List of first women lawyers and judges in Hawaii
This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Hawaii. 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 Hawaii's history[edit]
Law School[edit]
Lawyers[edit]
- First female (prior to overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii): Almeda Eliza Hitchcock (1888)[4][5]
- First female (sign the “Roll of Attorneys” for the federal district court): Elizabeth Helena Ryan (1896) in 1900[4]
- First female (practicing in the Territory of Hawaii): Marguerite Kamehaokalani Ashford (1916)[6]
- First Asian American female: Sau Ung Loo Chan (1942)[7]
- First Japanese American female: Patsy Mink (1953)[1][2][3]
- First Samoan-born female: Saisamoa F. Grey Price (2017)[8]
State judges[edit]
- First female (Supreme Court of the Hawaiian Kingdom):[9] Miriam Kekāuluohi in 1840
- First female (Commissioner of Private Ways and Water Rights): Emma Kaili Metcalf Beckley Nakuina from 1892-1907[10]
- First female (Hawaii Supreme Court): Carrick Hume Buck (1921) in 1935[7][11]
- First female (district magistrate): Edna Jenkins in 1937[7]
- First female: Carrick Hume Buck (1921) in 1934[7][11]
- First Asian American female: Marybeth Yuen Maul circa 1957[12][13]
- First female (appointed; Supreme Court of Hawaii): Rhoda Valentine Lewis (c. 1929) in 1959[14]
- First female (family court): Betty Vitousek in 1970[15]
- First female (circuit court): Marie Milks in 1984[16]
- First African American female: Sandra A. Simms in 1991[17][18][19]
- First female (Second Circuit Court): Harriet L. Holt in 1990[20][21][22] [23]
- First openly lesbian female (Hawaii Supreme Court): Sabrina McKenna (1982):[24] (2011)
Federal judges[edit]
- First Asian American female (U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii): Susan Oki Mollway (1981) in 1998[25]
- First Native Hawaiian female (United States District Court for the District of Hawaii): Shanlyn A. S. Park in 2023[26]
Attorney General of Hawaii[edit]
- Corinne K.A. Watanabe (1974):[27] First female to serve as the Attorney General of Hawaii, though for a partial term (1985-1987)
- Margery Bronster (1982):[28][29] First female to serve a full term as the Attorney General of Hawaii (1995-1999)
United States Attorney[edit]
- First female: Florence T. Nakakuni in 2009[30]
Assistant United States Attorney[edit]
- First female: Carrick Hume Buck (1921) in 1925[7][11]
Political Office[edit]
- First Asian-born (Japanese descent) female (senator): Mazie Hirono (1978) in 2012[31]
Hawaii Bar Association[edit]
- First female president: Sherry Broder (1975)[32]
Firsts in local history[edit]
- Carrick Hume Buck (1921):[11][33] First female to serve as the Assistant District Attorney and Deputy City and County Attorney for Honolulu City-County, Hawaii (1925)
- Jean Vaughan Gilbert (1944):[34] First female to serve as the Honolulu City-County Attorney
- Camille A. Nelson:[35] First (African American) female to serve as the Dean of the University of Hawaii’s William S. Richardson School of Law (2020)
- Edna Jenkins:[7] First female to serve as the district magistrate for Makawao, Hawaii (1937) [Maui County, Hawaii]
- Linda Breslau Berg:[36] First female lawyer in Maui [Maui County, Hawaii]
See also[edit]
- 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[edit]
- List of first minority male lawyers and judges in the United States
- List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Hawaii
References[edit]
- ^ a b Robinson, Greg (2016-09-01). The Great Unknown: Japanese American Sketches. University Press of Colorado. ISBN 9781607324294.
- ^ a b Congressional Record, V. 148, PT. 13, September 20, 2002 to October 1, 2002. Government Printing Office. 2006. ISBN 9780160767746.
- ^ a b Zhao, Xiaojian (2009). Asian American Chronology: Chronologies of the American Mosaic. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-0-313-34875-4.
- ^ a b "Hawaii Women Lawyers: Non-profit organization serving its members and the community". www.hawaiiwomenlawyers.org. Archived from the original on 2016-10-10. Retrieved 2016-10-06.
- ^ "Almeda Eliza Hitchcock - Class of: 1888". www.law.umich.edu. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
- ^ "Marguerite Kamehaokalani Ashford". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2019-03-27.
