List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Minnesota explained

This is a list of the first minority male lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Minnesota. 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 state history

Law Degree

• First Somali American male:^[1] Hassan Ali Mohamud in 2002

Lawyers

• Jacob Jackson Noah (1851):^[2] First Jewish American male lawyer in Minnesota
• Fredrick McGhee (1889):^[3] First African American male lawyer in Minnesota

State judges

• Charles Bechhoefer:^[4] First Jewish American male judge in Minnesota (1923)
• L. Howard Bennett:^[5] First African American male judge in Minnesota (1957)
• Stephen L. Maxwell (1953):^[6] First African American male to serve as a district court judge in Minnesota (1968)
• Alberto Miera, Jr.:^{[7] [8]} First Hispanic American male judge in Minnesota (1983)
• Alan Page (1978): First African American male to serve on the Minnesota Supreme Court (1993)
• Tony N. Leung

^{[9] [10] [11]} First Asian American male judge in Minnesota (1994)

• Robert A. Blaeser (1979):^{[12] [13]} First Native American (Anishinaabe from the White Earth Band of Ojibwe) male judge in Minnesota (1995)^[14]
• Edward Toussaint:^[15] First African American male to serve on the Minnesota Court of Appeals (1995)
• David Stras:^[16] First Jewish American male to serve on the Minnesota Supreme Court (2010)
• Peter Reyes Jr. (1997):^[17] First Hispanic American male to serve on the Minnesota Court of Appeals (2014)
• David Stras: First Jewish American male to serve on the Minnesota Supreme Court (2010)
• Leonardo Castro:^[18] First Hispanic American male to serve as a chief judge in a judicial district in Minnesota (2020)
• Karl Procaccini:^[19] First Muslim American male to serve as a Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court (2023)

Federal judges

• Michael J. Davis (1972):^[20] First African American male appointed as a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota (1994) and its Chief Judge (2008)
• Leo Brisbois

^[21] First Native American male to serve as a U.S. Magistrate judge in Minnesota (2010)

• Tony N. Leung

First Asian American male to become a federal court judge in Minnesota (2011)

• Jeffrey Bryan

^[22] First Latino American male federal judge in Minnesota (2023)

Attorney General

• Keith Ellison (1990): First African American (and first Muslim) to become Attorney General of Minnesota (2018)

United States Attorney

• B. Todd Jones:^[23] First African American male to serve as the United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota (2009)

Assistant United States Attorney

• Donald M. Lewis:^[24] First African American male to serve as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota (1982-1988)

County Attorney

• John C. Choi (1995):^{[25] [26] [27]} First Korean American male to serve as a County Attorney in Minnesota (2011)

Public Defender

• Daniel Lew:^[28] First Asian American male to serve as a Chief Public Defender in Minnesota (2014)

Political Office

• Keith Ellison (1990):^{[29] [30]} First African American male (and first Muslim) elected to the U.S. Congress from Minnesota (2006)

Bar Association

• Jarvis Jones:^[31] First African American to serve as the President of the Minnesota State Bar Association (c. 2001)^[32]
• Leo Brisbois:^[33] First male of American Indian descent to serve as the President of the Minnesota State Bar Association (2009)
• Phil Duran:^[34] First openly LGBT male to serve as the President of the Minnesota State Bar Association (2013)

Firsts in local history

• John Francis Wheaton:^[35] First African American male to graduate from the University of Minnesota Law School (1897) [<nowiki/>[[Hennepin County, Minnesota|Hennepin]] and Ramsey Counties, Minnesota]
• William R. Morris (c. 1889):^[36] First African American male lawyer in Minneapolis, Minnesota [<nowiki/>[[Hennepin County, Minnesota]]]
• Esteban Rivera:^[37] First Latino American male to serve as the President of the Hennepin County Bar Association
• Leonardo Castro: First Hispanic American male to serve as a Chief Judge of the Second Judicial District (2020) [<nowiki/>[[Ramsey County, Minnesota]]]
• Shawn L. Pearson:^[38] First African American male judge in the Sixth Judicial District in Duluth, Minnesota (St. Louis County, Minnesota; 2021)

See also

• List of first minority male lawyers and judges in the United States

Other topics of interest

• List of first women lawyers and judges in the United States
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Minnesota

