticut Supreme Court): Carmen E. Espinosa in 2013
• First Asian American (female) (Connecticut Court of Appeals): Nina F. Elgo (1990) in 2018^[18]

Federal judges

• First female (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit): Susan L. Carney (1977):^[19]
• First female (U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut): Ellen Bree Burns (1947) in 1978
• First female (U.S. Magistrate Judge for the District of Connecticut): Joan G. Margolis in 1985^[20]
• First female (Chief Judge; U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut): Ellen Bree Burns (1947) in 1988
• First South Asian (female) (U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut): Sarala Nagala in 2021^[21]
• First Latino American female (U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut): Maria Eugenia Garcia in 2022

• First female: Clarine Nardi Riddle (1974) from 1989-1991^[22]

Assistant Attorney General

• First Asian American (female): Nina F. Elgo (1990) in 2000

United States Attorney

• First female (acting): Nora Dannehy from 2008-2010^[23]
• First female: Deidre M. Daly in 2014^[24]
• First African American (female): Vanessa R. Avery in 2022^[25]

Assistant United States Attorney

• First African American female: Cheryl Brown Wattley in 1978
• First Latino American female: Carmen E. Espinosa in 1980
• First Pacific Islander (female): Carolyn Ikari in 1995
• First South Asian (female): Krishna Patel in 1999

State's Attorney

• First African American (female): Gail Petteway Hardy in 2007

Assistant State's Attorney

• First female: Anne C. Dranginis (1972) in 1977^{[26] [27]}
• First African American (female) to serve as a Supervisory Assistant State's Attorney: Juliett L. Crawford in 1988

Public Defenders

• First female: Ellen B. Lubell around 1977^{[28] [29]}
• First African American (female) to serve as the Chief Public Defender: TaShun Bowden-Lewis in 2022^[30]

Assistant Public Defender

• First Latino American (female) to act as a Supervisory Assistant Public Defender: Grace Cavero Feliú in 1998

• First female (president): Marilyn Seichter from 1989-1990^[31]
• First female (executive director): Alice A. Bruno in 2012^[32]
• First Hispanic American (female) (president): Maggie I. Castinado in 2023^[33]

Firsts in local history

• Vivien Hall Root:^[34] First female lawyer in Fairfield County, Connecticut (c. 1905)
• Dianne Andersen (c. 1950s):^[35] First female lawyer in Danbury, Connecticut [Fairfield County, Connecticut]
• Dianne Yamen:^[36] First female probate judge in Danbury, Connecticut (1990) [Fairfield County, Connecticut]
• Mary Hall (1882): First female lawyer in Hartford County, Connecticut
• Catherine Kligerman:^[37] First female to serve as the President of the Hartford County Bar Association, Connecticut (1990)
• Eboni S. Nelson:^[38] First African American (female) to serve as the Dean of the University of Connecticut School of Law (2020)
• Susan C. O'Neill:^[39] First female lawyer in Waterbury, New Haven County, Connecticut
• Ellen B. Lubell: First female to serve as a Public Defender for the New Haven Judicial District (c. 1977) [<nowiki/>[[New Haven County, Connecticut]]]

