List of first women lawyers and judges in Ohio explained

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

Law School

• First female law graduate: Clara Millard in 1911^{[1] [2]}

Lawyers

• First female: Nettie Cronise Lutes (1873)^[3]
• First African American female: Daisy D. Perkins (1919)^[4]

State judges

• First female: Florence E. Allen (1914) in 1920^[5]
• First female (Supreme Court of Ohio): Florence E. Allen (1914) in 1922
• First female (municipal court): Mary B. Grossman (1912) in 1923^[6]
• First African American female: Lillian W. Burke (1951) in 1969^[7]
• First African American female (elected): C. Ellen Connally (1971) in 1979
• First African American female (Ohio Courts of Common Pleas): Stephanie Tubbs Jones in 1983
• First openly lesbian female: Mary Wiseman (1998) in 2007^[8]
• First Hispanic American (female) (Ohio Court of Appeals; appointed): Keila Cosme in 2009^[9]
• First African American female (Supreme Court of Ohio): Yvette McGee Brown in 2011^[10]
• First female (Chief Justice; Supreme Court of Ohio): Maureen O'Connor in 2011^[11]
• First (Asian American) female (Fourth District Court of Appeals): Marie Hoover (1994) in 2012^{[12] [13]}
• First Egyptian American female: Sherrie Mikhail Miday (2001) in 2016^[14]
• First Latino American female (Ohio Court of Appeals; elected): Marilyn Zayas-Davis in 2016^{[15] [16] [17] [18]}
• First African American female (Supreme Court of Ohio): Melody J. Stewart in 2018^{[19] [20]}
• First African American female (Tenth District Court of Appeals): Laurel Beatty Blunt in 2018^[21]
• First Hispanic American female (Supreme Court of Ohio; sit-in): Marilyn Zayas-Davis in 2020^[22]

Federal judges

• First female (U.S. Court of Appeals - Sixth Circuit): Florence E. Allen (1914) in 1934
• First female (federal district court): Ann Aldrich (1950) in 1980^{[23] [24] [25]}
• First female (Magistrate; U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio):^[26] Patricia Hemann in 1994
• First African American female (U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio): Benita Y. Pearson (1995)^[27]
• First African American female (Judge and Chief Judge; United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Ohio): Jessica E. Price Smith in 2011 and 2024 respectively^[28]

• First female: Betty Montgomery from 1995-2003^[29]

Assistant Attorney General

• First African American female: Helen Elsie Austin (1930) in 1937^{[30] [31]}

United States Attorney

• First African American female (Northern District of Ohio):^[32] Marisa T. Darden was confirmed in 2022, though she withdrew before she officially took office

Assistant United States Attorney

• First female (Northern District of Ohio): Carole S. Rendon^[33]

County Prosecutor

• First African American female: Stephanie Tubbs Jones in 1991^[34]

Public Defender

• First female: Elizabeth Miller in 2023^[35]

• First female admitted to bar: Clara Millard (1911)
• First female president: Kathleen Burke from 1993-1994^[36]

Political Office

• First African American female (U.S. House of Representatives): Stephanie Tubbs Jones in 1999

