List of first women lawyers and judges in Mississippi

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This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Mississippi. 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 state history[edit]

Marian Wright Edelman: First African American female lawyer in Mississippi (1963)

Felicia C. Adams: First African American female to serve as a U.S. Attorney in Mississippi (2011)

Lawyers[edit]

  • Susie Blue Buchanan (1918):[1][2][3] First female lawyer in Mississippi. She was also the first female admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Mississippi (1916), as well as argue a murder case before that court (1917).
  • Marian Wright Edelman (1963):[4] First African American female lawyer in Mississippi
  • Doris Bobadilla (1991):[5][6] First known Hispanic American female lawyer in Mississippi

State judges[edit]

  • Zelma Wells Price (1929):[7][8][9][10] First female judge in Mississippi (1955)
  • Constance Slaughter-Harvey (1970):[11][12] First African American female judge in Mississippi (1976)
  • Lenore L. Prather (1955):[13][9] First female to serve on the Mississippi Supreme Court (1982) and its Chief Justice (1998)
  • Mary Libby Payne:[14] First female to serve on the Court of Appeals in Mississippi (1995)
  • Ermea Russell:[15][16] First African American female to serve on the Mississippi Court of Appeals (2011)
  • Donna Barnes:[17] First female to serve as the Chief Judge of the Mississippi Court of Appeals (2019)
  • Tomika Harris-Irving:[18] First African American (female) to serve on the Twenty-Second Circuit Court District in Mississippi (2019)

Federal judges[edit]

  • Linda Anderson:[18] First African American (female) to serve as a Magistrate Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi (2006)
  • Sharion Aycock (1980):[19] First female to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi (2007)
  • Katharine Malley Samson:[20] First female to serve as a bankruptcy court judge in Mississippi (2010)
  • Debra M. Brown (1997):[21] First African American female to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi (2013)

Attorney General[edit]

Assistant Attorney General[edit]

  • Evelyn Gandy (1947):[23] First female appointed as the Assistant Attorney General of Mississippi (1959)

United States Attorney[edit]

Assistant United States Attorney[edit]

  • Euple Dozier:[25] First female to serve as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Mississippi (1955)

Assistant District Attorney[edit]

  • Kathy King Jackson:[26] First female to serve as an Assistant District Attorney in Mississippi (1977)

Political Office[edit]

Bar Association[edit]

  • Joy Lambert Phillips (1980):[10][27] First female to serve as the President of the Mississippi Bar Association (2005)
  • Patricia W. Bennett:[28][29] First African American female to serve as the President of the Mississippi Bar Association (2018)

Firsts in local history[edit]

  • Patricia Burchell:[30][31] First female to serve as the District Attorney for Forrest and Perry Counties, Mississippi (2010)
  • Latrice Westbrooks:[28] First African American female to serve as the Assistant District Attorney for the Second Circuit Court District (1997) [Hancock, Harrison and Stone Counties, Mississippi]
  • Michele Purvis Harris (1987):[32] First female (and African American female) to serve as the Chief City Prosecutor for the City of Jackson, Mississippi (1994) [Hinds, Madison and Rankin Counties, Mississippi]
  • Mary Lee Toles:[33] First African American (female) judge in Natchez, Mississippi [Adams County, Mississippi]
  • Marie Kepper (1954):[34] First female judge in Forrest County, Mississippi
  • Clare Sekul Hornsby:[3] First female to serve as the President of the Harrison County Bar Association
  • Faye Peterson:[35] First African American female to serve as the District Attorney for Hinds County, Mississippi
  • Michele Purvis Harris (1987):[32] First female (and African American female) to serve as the Chief City Prosecutor for the City of Jackson, Mississippi (1994) and the Public Defender for Hinds County, Mississippi (2012)
  • Ermea Russell:[15][16] First African American female to serve as a circuit judge in Hinds County, Mississippi (1998)
  • Tomie Green:[36] First female (and African American) to serve as the Senior Circuit Judge in the Seventh Circuit Court District [Hinds County, Mississippi]
  • Constance Slaughter-Harvey:[28] First African American female graduate of the University of Mississippi School of Law [Lafayette County, Mississippi]. She was the first African American female judge in Scott County, Mississippi (1976).
  • Edna Loeb (1936):[37] First female lawyer in Lowndes County, Mississippi
  • Patricia Wise:[28] First female (and African American female) to serve as President of the Magnolia Bar Association [Pike County, Mississippi]
  • Shequeena McKenzie:[38] First African American (female) judge in McComb, Mississippi (2022) [Pike County, Mississippi]
  • Carol L. White-Richard:[39] First African-American female to serve as the Public Defender for Washington County, Mississippi
  • Caroline Crawley Moore:[40] First female prosecutor in Winton County, Mississippi (2008)
  • Ruth Campbell (1918):[41] First female called to the Yazoo County Bar Association, Mississippi

See also[edit]

