List of first women lawyers and judges in Iowa

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

Law degree

First female law graduate: Mary Beth Hickey in 1873^[1]

Lawyers

First female: Arabella Mansfield (1869)^[2]
First female (actively practice): Judith Ellen Foster: (1872)^[3]
First African American female: Gertrude Rush (1918)^[4]^[5]

State judges

First female: Lynne Brady Neuhaus from 1973-2002^[6]
First female (Iowa Court of Appeals): Janet Johnson from 1978-1983^[6]
First female (Iowa Supreme Court): Linda K. Neuman from 1986-2003^[6]^[7]^[8]
First female (Chief Justice; Iowa Supreme Court): Marsha K. Ternus in 2006^[9]
First African American female: Romonda Belcher-Ford (1995) in 2010^[10]^[11]

Federal judges

First female (Seventh Judicial District): Margaret Briles from 1977-1992^[6]^[12]
First female (serve on the bench of either of Iowa's federal district courts): Celeste F. Bremer (1977)^[13]
First female (Fifth Judicial District): Linda R. Reade (1980) from 1993-2002^[6]
First female (Chief Judge; Seventh Judicial District): Bobbi M. Alpers (1983) in 2006^[14]
First female (U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa and confirmed as an Article III judge): Stephanie Marie Rose (1996) beginning in 2012^[15]

Attorney General of Iowa

First female: Bonnie Campbell (1985) from 1991-1995^[16]

Assistant United States Attorney

Stephanie Wright, First Black Assistant District Attorney Northern District of Iowa (1994-2018)
First African American (female) (Northern District of Iowa): Stephanie Wright^[17] ^[18]

County Attorney

First female: Emily L. Newbold in 1923^[19]^[20]

Iowa State Bar Association

First female president: Carroll J. Reasoner^[21]

Firsts in local history

Nancy Whittenburg:^[22] First female appointed as a district county judge in District 3A of Iowa (2003)^[23]
Mary Sokolovske:^[24] First female appointed as a district county judge in District 3B of Iowa (2000)^[25]
Dusti Relph (2005):^[26] First female appointed as a Judge of Iowa District Court 5B (2014)
Adria Kester:^[27] First female appointed as a Judge of Iowa District Court 2B (2017)
Rosemary Shaw Sackett (1963):^[28] First female to practice law in Spencer, Iowa. She would later become a judge. [Clay County, Iowa]
Margaret Kolarik (1925):^[29] First female lawyer in Clinton, Iowa [Clinton County, Iowa]
Virginia Bedell:^[30]^[31] First female to serve as the County Attorney for Dickinson County, Iowa (1938)
Mary B. Hickey Wilkinson:^[32] First female to graduate from the University of Iowa College of Law (1873) [Johnson County, Iowa]
Anna Harvat Holbert (1899):^[33] First female lawyer in Iowa City, Iowa [Johnson County, Iowa]
Ann Gales:^[34] First female district associate judge in Kossuth County, Iowa (2014)
Imogen B. Emery (1933):^[35] First female lawyer in Cedar Rapids, Iowa [Linn County, Iowa]
Willie Stevenson Glanton:^[36] First female (and African American female) to become an Assistant Polk County Attorney
Linda K. Neuman:^[6]^[7]^[8] First female to serve as a part-time magistrate in Scott County, Iowa (c. 1980)
Ruth Harkin:^[37] First female to serve as the County Attorney for Story County, Iowa
Emily L. Newbold:^[19]^[20] First female to serve as a County Attorney in Van Buren County, Iowa (1923)
Sherry Raduenz:^[38] First female lawyer in Decorah, Iowa [Winneshiek County, Iowa]