Firsts in local history

• Clam M. Millard:^[37] First woman admitted to the Bar in Northwest Ohio [<nowiki/>[[Allen County, Ohio|Allen County]], et al.]
• Jazmin Torres-Lugo:^[38] First Latino American female elected as a judge in Northeast Ohio [<nowiki/>[[Ashland County, Ohio|Ashland County]], et al.]
• Terri Kohlrieser:^{[39] [40]} First female to serve as a Judge of the Common Pleas Court in Allen County, Ohio (2018)
• Megan Bickerton:^[41] first female common pleas judge in Columbiana County, Ohio (2018)
• Thelma F. Lowe (1943):^[42] First female lawyer in Coshocton, Ohio [<nowiki/>[[Coshocton County, Ohio]]]
• Mary P. Spargo (1885):^[43] First female lawyer in Cleveland, Ohio [<nowiki/>[[Cuyahoga County, Ohio]]]
• Florence E. Allen (1914): First female to serve as Cuyahoga County's Assistant Prosecuting Attorney
• Edna Smith Shalala:^[44] First female of Syrian-Lebanese descent to practice law in Cleveland, Ohio
• Evelyn Lundberg Stratton:^[45] First female elected as a Judge of the Franklin County Common Pleas Court in Ohio (1988)
• Katherine (Kay) Lias:^[46] First female elected as a Judge of the Franklin County Common Pleas Court, Division of Domestic Relations and Juvenile Branch, Franklin County, Ohio (1988)
• Yvette McGee Brown:^[47] First African American female elected to serve as a Judge of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas
• Kimberly Cocroft:^[48] First [African American] female judge ever elected to the administrative judge position in Franklin County, Ohio
• Tracie Hunter:^[49] First African American (female) juvenile court judge in Hamilton County, Ohio
• Nee Fong:^[50] First Asian American female lawyer in Cincinnati, Ohio [<nowiki/>[[Hamilton County, Ohio]]]
• Verna Williams:^[51] First African American (female) to serve as the Dean of University of Cincinnati College of Law (2017)
• Janaya Trotter Bratton:^[52] First African American female to serve as President of the Cincinnati Bar Association (2023)
• Vadae G. Meekison (1907):^[53] Reputed to be the first female lawyer in Henry County, Ohio
• Laina Fetherolf:^[54] First female prosecutor in Hocking County, Ohio (2008)
• Michelle Miller:^[55] First female judge in Jefferson County, Ohio (2014)
• Elaine Mayhew (1949):^[56] First female lawyer in Knox County, Ohio. She would later become a judge.
• Addie Nye Norton:^[57] First female probate judge in Lake County, Ohio (1920)
• Irene A. Lennon (1930):^[58] First female lawyer in Lake County, Ohio. She was also the first female to serve as the President of the Lake County Bar Association in Illinois (1950).
• Francine Bruening: First female elected as the Judge of Common Pleas in Lake County, Ohio (1991)
• Karen Lawson:^[59] First female to serve as the Juvenile Court Judge in Lake County, Ohio (2008)
• Christen N. Finley:^[60] First female common pleas judge in Lawrence County, Ohio (2018)
• Jennifer L. (Amos) Chesrown:^[61] First female judge in Licking County, Ohio
• Maude May Marsh Washburn (1894):^[62] First female lawyer in Lorain County, Ohio
• Geraldine Macelwane:^[63] First female to serve as a Judge of the Toledo Municipal Court (1952) as well as a Judge of the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas (1956), Ohio
• Carla J. Baldwin:^[64] First African American female elected as a judge in Mahoning County, Ohio (2017)
• Julia Bates: First female elected as the Lucas County Prosecutor
• Alice McCollum:^[65] First female judge of the Dayton Municipal Court (1979) [<nowiki/>[[Montgomery County, Ohio]]]
• Barb Gorman:^[66] First female to serve as a Judge of the General Division for the Montgomery County Common Pleas Court
• Helen Wallace:^[67] First female juvenile judge for Montgomery County, Ohio (2019)
• Janna Woodburn:^[68] First native-born female lawyer in Morgan County, Ohio
• Luann Cooperrider (1983):^{[69] [70]} First female judge in Perry County, Ohio. She was also the first female assistant prosecutor in the county's history.