Other topics of interest[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Wilkerson, Lyn (2010-11-08). Slow Travels-Mississippi. Lyn Wilkerson. ISBN 9781452332291.
  2. ^ “Sara Buchanan”. Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2019-03-27.
  3. ^ a b “Women in the Profession” (PDF). The Mississippi Lawyer. Winter 2011–2012.
  4. ^ “Edelman, Marian Wright (1939- ) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed”. www.blackpast.org. Retrieved 2018-01-20.
  5. ^ “1991 Alumna Doris Bobadilla Profiled by The Atlantic | College of Law”. law.loyno.edu. Retrieved 2018-02-17.
  6. ^ Lam, Bourree. “A Lawyer Who Loves Her Job”. The Atlantic. Retrieved 2018-02-17.
  7. ^ Ownby, Ted; Wilson, Charles Reagan; Abadie, Ann J.; Lindsey, Odie; Thomas, James G. (2017-05-25). The Mississippi Encyclopedia. Univ. Press of Mississippi. ISBN 9781496811592.
  8. ^ “The Mid-Delta Judge Zelma Price is dead”. Newspapers.com. February 25, 1974. Retrieved 2018-02-01.
  9. ^ a b Krane, Dale; Shaffer, Stephen D. (1992). Mississippi Government and Politics: Modernizers Versus Traditionalists. U of Nebraska Press. ISBN 080327758X.
  10. ^ a b “Capital Area Bar Association”. caba.ms. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  11. ^ Sewell, George A.; Dwight, Margaret L. (2012-01-20). Mississippi Black History Makers. Univ. Press of Mississippi. ISBN 9781617034282.
  12. ^ Congressional Record, V. 147, Pt. 6, May 9, 2001 to May 21 2001. Government Printing Office. October 2005. ISBN 9780160729669.
  13. ^ “Collins Speaker Series: Lenore Prather » Mississippi State University Libraries”. lib.msstate.edu. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
  14. ^ Wells, Valerie. “Mary Libby Payne”. www.jacksonfreepress.com. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  15. ^ a b “MC|Law Judicial Data Project”. judicial.mc.edu. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  16. ^ a b “EJ Russell seated on appellate court | The Jackson Advocate”. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  17. ^ Progress, David Helms Pontotoc. “Chief Judge Donna Barnes sworn in as first woman to lead Court of Appeals”. Daily Journal. Retrieved 2019-02-22.
  18. ^ a b “Copiah County native honored as nation’s first female federal trial judge – State of Mississippi Judiciary News”. courts.ms.gov. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
  19. ^ “Mississippi College | Beacon Magazine | A Benchmark Appointment”. www.mc.edu. Retrieved 2018-02-01.
  20. ^ “News About You” (PDF). Louisiana Tech Magazine. Summer 2011.
  21. ^ “School Of Architecture News – Debra M. Brown as Mississippi’s first African-American female U.S. District Judge”. caad.msstate.edu. Retrieved 2018-01-09.
  22. ^ Gates, Jimmie E. “Lynn Fitch elected Mississippi’s first female attorney general”. The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
  23. ^ a b “‘A Lady of Many Firsts’: Press Coverage of the Political Career of Mississippi’s Evelyn Gandy, 1948-83″. American Journalism. 2017-12-13. Retrieved 2018-12-13.
  24. ^ “Mississippi’s 2 U.S. attorneys resign”. The Clarion Ledger. Retrieved 2019-01-01.
  25. ^ Franks, Mona Robinson Mills and Bob (2017). Fulton. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9781467123792.
  26. ^ Staff, Mississippi Press. “Circuit Judge Kathy King Jackson of Pascagoula honored by Mississippi Bar Foundation”. gulflive.com. Retrieved 2019-01-01.
  27. ^ “The Mississippi Bar :: Past Presidents”. www.msbar.org. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  28. ^ a b c d “Judges Westbrooks, Owens and Wise honored as Trailblazers – State of Mississippi Judiciary News”. courts.ms.gov. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  29. ^ “Faculty Directory”. Mississippi College School of Law. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  30. ^ “Governor appoints first female DA in Forrest County”. WDAM. Retrieved 2019-01-01.
  31. ^ Herrington, Charles. “New D.A. sworn-in for Forrest-Perry counties”. WDAM 7. Retrieved 2019-03-27.
  32. ^ a b “Michele Purvis Harris | Alumni and Constituency Relations”. www.jsums.edu. Retrieved 2019-01-01.
  33. ^ Murphy, Patrick (2020-02-28). “Celebrating Black History: Local museum adds unique dimension to Natchez story”. Mississippi’s Best Community Newspaper. Retrieved 2020-03-14.
  34. ^ Beveridge, Lici (June 18, 2017). “Marie Kepper Forged Path for Women in Pine Belt”. U.S. News & World Report.
  35. ^ Richards, Kimberley (2018-11-30). “Black Women Break Barriers In Mississippi With Historic Court Wins”. Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  36. ^ “Judge Tomie Green to retire”. WJTV. 2022-02-02. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
  37. ^ “ISJL – Mississippi Columbus Encyclopedia”. Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
  38. ^ “Hometown Heroes: The first female African American Judge in the City of McComb”. WJTV. 2021-03-04. Retrieved 2022-08-28.
  39. ^ “Three state judges honored by Mississippi Bar Foundation – State of Mississippi Judiciary News”. courts.ms.gov. Retrieved 2019-01-01.
  40. ^ “Aldermen appoint Kelley to Municipal Judge seat | Starkville Daily News”. starkvilledailynews.com. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  41. ^ “Virginia Ruth Campbell”. Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2019-03-27.


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