List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Maine
This is a list of the first minority male lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Maine. It includes the year in which the men were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are men who achieved other distinctions, such as becoming the first in their state to graduate from law school or become a political figure.
Firsts in Maine's history[edit]
Lawyers[edit]
- First African American male: Macon Bolling Allen (1844):[1][2][3][4][5]
- First African American male (actively practice): Milton Roscoe Geary in 1913[4][6]
State judges[edit]
- First Jewish American male (Maine Supreme Court): Abraham M. Rudman in 1965[7]
- First African American male (Maine Supreme Court): Rick E. Lawrence in 2000[8][9][10][11]
- First African American male (Chief Justice; Maine Supreme Court): Rick E. Lawrence in 2022[8][9][10][11]
Firsts in local history[edit]
- Milton Roscoe Geary:[4][6] First African American male to graduate from the University of Maine School of Law (1913) [Cumberland County, Maine]. He was the first African American male lawyer admitted to the Penobscot County Bar Association, Maine.
- John H. Hill (1879):[4][6] First African American male lawyer admitted to the bar of the Supreme Judicial Court of Sagadahoc County, Maine[12]
See also[edit]
Other topics of interest[edit]
- List of first women lawyers and judges in the United States
- List of first women lawyers and judge in Maine
References[edit]
- ^ Hornby, D. Brock (Spring 2020). "History Lessons: Instructive Legal Episodes From Maine's Early Years — Episode 1: Becoming a Lawyer." Green Bag 2d. 23: 195.
- ^ Contee, Clarence G. (February 1976). Macon B. Allen: "First" Black in the Legal Profession. The Crisis Publishing Company, Inc.
- ^ "Maine was first in the nation to admit an African American to the bar in 1844 – University of Maine School of Law". Faculty. June 2, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
- ^ a b c d Douglas, Thomas; Ibonwa, Deborah; Bailey, Shamara (2021). "BIPOC Lawyers in Maine: Past, Present and Future" (PDF). Maine Bar Journal. 36.
- ^ Allen relocated to Massachusetts a year after becoming certified in Maine.
- ^ a b c Smith, J. Clay Jr. (1999). Emancipation: The Making of the Black Lawyer, 1844-1944. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-1685-1.
- ^ Peck, Abraham J.; Peck, Jean M. (March 7, 2007). Maine's Jewish Heritage. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9781439634578.
- ^ a b Maxwell, Trevor (2016). "Stellar debut for PLUS Program" (PDF). Maine Law Magazine.
- ^ a b "Summary and Analysis of Racial Discrimination in Criminal Prosecution and Sentencing in Maine" (PDF). Maine Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. December 7, 2017.
- ^ a b "Maine Senate confirms state's first black judge". Archive. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
- ^ a b "Judge Lawrence to become first Black justice on Maine Supreme Judicial Court". WMTW. April 12, 2022. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
- ^ Hill is known as the second African American male lawyer in Maine. He relocated to West Virginia, where he became the first African American male lawyer in the state.