• Blanche Harris:^[71] First female to practice before the Portage County courts (1920s)
• Shirley Dubetz (1954):^[72] First practicing female attorney in Portage County, Ohio
• Barbara Watson (1980):^[73] First female judge in Portage County, Ohio
• Bambi Couch Page:^[74] First female prosecutor for Richland County, Ohio (2014)
• Cathy Goldman:^[75] First female lawyer in Mansfield, Ohio [<nowiki/>[[Richland County, Ohio]]]
• Barbara Jo (Steele) Ansted Wilson:^[76] First female prosecutor in Sandusky County, Ohio (1985)
• Irene Smart and Sheila Farmer:^[77]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Clara Millard . 2022-03-10 . www.utoledo.edu.
2. Web site: The University of Toledo - College of Law debuts Toledo Women Lawyers History Project . 2022-03-10 . www.utoledo.edu.
3. Book: The Law Student's Helper: A Monthly Magazine for the Student in and Out of Law School. 1893. Collector Publishing Company.
4. Book: The American Midwest: An Interpretive Encyclopedia. Cayton. Andrew R. L.. Sisson. Richard. Zacher. Chris. 2006-11-08. Indiana University Press. 0253003490.
5. Web site: Judge Florence E. Allen Event Kent State University Research Digital Commons @ Kent State University Libraries . 2018-01-20 . digitalcommons.kent.edu.
6. Web site: People. clevelandmunicipalcourt.org. 2018-01-11.
7. News: Lillian W. Burke, 94, was Ohio's first black woman judge: news obituary. cleveland.com. 2018-01-10.
8. Web site: Wiseman makes history again as Ohio's first out judge. www.gaypeopleschronicle.com. 2018-01-15.
9. Web site: Hispanic appointee breaks ground as state appeals judge . 2023-04-11 . The Blade . en.
10. Web site: Supreme Court of Ohio Swearing-In Ceremony : Justice Yvette McGee Brown . 2019-03-05 . www.ohiochannel.org.
11. supremecourt.ohio.gov
12. Web site: First female judge on Fourth District Court of Appeals continues breaking barriers in law, life . 2019-02-22 . The Briefing Room . en-US.
13. Web site: December 12, 2012 . Court News: New Judges Learning the Ropes of the Bench . 2022-03-07 . www.ohiochannel.org.
14. News: Meet the first Egyptian-American judge elected in US - Egypt Independent. 2017-01-23. Egypt Independent. 2018-05-30.
15. Web site: Is she the 'fresh blood' Hamilton County needed?. 2016-12-26. WCPO. en. 2020-03-11.
16. Web site: A More Perfect Union. www.courtnewsohio.gov. en. 2020-03-11.
17. Web site: Ohio's First Elected Latina Judge Installed. Weingartner. Tana. www.wvxu.org. en. 2020-03-11.
18. Upon Zayas-Davis' being elected as an appellate court judge in Ohio in 2016
19. Web site: She wanted to be a musician. Instead, she became a groundbreaking judge in Ohio.. Michael D. Pitman. Staff Writer. daytondailynews. en. 2019-03-05.
20. Web site: A real change on the high court News, Sports, Jobs - Morning Journal. en-US. 2019-03-05.
21. Web site: Meet our new faculty: Judge Laurel Beatty Blunt Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy . 2022-11-02 . fordschool.umich.edu . en.
22. Web site: Jordyn . 2020-10-09 . Improbable life story responsible for Law Alumna’s Legal Journey . 2023-04-11 . UC News . en-us.
23. Upon her appointment as a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
24. Thomas. Tracy A.. January 2013. Back to the Future of Abortion Regulation in the First Term. Akron Law Publications.
25. News: The Akron Beacon Journal from Akron, Ohio on May 20, 1983 · Page 11. Newspapers.com. 2018-02-09.
26. Web site: Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 6 - TRIBUTE TO HONORABLE PATRICIA A. HEMANN . 2024-08-06 . www.govinfo.gov.
27. Web site: Sen. Brown Swears-In Benita Pearson as Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio Press Releases United States Senator Sherrod Brown. www.brown.senate.gov. 2018-01-20.