- ^ a b c d e f Matsuda, Mari J. (1992-01-01). Called from Within: Early Women Lawyers of Hawaiʻi. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 9780824814489.
- ^ "A first for a Samoa woman". www.samoanews.com. 2017-11-29. Retrieved 2023-04-21.
- ^ Blair, Chad (August 1998). Money, Color and Sex in Hawaii's Politics. Mutual Publishing LLC. ISBN 978-1-56647-218-0.
- ^ Dekneef, Matthew (March 8, 2017). "15 extraordinary Hawaii women who inspire us all. We can all learn something from these historic figures". Hawaiʻi Magazine. Honolulu. Archived from the original on 2017-03-08. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
- ^ a b c d Capace, Nancy (2001-01-01). Encyclopedia of New Mexico. Somerset Publishers, Inc. ISBN 9780403096077.
- ^ "First as lawyer, then as judge, Molokai woman was a pioneer". archives.starbulletin.com. May 7, 2010. Retrieved 2018-12-24.
- ^ "A Groundbreaking Woman | The Molokai Dispatch". themolokaidispatch.com. Retrieved 2018-12-24.
- ^ "Hawaii's first female judge of Family Court 'personified grace and wisdom'". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. 2017-08-30. Archived from the original on 2017-10-26. Retrieved 2017-10-25.
- ^ "Hawaii's first female judge of Family Court 'personified grace and wisdom'". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. 2017-08-30. Retrieved 2019-01-11.
- ^ Barayuga, Debra. "Judge garners praise as she retires from bench". archives.starbulletin.com. Retrieved 2019-01-12.
- ^ Finkelman, Paul (2009). Encyclopedia of African American History: 5-Volume Set. Oxford University Press, USA. ISBN 978-0-19-516779-5.
- ^ "The Honorable Sandra A. Simms's Biography". The HistoryMakers. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
- ^ Upon Simms' appointment as a Judge of the District Court of the First Circuit in 1991
- ^ "Judge Holt Decides on Hawaiian Sovereignty License Plates, 1993". Retrieved 2023-01-03.
- ^ "Judge Holt Honored as Maui High inducts 6 with school ties to hall of honor". July 4, 2016.
- ^ "Fil-Am Voice of Maui, Vol1 No7 Maui High Honorees" (PDF). September 1, 2017.
- ^ "Interview with Judge Holt, friendship with Patsy Mink, ASIAN-PACIFIC LAW & POLICY JOURNAL; Page 576, 577, 596, Vol. 4, Issue 2 (Summer2003)" (PDF). February 8, 1991.
- ^ "Lesbian appointed to Supreme Court in Hawaii as civil unions bill clears Senate committee - Dallas Voice". Dallas Voice. 2011-01-26. Archived from the original on 2018-02-08. Retrieved 2018-02-08.
- ^ Hong, Laura Kingsley (November 1999). Advocacy for Justice. American Bar Association. p. 72.
- ^ "First Hawaiian Woman Confirmed to Federal Bench by US Senate". Native News Online. 2023-11-30. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
- ^ "Judiciary | Associate Judge Corinne K.A. Watanabe". www.courts.state.hi.us. Retrieved 2018-11-19.
- ^ "Margery Bronster, A.G." archives.starbulletin.com. Retrieved 2018-11-19.
- ^ "A $100,000 Lawyer | The Molokai Dispatch". The Molokai Dispatch. 2008-07-30. Retrieved 2018-11-19.
- ^ "Hawaii's first female US Attorney sworn in". Hawaii News Now. Retrieved 2019-01-12.
- ^ "About Mazie | Mazie K. Hirono - A Voice for Hawai'i in the U.S. Senate". www.hirono.senate.gov. Archived from the original on 2018-01-23. Retrieved 2018-05-30.
- ^ "Class Notes: Sherry Broder" (PDF). Transcript. Spring 2015.
- ^ Matsuda, Mari J. (1992). Called from Within: Early Women Lawyers of Hawai?i. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 9780824814489.
- ^ "First Woman Appointed To Serve As City Attorney Here". Honolulu Star-Bulletin at Newspapers.com. February 15, 1944. p. 1. Archived from the original on 2018-05-09. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
- ^ Omaye, Jayna (2021-09-13). "New University of Hawaii law school initiative touts diversity, inclusion". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Retrieved 2022-03-14.
- ^ Love, Barbara J. (2006-09-22). Feminists Who Changed America, 1963-1975. University of Illinois Press. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-252-09747-8.
