List of first minority male lawyers and judges in New Mexico explained

This is a list of the first minority male lawyer(s) and judge(s) in New Mexico. 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 New Mexico's history

Lawyers

• First African American male: Fred Simms (c. 1880s)^[1]
• First African American male to practice before the New Mexico Supreme Court: George W. Malone (1914)^{[2] [3]}
• First Mexican American male: Antonio Barreiro (c. 1932)^[4]
• First blind male: Albert T. Gonzales (1935)^{[5] [6]}

State judges

• First Hispanic male (New Mexico Territorial Supreme Court): Antonio Jose Otero around 1846:^{[7] [8]}
• First Hispanic male (Supreme Court of New Mexico; Chief Justice): Eugene D. Lujan^{[9] [10] [11]}
• First African American male: Tommy Jewell (1979) in 1984^{[12] [13]}
• First African American male (district court): Tommy Jewell (1979) in 1991^[14]

Federal judges

• First Hispanic American male (U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico): Santiago E. Campos (1953) in 1978^[15]

Attorney General

• First Hispanic male (New Mexico Territory): Miguel Antonio Otero (1851) from 1854 to 1856^{[16] [17]}
• First Hispanic male (Attorney General of New Mexico): Miguel A. Otero III from 1929 to 1930^[18]

District Attorney

• First African American male: Gerald Byers in 2020^[19]

Political office

• First Mexican American male (U.S. Senator): Octaviano Ambrosio Larrazolo (1888) in 1928^[20]
• First New Mexico-born Latino male (U.S. Senator): Dennis Chávez in 1935^[21]
• First openly gay male (New Mexico Legislature): Jacob Candelaria in 2013^[22]

State Bar of New Mexico

• First Hispanic American male president: Arturo Jaramillo in 1994^[23]
• First African American male commissioner: Ray Hamilton from 1994 to 1999

Firsts in local history

• Robert Jones:^[24] First African American male lawyer in Albuquerque, Bernalillo County, New Mexico
• John EchoHawk:^[25] First Native American male (Pawnee) lawyer to graduate from the Indian law program at the University of New Mexico [<nowiki/>[[Bernalillo County, New Mexico]]]
• Santiago Juarez:^[26] First Hispanic American male lawyer in Roswell [<nowiki/>[[Chaves County, New Mexico]]]
• Gerald Byers: First African American male to serve as the District Attorney for the Third Judicial District (2020; Doña Ana County, New Mexico)

See also

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

Notes and References

1. Book: Smith, Jr., J. Clay. Emancipation: The Making of the Black Lawyer, 1844-1944. 1999-01-01. University of Pennsylvania Press. 0812216857.
2. Book: Hornsby, Alton. Black America: A State-by-State Historical Encyclopedia. 2011-01-01. ABC-CLIO. 9780313341120.
3. Web site: Desert Exposure February 2014 Early African-Americans in New Mexico. www.desertexposure.com. 2017-09-23.
4. Book: Raines, Lester Courtney. More New Mexico writers and writings. 1935-01-01. Dept. of English and speech, New Mexico normal university.
5. Web site: NFBNM Newsletter - June 2013. www.nfbnm.org. 2018-12-18.
6. Web site: Albert T. Gonzales Office of the President New Mexico State University. mchavira. en. 2018-12-18.
7. Book: Ramirez, Carlos Brazil . The Hispanic Political Elite in Territorial New Mexico: A Study of Classical Colonialism . 1979 . University of California, Santa Barbara . en.
8. Book: Vigil, Maurilio E. . Los Patrones: Profiles of Hispanic Political Leaders in New Mexico History . 1980 . University Press of America, Incorporated . 9780819109620 . en.
9. Web site: TO THE BOARD OF BAR COMMISSIONERS OF THE STATE BAR OF NEW MEXICO REPORT THE STATUS OF MINORITY ATTORNEYS IN NEW MEXICO – AN UPDATE: 1990-1999 . THE STATE BAR OF NEW MEXICO TASK FORCE ON MINORITIES IN THE LEGAL PROFESSION II.
10. Book: McCammon . Holly J. . 100 Years of the Nineteenth Amendment: An Appraisal of Women's Political Activism . Banaszak . Lee Ann . 2018-02-01 . Oxford University Press . 9780190265168 . en.
11. Book: Navarro . Sharon A. . Latinas in American Politics: Changing and Embracing Political Tradition . Hernandez . Samantha L. . Navarro . Leslie A. . 2016-05-12 . Lexington Books . 9781498533362 . en.
12. Book: Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History. Salzman. Jack. Smith. David L.. West. Cornel. 1996. Macmillan Library Reference. 9780028973661.
13. Book: Congress, U. S.. Congressional Record, V. 151, PT. 17, October 7 to 26, 2005. 2010. Government Printing Office. 9780160848254.
14. Upon Jewell’s appointment as a Judge of the Second Judicial District Court of New Mexico in 1991
15. Book: Congressional Record, V. 148, Pt. 14, October 2, 2002 to October 9, 2002. Government Printing Office.
16. Web site: OTERO, Miguel Antonio US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives. history.house.gov. en. 2019-07-19.
17. Book: USA, Macmillan Library Reference. Latino Americans. 1999-01-01. Macmillan Library Reference USA. 9780028653730. en.
18. Web site: Published by the Office of the NM Secretary of State 2011-2012. Flynn. Kathryn. Office of the New Mexico Secretary of State.
19. Web site: Groves . Jason . Incumbent District Attorney Gerald Byers seeks second term amid crowded Primary Election field . 2024-09-11 . Las Cruces Sun-News . en-US.
20. Web site: LARRAZOLO, OCTAVIANO AMBROSIO. CHAVEZ. ERNESTO. 2010-06-15. tshaonline.org. en. 2019-01-09.
21. Web site: Georgetown Law Chronology . 2022-03-15 . www.law.georgetown.edu . en-US.
22. Web site: Albuquerque mourns for Orlando victims The NM Political Report. nmpoliticalreport.com. en-US. 2018-11-16.
23. Book: Lawyer Referral Network. 1996. The Committee. en.
24. News: Award Conference Notes Achievements by Blacks. April 11, 1976. Albuquerque Journal. 2017-09-23. Albuquerque, New Mexico. 2. Newspapers.com.
25. Book: Johnson . Troy R. . American Indian Activism: Alcatraz to the Longest Walk . Nagel . Joane . Champagne . Duane . 1997 . University of Illinois Press . 978-0-252-06653-5 . en.
26. Web site: 'Scarborough Country' for Oct. 28 . 2022-03-05 . NBC News . en.