28. Web site: 2024-02-01 . Meet the first Black woman to serve as chief judge for federal bankruptcy court in Cleveland . 2024-02-02 . News 5 Cleveland WEWS . en.
29. Web site: Betty D. Montgomery - Ohio History Central. www.ohiohistorycentral.org. en. 2018-11-19.
30. Book: Smith, J. Clay Jr. Emancipation: The Making of the Black Lawyer, 1844-1944. 1999. University of Pennsylvania Press. 9780812216851. en.
31. Web site: Black History Month: Cincy's solid legal counsel. 2017-02-21. WCPO. en. 2019-06-22.
32. Web site: April 27, 2022 . Senate confirms Marisa T. Darden as US Attorney for Northern District of Ohio . 2022-07-29 . wkyc.com . en-US.
33. Web site: Carole S. Rendon. www.bakerlaw.com. en. 2020-02-28.
34. Web site: Women in Congress .
35. Web site: 2023 . Tim Young to step down, Elizabeth Miller to become first female Ohio public defender . 2023-11-09 . Columbus Dispatch.
36. Web site: Ohio Women's Bar Association - Kathleen Burke Appointed Magistrate Judge. owba.org. 2019-01-02.
37. Web site: George W. Millard - Lucas County, OH. www.onlinebiographies.info. 2017-10-17.
38. Web site: Judge Jazmin Torres-Lugo. clevelandmunicipalcourt.org. 2020-03-11.
39. Web site: First women on the bench in Allen County have more than making history in common. Hami. Eran. Your Hometown Stations. en. 2019-03-03.
40. Web site: Kohlrieser sworn in as newest Allen County judge. 2018-12-19. The Lima News. en-US. 2019-03-03.
41. Web site: Megan Bickerton sworn in as first female Columbiana County common pleas judge. www.wfmj.com. en. 2019-01-09.
42. News: APRIL 5, 1933. April 6, 1943. The Coshocton Tribune. 2017-10-18. Coshocton, Ohio. 4. Newspapers.com.
43. Web site: A HISTORY OF THE CITY OF CLEVELAND by James Harrison Kennedy. www.clevelandmemory.org. 2017-10-16.
44. Web site: Education . 2022-03-10 . www.clevelandmemory.org.
45. Web site: Evelyn Lundberg Stratton. www.vorys.com. 2019-03-05.
46. Book: The American Bench . 1993 . Reginald Bishop Forster & Associates . 978-0-931398-29-2 . en.
47. Web site: 1st Black Woman Headed to Ohio Supreme Court, Which Will Have 4-3 Female Majority . 2022-03-15 . ABA Journal . en.
48. Web site: Johnson . Daniel . 2024-07-08 . Judge Files Complaint Alleging Racial And Gender Discrimination . 2024-08-06 . Black Enterprise . en-US.
49. Web site: 2019-08-22 . Ohio State Sen. Cecil Thomas: Tracie Hunter’s Conviction is Unlawful . 2022-08-28 . Los Angeles Sentinel . en-US.
50. Web site: Henry Chin, 95, ran restaurant for decades. Cincinnati.com. en. 2020-05-13.
51. Web site: WKRC . Kyle Inskeep . 2022-02-21 . Making Black History: Verna Williams inspires as first Black dean of UC College of Law . 2022-03-15 . WKRC . en.
52. Web site: Alumna Judge Janaya Trotter Bratton is New Bar Association President . 2023-05-09 . chaselaw.nku.edu . en.
53. Web site: MS 211 - Vadae G. Meekison Collection · Center for Archival Collections · Finding Aids · BGSU Libraries. lib.bgsu.edu. 2017-10-13.
54. Web site: 2016-05-17 . Fetherolf resigns as prosecutor . 2024-06-15 . Logan Daily News . en.
55. Web site: Jefferson County's First Female Judge Reflects on First Year. Varkony. Kristine. 2015-12-03. WTRF. en-US. 2018-12-20.
56. Web site: Borchers named Elaine Mayhew award recipient — Mount Vernon News – Mount Vernon, Ohio. mountvernonnews.com. 2017-10-16.
57. Web site: President's Corner: Women Lawyers of Lake County. Murray. Michael D.. March 2010. Lake Legal Views (Lake County Bar Association).
58. Book: Ohio Bar: Publication of the Ohio State Bar Association. 1976. The Association.
59. Web site: Judge Lawson Biography. juvenile.lakecountyohio.gov. 2019-02-27.
60. Web site: First female common pleas judge sworn in for county. MALLOY. DAVID E.. The Herald-Dispatch. en. 2019-01-09.
61. News: Jennifer (Amos) Chesrown '92 Becomes Youngest & First Female Judge in Licking County, Ohio, Municipal Court - DePauw University. May 23, 2003. DePauw University.
62. Web site: Lorain County Bar Association - Membership. loraincountybar.org. 2017-10-16.
