List of first women lawyers and judges in West Virginia explained

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

Lawyer

• First female: Agnes Westbrook Morrison (1895)^[1]

State judges

• First female: Elizabeth Hallanan (1951) in 1959^{[2] [3]}
• First African American female (circuit court): Irene Berger (1979) in 1994
• First female (Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals): Stephanie Thacker (1990)^[4]

Federal judges

• First female (U.S. Magistrate Judge): Mary Stanley in 1992^[5]
• First African American female (U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia): Irene Berger (1979) in 2009^{[6] [7]}
• First female (Chief Judge for Bankruptcy Court; U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia): B. McKay Mignault in 2022^[8]

Assistant United States Attorney

• First female: Mary Stanley around 1977
• First female (Northern District of West Virginia): Betsy C. Jividen in 2009^[9]

Deputy Attorney General

• First female: Marianne Stonestreet^[10]

Assistant Attorney General

• First female: Virginia Mae Brown (1947) from 1952 to 1961^[11]

West Virginia State Bar Association

• First female (president): Barbara Baxter from 1994 to 1995^[12]
• First African American female (president): Meshea Poore in 2017^[13]

West Virginia Judicial Association

• First female (president): Jennifer Bailey in 2022^[14]

Firsts in local history

• Theresa Cogar Turner:^[15] First female to become a Judge of the Family Court Judge for Lewis, Braxton, and Upshur Counties, West Virginia (2016)
• Kathi McBee:^[16] First female magistrate in Barbour County, West Virginia (1996)
• Janet Steele (1977):^[17] First female judge in Fayette County, West Virginia
• Alice Johnson McChesney (1922):^[18] First female lawyer in Charleston, West Virginia [<nowiki/>[[Kanawha County, West Virginia]]]
• Elizabeth Aileen Hatfield (1933):^[19] First female lawyer in Logan County, West Virginia
• Rhonda Wade:^[20] First female prosecutor in Marshall County, West Virginia
• Marye L. Wright:^[21] First African American male to graduate from the West Virginia University College of Law (1976)
• Kristina “Kris” Raynes:^[22] First female prosecutor in Putnam County, West Virginia (2023)

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 West Virginia

References

1. Web site: History College of Law West Virginia University. www.law.wvu.edu. 2016-10-06.
2. Web site: Obituaries in the News (TechNews.com). www.washingtonpost.com. 2018-01-10.
3. Bowman. Forest J.. 2007. THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF WEST VIRGINIA. West Virginia Law Review. 109. 795–803. 2018-05-29. 2020-10-31. https://web.archive.org/web/20201031160328/https://www.wvsd.uscourts.gov/pdfs/historysdwv.pdf. dead.
4. News: W.Va. woman sworn in as federal judge. Fallon. Paul. Charleston Gazette-Mail. 2018-01-09.
5. Web site: W.Va.'s first female U.S. magistrate judge retiring . 2019-06-28 . The Journal . 29 March 2013 . en.
6. News: Judge Irene Berger Talks About Her Senate Confirmation. Jones. Associated Press; Carrie Jones; Will. 2018-01-09.
7. Web site: History of Women's History Month. March 31, 2016. U.S. District Court - Southern District of West Virginia.
8. Web site: B. McKay Mignault sworn in as first female chief bankruptcy judge for Southern West Virginia . 2022-10-28 . WV News . 16 October 2022 . en.
9. Web site: U.S. Attorney's Office - U.S. Department of Justice. 2022-02-05. www.justice.gov. en-us.
10. Book: The West Virginia Lawyer. 1989. West Virginia State Bar. en.
11. News: Virginia Mae Brown Dies at 67; First Woman to Head the I.C.C.. Cook. Joan. The New York Times . 27 February 1991 . 2018-11-19. en.
12. Book: Agencies, United States Congress House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related. Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations for 1997: Justification of the budget estimates, Department of Commerce. 1996. U.S. Government Printing Office. 9780160527753. en.
13. Web site: Poore takes over as West Virginia State Bar Association president. Associated Press. Herald-Mail Media. en. 2019-01-03.
14. Web site: Pierson. Lacie. Kanawha's Bailey becomes first woman to lead state Judicial Association. 2022-02-02. Charleston Gazette-Mail. 15 January 2022 . en.
15. Web site: Family Court Judge Sets Example For Women . 2018-12-20 . The Weston Democrat.
16. Web site: Longtime Barbour Co. magistrate retires; Moats names replacement. Staff Reports. WV News. 20 August 2018 . en. 2019-07-09.
17. News: Fayette honors first female jurors. Pridemore. Amelia A.. March 24, 2009. Beckley Register-Herald.
18. Foster. Teree E.. Fallon. Sandra M.. 1994–1995. West Virginia's Pioneer Women Lawyers. W. Va. L. Rev.. 97. 703.
19. Plein. Stewart. Spring 2015. The Devil's Children: The Hatfield Lawyers. LH&RB: Newsletter of the Legal History & Rare Books SIS of the American Association of Law Libraries. 21: 1. 1; 4–7.
20. Web site: 2019-10-30 . WVU Today WVU honors those ‘most loyal’ during Mountaineer Week . 2024-06-15 . wvutoday.wvu.edu . en-US.
21. Web site: History College of Law West Virginia University . 2022-03-16 . www.law.wvu.edu.
22. Web site: Eaton . Taylor . 2023-08-08 . First woman prosecutor appointed in Putnam County . 2024-06-15 . WSAZ . en.