List of first women lawyers and judges in Oklahoma explained

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

Lawyers

• First female to pass the Oklahoma Territory Bar: Minerva K. Elliott Lentz (1893)^[1]
• First (half-Shawnee) female: Laura Lykins (1898)^{[2] [3]}
• First female from Oklahoma admitted before the U.S. Supreme Court: Ethel Maude Proffit Stephenson

Law Clerk

• First (Native American-Chickasaw Nation) female to clerk for the Oklahoma Supreme Court and Criminal Court of Appeals: Jessie Elizabeth Randolph Moore in 1926^[4]

State judges

• First female (judicial officer): Faye L. Roblin in 1921^{[5] [6] [7]}
• First female: Grace Elmore Gibson in 1930^[8]
• First female (Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals): Patricia MacGuigan in 1982^[9]
• First female (Oklahoma Supreme Court): Alma Wilson (1941) in 1982^{[10] [11]}
• First African American female: Susan Bragg in 1985^{[12] [13]}
• First female (Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals): Rita M. Strubhar in 1993
• First female (Chief Justice; Oklahoma Supreme Court): Alma Wilson (1941) in 1995

Federal judges

• First female (United States Magistrate Judge in the six-state Tenth Circuit): Robin Cauthron in 1991
• First African American female (U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma): Vicki Miles-LaGrange (1977) in 1994^[14]
• First female (U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma): Claire Eagan in 2001
• First female (U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma): Kimberly E. West^[15]
• First African American female (Chief Judge; U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma): Vicki Miles-LaGrange (1977) in 2008
• First Native American female [<nowiki/>[[Cherokee Nation|Cherokee]]] (U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma): Sara E. Hill in 2023^[16]

• First female: Susan B. Loving from 1991-1995^[17]

Assistant Attorney General

• First female: Kathryn Van Leuven from 1922-1928^{[18] [19]}

United States Attorney

• First (African American) female (Western District of Oklahoma): Vicki Miles-LaGrange (1977) in 1993
• First female hired (Western District of Oklahoma): Susie Pritchett^{[20] [21]}

County Attorney (abolished office)

• First female: Amelia Patterson Frye

Assistant County Attorney (abolished office)

• First female: Margaret Lamm^[22]

District Attorney

• First female: Kay Huff in 1978^[23]

Political Office

• First openly lesbian female (Oklahoma House of Representatives): Kay Floyd in 2012^{[24] [25]}

• First female vice-president: Jayne Montgomery in 1978
• First female president: Mona Salyer Lambird from 1990-1991^[26]

Firsts in local history

• Irma J. Newburn:^[27] First female (and African American female) district judge in Western Oklahoma
• Kay Huff: First female to serve as a District Attorney for Cleveland, Garvin and McClain Counties, Oklahoma (1978)
• Kalyn Free:^[28] First Native American (female) to serve as the District Attorney for Haskell and Pittsburg Counties, Oklahoma
• Laura Austin Thomas:^[29] First female District Attorney for Logan and Payne Counties, Oklahoma (2014)
• Bernice Dona Berry Beckham: First female to serve as the Assistant District Attorney in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma^[30]
• Reta Strubhar:^[31] First female to serve as a Judge of the District Court of Canadian County, Oklahoma (1984)
• Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher:^[32] First African American female admitted to the University of Oklahoma College of Law (1948)
• Bernice Dona Berry Beckham: First female to serve as the Assistant District Attorney in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• Lisa Shaw:^[33] First female to become an Associate District Judge in Comanche County, Oklahoma (2014)
• Susie Pritchett: First female elected as a judge in Kingfisher County, Oklahoma
• Bernice Dona Berry Beckham: First female to serve as the Assistant District Attorney in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• Elizabeth Kerr:^[34] First female to serve as a judge in Edmond, Oklahoma [Oklahoma County, Oklahoma]
• Susie Pritchett: First female lawyer hired by Oklahoma County's Public Defender's Office
• Maxey Reilly:^[35] First female judge in Okfuskee County, Oklahoma (2017)
• Vicki Behenna:^[36] First female to serve as the District Attorney for Oklahoma County, Oklahoma (2022)
• Freddie "Fred" Andrews: First female judge in Pontomac County, Oklahoma
• Bernice Dona Berry Beckham: First female to serve as the Assistant District Attorney in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• Wilma Palmer:^[37] First African American female to serve as a Judge of the Tulsa County District Court, Oklahoma (2007)
• Chloe Eunice Passly Dilday: First female judge in Washington County, Oklahoma