63. Web site: Geraldine Macelwane Scrapbooks, MSS-314. www.utoledo.edu. 2019-03-27.
64. Web site: City of Youngstown, Ohio - Presiding Judge Carla J. Baldwin . 2023-12-19 . youngstownohio.gov.
65. Web site: Visual Voices. Victoria Theatre Association. en. 2019-03-04.
66. Web site: School of Law Hon. Barbara Gorman : University of Dayton, Ohio. udayton.edu. 2020-03-11.
67. Web site: Helen Wallace, first woman Montgomery County Juvenile Court judge, sworn-in. Staff. Breaking News. daytondailynews. en. 2019-01-09.
68. Web site: Janna Woodburn first female attorney 'born and raised' in Morgan County's history. Morgan County Herald. 2018-12-26.
69. Web site: Perry County Courts. www.perrycountycourt.com. 2018-01-04.
70. Web site: Judge Luann Cooperrider Receives Ohio State Newark Distinguished Alumni Award The Ohio State University at Newark. Newark. © 2018 The Ohio State University at. newark.osu.edu. 2018-02-09.
71. Web site: November 26, 2013 . 'Ravenna Record'... . 2024-04-12 . infoweb.newsbank.com.
72. Web site: Shirley Dubetz Obituary (2020) - Kent, OH - Akron Beacon Journal . 2024-06-15 . Legacy.com.
73. News: Barbara Watson, first female judge in Portage history, dies. O'Brien. Dave. November 30, 2017. www.ohio.com. 2018-01-03.
74. Web site: 2014-10-17 . Bambi Couch Page sworn in as county's first female prosecutor . 2024-06-15 . Richland Source . en-US.
75. Web site: WMFD.com - Mansfield Mourns Loss Of Courthouse Trees With Vigil. wmfd.com. en. 2019-04-12.
76. Web site: Bio: Barbara Jo (Steele) Ansted Wilson . Revize.
77. Web site: Karabin . Sherry . September 29, 2023 . DR Judge Kani Hightower discusses her mission on the bench . Akron Legal News.
78. Web site: Vienna Township Timeline - Vienna Historical Society, Vienna, Ohio. www.viennahistory.org. 2018-02-13.
79. Book: The American Lawyer. Smith. Frank Charles. Proctor. Lucien Brock. Chapin. Heman Gerald. Harvey. Richard Selden. 1900. Stumpf & Steurer.
80. Web site: Trumbull County Family Court. familycourt.co.trumbull.oh.us. 2018-05-30.
81. Web site: Newcomerstown Grows, Gets First Woman Attorney. April 25, 1976. Newspapers.com. en. 2019-03-27.
82. Web site: Former Warren County prosecutor passes away. 2012-08-27. WLWT. en. 2019-06-27.
83. News: Millhoan readies for retirement, receives proclamation. STARCHER. DAN. December 26, 2017. The Daily Record. 2018-01-05.
84. Web site: Judge Latecia E. Wiles Probate and Juvenile Court. www.wayneprobateandjuvenile.org. 2020-03-23.
85. Web site: Molly Mack to be seated at Wood County Common Pleas Court. Toledo Blade. en. 2019-01-09.
86. Sautters. Repository Staff Writer, D. (2013, July 7). Moms, daughters rise to the bench - Judging runs in these families. <em>Repository, The (Canton, OH)</em>, p. 4A. Available from NewsBank: Access World News: https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AWNB&docref=news/147708210D361868. First female judges in Stark County, Ohio (1978)
    • Kani Hightower:^[77] First African American (female) to serve as a Domestic Relations Judge in Summit County, Ohio (2022)
    • Lulie Mackey:^{[78] [79]} First female lawyer in Trumbull County, Ohio
    • Pamela A. Rintala:^[80] First female judge of Trumbull County, Ohio (1994)
    • Patricia McCants DeBoer (1976):^[81] First female lawyer in Newcomerstown, Ohio [<nowiki/>[[Tuscarawas County, Ohio]]]
    • Rachel Hutzel:^[82] First female to serve as the Prosecuting Attorney for Warren County, Ohio
    • Carol White Millhoan:^[83] First female judge in Wayne County, Ohio
    • Latecia E. Wiles:^[84] First female to serve as a Judge of Wayne County's Probate and Juvenile Court (2013)
    • Molly Mack:^[85] First female judge in Wood County, Ohio (2014). She is also the first female Wood County Common Pleas Court judge (2019).

    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 Ohio

    References

    ]