List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Washington

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This is a list of the first minority male lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Washington. It includes the year in which the men were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are men who achieved other distinctions such becoming the first in their state to graduate from law school or become a political figure.

Firsts in Washington's history[edit]

Ricardo S. Martinez: First Hispanic American male Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington (2004)
Cyrus Habib: First Iranian American blind male to serve as the Lieutenant Governor of Washington (2017)

Lawyers[edit]

  • First African American male: Robert O. Lee (1889)[1]
  • First Korean American male: Eddie Yoon (1976)[2][3][4][5]

Law Clerk[edit]

State judges[edit]

Federal judges[edit]

United States Attorney[edit]

Political Office[edit]

Washington State Bar Association[edit]

  • First African American male president: Ronald Ward from 2004-2005[37]
  • First openly gay male president: Anthony Gipe:[38]
  • First South Asian male president: Rajeev Majumdar in 2019[39]

Firsts in local history[edit]

  • (Leonard) Carl Maxey (1951):[40] First African American male lawyer in Eastern Washington
  • Jack Edward Tanner (1955):[29][30] Considered "the first African American in the Pacific Northwest to be elevated to the federal bench"
  • Cameron Mitchell:[41] First African American male to serve as a Judge of the Benton-Franklin Superior Court (2004)
  • Salvador Mendoza Jr. (1997):[31] First Hispanic American male to serve as a Judge of the Benton-Franklin Superior Court (2013-2014)
  • John Edward Hawkins (1895):[42] First African American male lawyer in King County, Washington
  • Warren Chan (1950):[13][14] First Chinese American male lawyer in Seattle, Washington [King County, Washington]
  • Solie M. Ringold:[11] First Jewish American male judge in Washington (1961)
  • Charles Z. Smith (1955):[6] First African American male appointed as a municipal court judge in Seattle, Washington (1965)
  • Charles M. Stokes (c. 1943):[15] First African American male to serve as a Judge of the King County District Court, Washington (1968)
  • Mark Chow:[18][19][20] First Asian American male elected as a district court judge in King County, Washington (1990)
  • Ricardo S. Martinez (1980):[21][22] First Latino American male to serve as a judge in King County, Washington (1990)
  • Gary Maehara:[43] First Asian American male to serve as the President of the King County Bar Association, Washington (2005)
  • Dan Gandara:[43] First Latino American male to serve as the President of the King County Bar Association, Washington (2008)
  • James Andrus:[43] First African American male to serve as the President of the King County Bar Association, Washington (2009)
  • Eduardo Peñalver:[44] First Latino American male to serve as the President of Seattle University School of Law (2021) [King County, Washington]
  • Nathan Sargeant:[45] First African American male to serve as a Justice of the Peace in Kitsap County, Washington (1897)
  • Theodore "Ted" Spearman Jr.:[46] First African American male judge in Kitsap County, Washington (2004)
  • Sergio Armijo:[47] First Latino American male to serve as a Judge of the Pierce County Superior Court (1994)

See also[edit]

