Female state supreme court justices

Below is a list of the names of the first woman to sit on the highest court of their respective states in the United States.

The first state with a female justice was Ohio; Florence E. Allen was named to the bench in 1923.[1]

State Justice Year
Alabama Janie Shores 1974
Alaska Dana Fabe 1996
Arizona Lorna E. Lockwood 1961
Arkansas Elsijane Trimble Roy 1976
California Rose Bird 1977
Colorado Jean Dubofsky [2] 1979
Connecticut Ellen Ash Peters 1978
Delaware Carolyn Berger[3] 1994
Florida Rosemary Barkett 1985
Georgia Leah Ward Sears 1992
Hawaii Rhoda Lewis[4] 1959
Idaho Linda Copple Trout[5] 1992
Illinois Mary Ann G. McMorrow 1992
Indiana Myra Consetta Selby[6] 1995
Iowa Linda Kinnedy Neuman[7] 1986
Kansas Kay McFarland 1977
Kentucky Sara W. Combs[8] 1993
Louisiana Catherine D. Kimball 1992
Maine Caroline Duby Glassman 1983
Maryland Rita C. Davidson[9] 1979
Massachusetts Ruth Abrams 1978
Michigan Mary Coleman[10] 1973
Minnesota Rosalie E. Wahl 1977
Mississippi Lenore Prather[11] 1982
Missouri Ann K. Covington 1988
Montana Diana Barz[12] 1989
Nebraska Lindsey Miller-Lerman 1998
Nevada Miriam Shearing 1992
New Hampshire Linda S. Dalianis 2000
New Jersey Marie L. Garibaldi[13] 1982
New Mexico Mary Coon Walters[14] 1984
New York Judith Kaye 1983
North Carolina Susie Sharp 1962
North Dakota Beryl J. Levine 1985
Ohio Florence Ellinwood Allen 1923
Oklahoma Alma Bell Wilson[15] 1982
Oregon Betty Roberts 1982
Pennsylvania Sandra Schultz Newman 1961
Rhode Island Florence K. Murray 1979
South Carolina Jean H. Toal 1988
South Dakota Judith Meierhenry 2002
Tennessee Martha Craig Daughtrey 1990
Texas Ruby Kless Sondock 1982
Utah Christine M. Durham 1982
Vermont Denise R. Johnson[16] 1990
Virginia Elizabeth B. Lacy 1988
Washington Carolyn R. Dimmick 1981
West Virginia Margaret Workman 1988
Wisconsin Shirley Abrahamson 1976
Wyoming Marilyn Kite[17] 2000
United States Supreme Court Sandra Day O'Connor 1981

Instances of a female-majority court

Only a few times over the course of history has the percentage of women on the highest court in any state been greater than the percentage of men. Currently, the United States Supreme Court has the highest percentage of women Justices it has ever had, yet there has still never been a majority. In New Mexico, as of November 12, 2015, with the appointment of Justice Judith Nakamura, the New Mexican Supreme Court has a female minority-majority, a first in New Mexico and possibly a first in the United States.[18]

State Year
All-Woman Supreme Court (special sitting of the Supreme Court of Texas for a single case) 1925
California 2011
Michigan 1997, 2009
Minnesota 1991
New Jersey 2011
New York 2003-2008, 2013–present
North Carolina 2011
Ohio 2002, 2005, 2011
Tennessee 2009
Wisconsin 2003
New Mexico 2015
West Virginia 2017

References

  1. "Florence E. Allen", Ohio History Central, July 1, 2005, http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=133
  2. "Jean Dubofsky". Cogreatwomen.org. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
  3. "Del. Supreme Court Justice Berger to retire". Delaware Online.
  4. http://www.hsba.org/resources/1/About%20HSBA/Presidents%20Timeline.pdf
  5. "Women Wielding Power-Idaho". Nwhm.org. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
  6. "Indiana Supreme Court Justice Biographies: Justice Myra Consetta Selby". In.gov. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
  7. "Iowa Women's Archives - Linda Kinney Neuman Papers - The University of Iowa Libraries". Sdrc.lib.uiowa.edu. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
  8. "Kentucky: Court of Justice - Judge Sara Walter Combs". Courts.ky.gov. 2010-07-28. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
  9. "Rita C. Davidson biography". Mdarchives.us. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
  10. "Michigan Supreme Court History Society ::". Micourthistory.org. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
  11. "Chief Justice Lenore Prather speaking this week at MSU (Mississippi State University)". Msstate.edu. 2000-10-10. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
  12. "Brief History of the Montana Judicial Branch - Montana Courts". Courts.mt.gov. 2009-02-05. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
  13. "Hon. Marie L. Garibaldi". Njwomenshistory.org. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
  14. "The Honorable Mary Coon Walters / Chief Justice Pamela B. Minzner Marker". Hmdb.org. 2011-07-31. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
  15. "WILSON, ALMA BELL (1917-1999)". Digital.library.okstate.edu. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
  16. "October 2008 | In Chambers with Vermont's Supreme Court Justices Denise Johnson & Marilyn Skoglund". Vermontwoman.com. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
  17. "Our Legacy of Success". Made In Wyoming. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
  18. Da, Royale. "For the first time, there's a female majority on the New Mexico Supreme Court". KOAT. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
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