References

^ "Law School History and Milestones | College of Law - The University of Iowa". law.uiowa.edu. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
^ Hudson, David; Bergman, Marvin; Horton, Loren (May 2009). The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa. University of Iowa Press. ISBN 9781587297243.
^ "Women's Legal History | Biographical Search". Women's Legal History. Retrieved 2017-10-25.
^ "Gertrude Rush, first Black female lawyer in Iowa | African American Registry". www.aaregistry.org. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
^ Smith, John Clay (2000). Rebels in Law: Voices in History of Black Women Lawyers. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 9780472086467.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "A Celebration of Iowa's Women Jurists" (PDF). IoWoman. 35: 6. 2005.
^ ^a ^b "Linda K. Neuman | Past Justices | Iowa Judicial Branch". www.iowacourts.gov. Retrieved 2018-01-10.
^ ^a ^b "2015 Iowa Women's Hall of Fame Honoree: The Honorable Linda K. Neuman". humanrights.iowa.gov. Retrieved 2018-12-27.
^ "Marsha K. Ternus | Past Justices | Iowa Judicial Branch". www.iowacourts.gov. Retrieved 2020-02-21.
^ "Law alumna selected as first black female judge in Iowa". Newsroom | Drake University. 2010-10-11. Retrieved 2018-02-01.
^ "Iowa gets its first African-American female judge - KTTC Rochester, Austin, Mason City News, Weather and Sports". www.kttc.com. Retrieved 2018-02-01.
^ Wellner, Brian. "Iowa's longest-serving district judge retires". The Quad-City Times. Retrieved 2018-01-10.
^ Bremer's career has been as follow: 1985-1990 (part-time magistrate judge, Southern District of Iowa); 1990-2021 [full-time magistrate judge, including several years as Chief Magistrate Judge); 2021-present (recall status)]
^ Lemmon, Dustin. "Alpers appointed chief judge, first woman to hold the post". The Quad-City Times. Retrieved 2018-02-10.
^ "Grassley Statement on the Nomination of Stephanie Rose to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of Iowa | Chuck Grassley". www.grassley.senate.gov. Retrieved 2018-01-20.
^ Clinton, William J. (1994). Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, William J. Clinton, 1995, Bk. 1, January 1 to June 30, 1995. Government Printing Office. p. 377. first female attorney general iowa.
^ Hemenway-Forbes, Meta. "Stephanie Wright, first black assistant U.S. attorney in Iowa northern district, to retire". Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
^ Gabriel, Trip (2023-03-18). "A Retired Prosecutor's Quest for Recognition". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
^ ^a ^b The Iowa Alumnus. 1922.
^ ^a ^b "NEWBOLD, Willis Boyd: Died 1946". iagenweb.org. Retrieved 2020-02-27.
^ "DAA Profile - University of Iowa Center for Advancement". www.foriowa.org. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
^ Tennant, Jean. "And Justice for Nancy: Iowa's First Judicial District gets first woman judge". Sioux City Journal. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
^ District 3A includes Buena Vista, Cherokee, Dickinson, Emmet, Kossuth, Lyon, O'Brien, Osceola and Palo Alto Counties.
^ Hytrek, Nick. "Sokolovske retiring as district judge". Sioux City Journal. Retrieved 2018-12-27.
^ District 3B includes Crawford, Ida, Monona, Plymouth, Sioux and Woodbury Counties.
^ "Dusti Relph becomes first woman judge in Iowa District 5B". www.corydontimes.com. Retrieved 2018-02-08.
^ "District Court Judge Comments on the Finalists for the Open Iowa Supreme Court Justice Seat". Raccoon Valley Radio - The One to Count On. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
^ "Sackett's historic career coming to a close". Spencer Daily Reporter. 2011-11-01. Retrieved 2017-09-26.
^ Herald, Gary HerrityThe Clinton. "Famous Clinton Lawyers". Clinton Herald. Retrieved 2018-12-19.
^ Sackett, Rosemary Shaw (Summer 2014). "REFLECTIONS OF AN AGING FEMALE JUDGE". Journal of Gender, Race and Justice. 17: 449.
^ "Women's History". Facets. March 2017. Retrieved 2020-02-27.
^ Drachman, Virginia G.; Club, Equity (1993). Women lawyers and the origins of professional identity in America: the letters of the Equity Club, 1887 to 1890. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 9780472103058.
^ "Mrs. Anna Harvat Holbert, first female lawyer in Iowa City". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2019-03-27.
^ "Kossuth judge is a county first | News, Sports, Jobs - Messenger News". Retrieved 2018-12-27.
^ "Time Machine: Imogen Emery | The Gazette". The Gazette. Retrieved 2017-10-13.
^ "Willie Stevenson Glanton, Iowa's first black female legislator, dies at age 95". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2019-01-06.
^ Schmidt, Mitchell. "Meet the five Iowa women who will be inducted into the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame". The Gazette. Retrieved 2020-02-27.
^ "Large hen crashes into vehicle radiator". decorahnewspapers.com. Retrieved 2019-07-10.

[1] "Law School History and Milestones | College of Law - The University of Iowa". law.uiowa.edu. Retrieved 2024-05-20.

[2] Hudson, David; Bergman, Marvin; Horton, Loren (May 2009). The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa. University of Iowa Press. ISBN 9781587297243.

[3] "Women's Legal History | Biographical Search". Women's Legal History. Retrieved 2017-10-25.

[4] "Gertrude Rush, first Black female lawyer in Iowa | African American Registry". www.aaregistry.org. Retrieved 2016-10-07.

[5] Smith, John Clay (2000). Rebels in Law: Voices in History of Black Women Lawyers. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 9780472086467.