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 Connecticut

Notes and References

1. Web site: Mary Hall, the First Woman Admitted to Practice Law in Connecticut Connecticut State Library. ctstatelibrary.org. 2018-02-07.
2. Web site: Mary Hall, the First Woman Admitted to Practice Law in Connecticut – Connecticut State Library. ctstatelibrary.org. 2018-12-22.
3. Book: Connecticut Bar Journal . 1976 . Connecticut Bar Association . en.
4. Web site: 1999-03-26 . LILLIAN MALLEY VERNON, 88; RETIRED TAX ATTORNEY . 2024-06-15 . Hartford Courant . en-US.
5. Book: Normen, Elizabeth J.. African American Connecticut Explored. 2014-01-27. Wesleyan University Press. 9780819574008.
6. Web site: Historical Context: Pre-1900 to Present . Connecticut Bar Foundation.
7. Web site: This Young Attorney Is the First DACA Recipient Admitted to Practice Law in Connecticut . 2022-10-26 . LAW.COM . en-US.
8. Book: Independent Woman. 1921. National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs.
9. Book: Clarke, Ida Clyde Gallagher. Women of Today. 1924. Women of Today Press.
10. Web site: Courant . Hartford . JOANNE KULAWIZ; ONE OF FIRST FEMALE JUDGES . 2019-01-11 . courant.com . en-US.
11. Web site: Selected Highlights of Women's History United States & Connecticut 1773 to 2015. March 2015. The Permanent Commission on the Status of Women.
12. News: Nearing retirement, state's first female judge looks back. NewsTimes. 2018-01-09.
13. Web site: Ellen Ash Peters (LL.B. 1954) Yale Law Women . 2018-12-22 . yalelawwomen.org.
14. News: 2013-06-20 . Connecticut's first female African-American judge suspended for late decisions . New Pittsburgh Courier . 2018-02-01.
15. Web site: Justice Carmen E. Espinosa - Biography . 2018-01-12 . www.jud.ct.gov.
16. Book: Hawkins, Carol Hooks . American Women Leaders: 1,560 Current Biographies . 2008-11-18 . McFarland . 9780786452750.
17. Web site: The Honorable Maria A. Kahn Receives 2017 Ladder Award. Summer 2017. Connecticut Bar Association.
18. Web site: A Woman of Many 'Firsts': Nina Elgo Takes On New Role as Connecticut Appellate Court Judge. June 28. Robert Storace . PM. 2018 at 05:22. Connecticut Law Tribune. en. 2019-01-11.
19. News: Senate Confirms Susan Carney - NWLC. 2011-05-18. NWLC. 2018-01-09.
20. Web site: 2018-04-26 . New Haven U.S. Magistrate Judge To Retire . 2018-12-22 . New Haven, CT Patch . en.
21. News: Hulse . Carl . 2021-06-15 . A leading voting rights expert is among Biden’s new round of judicial nominees. . en-US . The New York Times . 2022-03-29 . 0362-4331.
22. News: The Biographies of the Attorneys General of Connecticut. CT.gov - Connecticut's Official State Website. 2018-11-19. en-US.
23. Web site: Former US Attorney Nora Dannehy Returns to Office to Serve as Counsel. Storace. Robert. outline.com. 2019-06-28.
24. Web site: Fairfielder Deirdre Daly sworn in as first woman to be U.S. attorney in state. 2014-05-28. Fairfield Citizen. 2018-12-21.
25. Web site: 2022-04-27 . U.S. Senate Confirms Vanessa Avery As CT’s 1st Black U.S. Attorney . 2022-07-29 . New Haven, CT Patch . en.
26. Web site: American . Republican . Dranginis recalls her days in Litchfield court Archives . 2018-12-26 . en-US.
27. Web site: Anne Dranginis . 2018-12-26 . www.evergreeneditions.com . en-US.
28. News: A Pioneer Public Defender. Illson. Murray. 1977-08-14. The New York Times. 2019-03-25. en-US. 0362-4331.
29. Web site: Tony DeMayo: A Champion For Those Who Needed One. Courant. ANNE M. HAMILTON, Special to The. courant.com. en-US. 2019-03-25.
30. Web site: Edison . Jaden . 2023-07-26 . CT’s chief public defender speaks out about turmoil in her agency . 2024-05-21 . CT Mirror . en-US.
31. Web site: MARILYN SEICHTER DIES; 1ST WOMAN TO HEAD STATE'S BAR. NEYER. CONSTANCE. courant.com. en-US. 2019-01-04.
32. Web site: First Woman Named To Head State Bar Association. GRIFFIN. ALAINE. courant.com. en-US. 2018-12-22.
33. Web site: 2023-11-10 . Passing the gavel: Maggie Castinado, JD ’98, elected first Hispanic president of the Connecticut Bar Association . 2024-02-10 . www.qu.edu . en.
34. Book: Connecticut Bar Journal. 1975. Connecticut Bar Association.. en.
35. News: Prominent Danbury lawyer Dianne Andersen remembered. NewsTimes. 2017-09-26.
36. Web site: Danbury Probate Judge Dianne Yamin sworn in Monday by Gov. Rell. Perrefort. Dirk. Writer. Staff. 2011-01-04. NewsTimes. 2018-12-21.
37. Web site: Hartford County Bar Association: Presidents. Hartford County Bar Association.
38. Web site: 2021-10-20 . State NAACP Honors UConn Law Dean Eboni S. Nelson . 2022-03-15 . UConn Today . en-US.
39. Web site: April 17, 2013 . Briefly . 2024-04-12 . infoweb.newsbank.com.