Notes and References

1. Web site: Notable Alumni – About Mitchell Hamline School of Law . 2024-07-11 . mitchellhamline.edu.
2. Book: Rosenblum, Gene H. . Jewish Pioneers of Saint Paul, 1849-1874 . 2001 . Arcadia Publishing . 978-0-7385-1862-6 . en.
3. Book: Smith, Jr., J. Clay. Emancipation: The Making of the Black Lawyer, 1844-1944. 1999-01-01. University of Pennsylvania Press. 0812216857.
4. Book: Landman . Isaac . The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia ...: An Authoritative and Popular Presentation of Jews and Judaism Since the Earliest Times . Cohen . Simon . 1943 . Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, Incorporated . en.
5. News: Wisconsin Students Get Election Break. October 6, 1970. Star Tribune. 2018-01-11. Minneapolis. 20. Newspapers.com.
6. Web site: Judge Stephen L. Maxwell (1921 -2009) . 2019-01-25 . ramseylawlibrary.org.
7. Web site: Report to the Legislature. March 1, 1984. Spanish Speaking Affairs Council.
8. News: . Meryhew . Richard . Accused judge built reputation of compassion . Minneapolis Star and Tribune . 9 November 1986 . 4B .
9. Web site: Exhibit, Film Explore the "Asian Pacific Legal Experience in America" Asian American Press . 2018-02-15 . aapress.com.
10. Web site: Ahern . Will . Guest lecture: Judge Tony Leung on civics China Insight . 2018-02-15 . chinainsight.info.
11. News: Leung named to federal bench . Star Tribune . 2018-02-15.
12. News: Minnesota's first Native American judge on the Supreme Court. 2018-01-23.
13. News: Trailblazing judge retires after 17 years. Star Tribune. 2018-01-23.
14. Upon Blaeser's appointment as a Judge of the Fourth Judicial District-Hennepin County in 1995
15. Web site: 2024-02-02 . Learn at the library: Black History Month Minitex . 2024-05-19 . minitex.umn.edu . en.
16. Web site: 2013-12-07 . Is Stras the first Jewish Minnesota high court justice? - MinnLawyer Blog . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131207033529/http://minnlawyer.com/minnlawyerblog/2010/07/19/is-stras-the-first-jewish-minnesota-high-court-justice/ . 2013-12-07 . 2019-01-17.
17. News: Dayton's appointments increase diversity among Minnesota judges. Star Tribune. 2018-01-12.
18. Web site: 2020-05-19. Ramsey County appoints first Hispanic judicial district chief judge in Minnesota. 2022-02-23. Twin Cities. en-US.
19. Web site: Tribune . Rochelle Olson Star . Justice Natalie Hudson will be first Black chief of Minnesota Supreme Court . 2023-08-30 . Star Tribune.
20. Web site: Judicial Profile: Hon. Michael J. Davis - Chief U.S. District Judge, District of Minnesota. Hoppe. Lousene M..
21. Web site: Aurora native becomes state's first American Indian magistrate judge. Duluth News Tribune. 5 November 2010 . en. 2020-03-10.
22. Web site: Klobuchar, Smith Statements on Bipartisan Confirmation of Jeffrey Bryan to be U.S. District Court Judge . 2023-11-28 . U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar . en.
23. Web site: Legal Diversity: 30 Years In The Trenches . 2022-03-07 . digitaleditions.walsworthprintgroup.com . en-US.
24. Web site: 2013-02-13 . Donald Lewis Named One of the Most Influential Black Attorneys in the Country . 2022-03-07 . Nilan Johnson Lewis PA . en-US.
25. Web site: Hamline Alumnus John Choi is First Korean-American County Attorney in the US. www.hamline.edu. 2018-02-14.
26. News: Choi is 1st Korean-American county attorney in US. 2011-01-04. Twin Cities. 2018-02-14.
27. Web site: Choi Is 1st Korean-American County Attorney In US. AM 1240 WJON. 4 January 2011 . 2018-02-14.
28. Web site: Daniel Lew named chief public defender. Olsen. Tom. March 13, 2014. Duluth News Tribune. en. 2020-02-14.
29. News: First Muslim elected to Congress. 2006-11-08. msnbc.com. 2018-01-31.
30. News: Conversations: Rep. Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, discusses the current crisis in Libya and Muslims in America. Boorstein. Michelle. 2012-10-04. Washington Post. 2018-01-31. 0190-8286.
31. Book: The Barrister. 2001. The Association. en.
32. Web site: Presidents of the MSBA.
33. Web site: Iron Range native is first American Indian to lead state Bar.... Stoghill. M. 2017-11-13. www.duluthnewstribune.com. en. 2019-01-07.
34. Web site: Minnesota State Bar Association names first openly gay president. Press. Doug Belden Pioneer. 2013-06-27. Twin Cities. en-US. 2019-01-06.
35. Web site: History University of Minnesota Law School . 2022-03-10 . law.umn.edu.
36. Web site: Morris, William R. · Notable Kentucky African Americans Database. nkaa.uky.edu. 2017-09-24.
37. Web site: MHBA Orgullo: Speaking with Luz María Frías . 2022-03-06 . Minnesota Hispanic Bar Association . en-US.
38. Web site: 2021-07-16. Duluth courthouse sees first Black judge sworn in. 2022-01-24. Duluth News Tribune. en.