[:23-6] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "A Celebration of Iowa's Women Jurists" (PDF). IoWoman. 35: 6. 2005.

[:0-7] "Linda K. Neuman | Past Justices | Iowa Judicial Branch". www.iowacourts.gov. Retrieved 2018-01-10.

[:1-8] "2015 Iowa Women's Hall of Fame Honoree: The Honorable Linda K. Neuman". humanrights.iowa.gov. Retrieved 2018-12-27.

[9] "Marsha K. Ternus | Past Justices | Iowa Judicial Branch". www.iowacourts.gov. Retrieved 2020-02-21.

[10] "Law alumna selected as first black female judge in Iowa". Newsroom | Drake University. 2010-10-11. Retrieved 2018-02-01.

[11] "Iowa gets its first African-American female judge - KTTC Rochester, Austin, Mason City News, Weather and Sports". www.kttc.com. Retrieved 2018-02-01.

[12] Wellner, Brian. "Iowa's longest-serving district judge retires". The Quad-City Times. Retrieved 2018-01-10.

[13] Bremer's career has been as follow: 1985-1990 (part-time magistrate judge, Southern District of Iowa); 1990-2021 [full-time magistrate judge, including several years as Chief Magistrate Judge); 2021-present (recall status)]

[14] Lemmon, Dustin. "Alpers appointed chief judge, first woman to hold the post". The Quad-City Times. Retrieved 2018-02-10.

[:4-15] "Grassley Statement on the Nomination of Stephanie Rose to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of Iowa | Chuck Grassley". www.grassley.senate.gov. Retrieved 2018-01-20.

[16] Clinton, William J. (1994). Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, William J. Clinton, 1995, Bk. 1, January 1 to June 30, 1995. Government Printing Office. p. 377. first female attorney general iowa.

[17] Hemenway-Forbes, Meta. "Stephanie Wright, first black assistant U.S. attorney in Iowa northern district, to retire". Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier. Retrieved 2020-03-10.

[18] Gabriel, Trip (2023-03-18). "A Retired Prosecutor's Quest for Recognition". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-04-11.

[:9-19] The Iowa Alumnus. 1922.

[:10-20] "NEWBOLD, Willis Boyd: Died 1946". iagenweb.org. Retrieved 2020-02-27.

[21] "DAA Profile - University of Iowa Center for Advancement". www.foriowa.org. Retrieved 2019-01-02.

[:5-22] Tennant, Jean. "And Justice for Nancy: Iowa's First Judicial District gets first woman judge". Sioux City Journal. Retrieved 2019-07-10.

[:6-23] District 3A includes Buena Vista, Cherokee, Dickinson, Emmet, Kossuth, Lyon, O'Brien, Osceola and Palo Alto Counties.

[:2-24] Hytrek, Nick. "Sokolovske retiring as district judge". Sioux City Journal. Retrieved 2018-12-27.

[:3-25] District 3B includes Crawford, Ida, Monona, Plymouth, Sioux and Woodbury Counties.

[26] "Dusti Relph becomes first woman judge in Iowa District 5B". www.corydontimes.com. Retrieved 2018-02-08.

[27] "District Court Judge Comments on the Finalists for the Open Iowa Supreme Court Justice Seat". Raccoon Valley Radio - The One to Count On. Retrieved 2020-03-09.

[28] "Sackett's historic career coming to a close". Spencer Daily Reporter. 2011-11-01. Retrieved 2017-09-26.

[29] Herald, Gary HerrityThe Clinton. "Famous Clinton Lawyers". Clinton Herald. Retrieved 2018-12-19.

[:7-30] Sackett, Rosemary Shaw (Summer 2014). "REFLECTIONS OF AN AGING FEMALE JUDGE". Journal of Gender, Race and Justice. 17: 449.

[:8-31] "Women's History". Facets. March 2017. Retrieved 2020-02-27.

[32] Drachman, Virginia G.; Club, Equity (1993). Women lawyers and the origins of professional identity in America: the letters of the Equity Club, 1887 to 1890. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 9780472103058.

[33] "Mrs. Anna Harvat Holbert, first female lawyer in Iowa City". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2019-03-27.

[34] "Kossuth judge is a county first | News, Sports, Jobs - Messenger News". Retrieved 2018-12-27.

[35] "Time Machine: Imogen Emery | The Gazette". The Gazette. Retrieved 2017-10-13.

[36] "Willie Stevenson Glanton, Iowa's first black female legislator, dies at age 95". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2019-01-06.

[37] Schmidt, Mitchell. "Meet the five Iowa women who will be inducted into the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame". The Gazette. Retrieved 2020-02-27.

[38] "Large hen crashes into vehicle radiator". decorahnewspapers.com. Retrieved 2019-07-10.

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