Other topics of interest[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Robert O. Lee becomes first African American to practice law in Washington in 1889. - HistoryLink.org". www.historylink.org. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
  2. ^ "Time to vote — API candidates that will be on your ballot". Northwest Asian Weekly. 2014-10-23. Retrieved 2018-02-14.
  3. ^ "Eddie Yoon (Pages - Online Voters' Guide)". wei.sos.wa.gov. 2014. Retrieved 2018-02-14.
  4. ^ "A recap of all races in the Washington and Idaho 2014 Election". Spokesman.com. Retrieved 2018-02-14.
  5. ^ "Eddie Yoon, proud Lincoln Abe and the state's first Korean..." News Tribune. January 10, 2019.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Charles Z. Smith: Trailblazer - Legacy Washington - WA Secretary of State". Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  7. ^ a b c d "Former state Supreme Court Justice Charles Smith dies | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com. Retrieved 2020-06-05.
  8. ^ a b c d Alexander, Gerry (2007-07-11). "Charles Z. Smith (1927-2016) •". Retrieved 2020-06-05.
  9. ^ "Prim, John E. (1898-1961) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed". www.blackpast.org. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  10. ^ "John E. Prim behind judge's bench, Seattle, ca. 1950 :: Black Heritage Society (KCS)". digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  11. ^ a b "State's first Jewish judge dies". products.kitsapsun.com. Retrieved 2019-01-25.
  12. ^ "Washington State Courts - Washington Court News". www.courts.wa.gov. Retrieved 2018-01-23.
  13. ^ a b "Former King County Superior Court Judge Warren Chan dies". The Seattle Times. 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  14. ^ a b "BLOG: Honoring Warren Chan — Icon of an incredible generation". Northwest Asian Weekly. 2015-07-09. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  15. ^ a b "Stokes, Charles Moorehead (1903-1996) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed". blackpast.org. Retrieved 2019-01-17.
  16. ^ "Judge Richard Ishikawa, pioneer and mentor". The Seattle Times. 2009-03-09. Retrieved 2020-07-03.
  17. ^ "Richard Moriye Ishikawa". Bellevue Reporter. 2009-03-03. Retrieved 2020-07-03.
  18. ^ a b "Judge Mark Chow - King County". www.kingcounty.gov. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  19. ^ a b Chang, Gordon H. (2001). Asian Americans and Politics: Perspectives, Experiences, Prospects. Stanford University Press. ISBN 9780804742016.
  20. ^ a b "King County Elections". www.kingcounty.gov. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
  21. ^ a b c "Three federal judges speak with Whitman students". Whitman College. 2013-10-07. Retrieved 2018-01-30.
  22. ^ a b c "King County Bar Association's Annual Awards Celebration" (PDF). King County Bar Association. 2021.
  23. ^ "Lowry Choices: Win One, Lose One -- Macinnes, Burrage Will Fill Out Terms | The Seattle Times". archive.seattletimes.com. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  24. ^ "Justice Gonzalez's win raises questions about role of ethnicity". The Seattle Times. 2012-08-08. Retrieved 2019-01-16.
  25. ^ "Gonzalez sworn in as new justice". theolympian. Retrieved 2019-01-16.
  26. ^ "Justice Steven Gonzalez - The Minority Experience in Washington | AJC". www.ajc.org. 2021-03-30. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
  27. ^ "First judge of Samoan heritage in state history appointed to the bench". KIRO 7 News Seattle. 2021-02-17. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
  28. ^ "New Year Marks Start of New Leadership for Superior Court". Medium. 2024-01-16. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
  29. ^ a b "Jack Tanner, First Black U.S. Judge, Dies at 86". The Washington Post. 2006-01-13. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
  30. ^ a b "Tanner, Jack (1919-2006) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed". www.blackpast.org. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
  31. ^ a b c junio 2014, Por: Griselda Nevarez 18. "Salvador Mendoza: From migrant farm worker to federal judge". La Opinión (in Spanish). Retrieved 2018-12-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  32. ^ a b "US Trial Judge Salvador Mendoza Confirmed to Ninth Circuit (1)". news.bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved 2022-09-14.
  33. ^ a b Herald-Republic, TAMMY AYER Yakima. "Judge Salvador Mendoza Jr. from the Yakima Valley confirmed to 9th Circuit appeals court". Yakima Herald-Republic. Retrieved 2022-09-14.
  34. ^ "Washington State Courts - Members of the Court of Appeals - Div I Bio - Judge John H. Chun". www.courts.wa.gov. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  35. ^ Syed, Maleeha. "WA's new federal judges signify reversal of Trump-era influence | Crosscut". crosscut.com. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  36. ^ "Candidate Makes History, Becoming First Iranian American Elected to a State Legislature". PAAIA. 2012-11-07. Retrieved 2018-12-17.
  37. ^ "Ronald R. Ward, J.D." Civility Center for Law. Retrieved 2019-01-04.
  38. ^ "2016 General Election Voters' Guide Judicial - Anthony Gipe". weiapplets.sos.wa.gov. Retrieved 2019-01-06.
  39. ^ "Rajeev Majumdar is the first state bar president of South Asian descent". Northwest Asian Weekly. 2019-10-07. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  40. ^ "African Americans in the Pacific Northwest: A Select Bibliography" (PDF). Washington State Library / Office of the Secretary of State.
  41. ^ "Benton-County judge, Wenatchee lawyer pegged for Shea replacement". tri-cityherald. Retrieved 2018-12-24.
  42. ^ "John Edward Hawkins, King County's first black lawyer to be locally trained, is admitted to the Bar in 1895. - HistoryLink.org". www.historylink.org. Retrieved 2017-10-31.
  43. ^ a b c "Mission & History". www.kcba.org. Retrieved 2019-01-06.
  44. ^ "Eduardo M. Peñalver, from 'first' Latino law school dean to 'first' Latino college president". NBC News. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
  45. ^ "Bremerton: A Celebra'ion of Black History". products.kitsapsun.com. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  46. ^ "Theodore Ferdinand "Ted" Spearman Jr". Legacy.com (Seattle Times).
  47. ^ Peterson, Josephine (February 2, 2022). "Pierce County Superior Court's first Latino judge has died". The News Tribune.
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