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 Oklahoma

References

1. Book: Oklahoma Women's Almanac. DeLacerda. Melissa. Trotter. Patsy. 39–47. OKLAHOMA'S WOMEN LAWYERS.
2. Book: Weatherford, Doris. Women in American Politics: History and Milestones. 2012-01-20. SAGE Publications. 9781608710072. en.
3. Book: The Independent. 1898. proprietors. en.
4. Book: Buchanan, James Shannon . Chronicles of Oklahoma . 1944 . Oklahoma Historical Society. . en.
5. News: Oklahoma Woman Presides As a "Judge, Your Honor". The Daily Ardmoreite. 1921-02-25. 2019-02-27. PAGE FIVE. 1065-7894.
6. Book: Women of Today. 1923. Women of Today Press. en.
7. Upon Roblin's appointment as a Judge of the Oklahoma Industrial Commission in 1921
8. News: Corsicana Daily Sun from Corsicana, Texas on April 13, 1936 · Page 3. Newspapers.com. 2018-02-01. en.
9. News: 2011-03-27 . Federal district court salutes 18 women for firsts in nation, Oklahoma . en-US . NewsOK.com . 2018-02-01.
10. News: 1999-07-28 . High Court Justice Alma Wilson Dies . en-US . NewsOK.com . 2018-02-01.
11. Web site: Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame Inductees by Year . 2018-02-01 . library.okstate.edu . en.
12. Book: Inc, The Crisis Publishing Company . The Crisis . 2005 . The Crisis Publishing Company, Inc. . en.
13. Book: The Crisis . 2005 . Crisis Publishing Company . en.
14. Web site: Judge Miles-LaGrange Inducted into Oklahoma Hall of Fame - Vassar, the Alumnae/i Quarterly. vq.vassar.edu. en. 2018-01-19.
15. Web site: Kimberly E. West. Magistrate Judge Eastern District of Oklahoma United States District Court. www.oked.uscourts.gov. en. 2018-02-01.
16. Web site: 2023-12-20 . Senate confirms Biden nominee Sara Hill despite opposition from Oklahoma governor . 2023-12-20 . Washington Examiner . en.
17. News: First Female Sworn In as State Attorney General. Ford. Brian. Tulsa World. 2018-11-19. en.
18. Web site: Strive To Be Womanly: Mrs. Kathryn Van Leuven. December 4, 1921. Newspapers.com. en. 2018-12-13.
19. Web site: Oklahoma Portia was pioneering female lawyer. Phillips. Mary. April 7, 2014. PressReader. 2018-12-13.
20. Web site: Kingfisher County's voters to be judges Tuesday at the polls. Writer. Cass Rains Staff. Enidnews.com. en. 2019-03-26.
21. Web site: Obituary: Susie Pritchett. June 22, 2011. Legacy.com.
22. Book: The Oklahoma Bar Journal. 1997. Oklahoma Bar Association. en.
23. Web site: Brewer, Huff Discuss Views of Defense, Prosecution. March 2, 1980. Daily Oklahoman from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. en. 2019-03-27.
24. Web site: Kay Floyd wins runoff, set to become Oklahoma's 1st lesbian legislator. August 29, 2012. Dallas Voice.
25. Upon becoming a Member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from the Forty-Sixth District
26. Web site: County Bar Elects Woman To Presidency. 1989-07-11. NewsOK.com. en-US. 2019-01-02.
27. News: Judge looks forward to women being in more leadership roles. The Lawton Constitution. 2019-01-03. en.
28. Book: Beam . Sara . Voices from the Heartland: Volume II . Dial-Driver . Emily . Askew . Rilla . Evusa . Juliet . 2019-08-22 . University of Oklahoma Press . 978-0-8061-6548-6 . en.
29. Web site: 2017-12-12 . District Attorney announces her candidacy for re-election . 2019-03-26 . Guthrie News Page . en-US.
30. Oklahoma City in Oklahoma spans the following counties: Canadian, Cleveland, Oklahoma, and Pottawatomie.
31. Web site: Oklahoma History Center Family Tree Family Histories. www.okhistory.org. 2019-01-03.
32. Web site: About OU Law . 2022-03-15 . law.ou.edu.
33. Web site: Fort Sill honors local leaders during Women's Equality Day. Guthrie. Monica K.. August 27, 2015. U.S. Army.
34. Web site: Oklahoma Commission on the Status of Women - Commissioners. www.ok.gov. 2019-01-03.
35. Web site: Oklahoma Hall of Fame adds Judge Maxey Reilly to 2019 Board of Directors. Okemah News Leader. en-US. 2019-02-22.
36. Web site: 2022-11-13 . Voters elect first female Oklahoma County District Attorney . 2022-12-08 . KFOR.com Oklahoma City . en-US.
37. Web site: Court's first black female judge sworn in. Staff Reports. Tulsa World. en. 2019-01-03.