List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Wisconsin explained

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

Lawyers

• First Jewish American male: Nathan Pereles (1857)^[1]
• First African American male: Everett E. Simpson (1888)^[2]
• First African American male to argue a case before the Wisconsin Supreme Court: William T. Green (1892)^{[3] [4] [5] [6]}
• First Native American (Oneida) male: Dennison Wheelock (1911)^[7]
• First Native American male admitted to state bar: Thomas "Ted" St. Germaine (1932)^{[8] [9]}
• First African American male public defender from Wisconsin to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court: Louis B. Butler (1977) in 1998^[10]

State judges

• First Jewish American male (circuit court): Charles L. Aarons in 1925^[11]
• First African American male to run for judicial seat: Andrew R. Reneau in 1955
• First Italian American male: John Fiorenza in 1966^[12]
• First African American male: Harold Jackson Jr. in 1972^[13]
• First Hispanic American male: Ness Flores in 1978^{[14] [15] [16]}
• First male judge (who is deaf) to use a computerized transcription system in a Wisconsin court: Richard S. Brown^[17] in 1983
• First African American male elected without being appointed by a governor: Carl Ashley in 1999^[18]
• First Latino American male elected to the circuit court without being appointed by a governor: Ralph Ramirez around 1999
• First African American male (Wisconsin Court of Appeals): Paul B. Higginbotham (1985) in 2003^{[19] [20]}
• First Asian American male (Japanese ancestry): Glenn H. Yamahiro (1991) in 2003^{[21] [22]}
• First African American male (Wisconsin Supreme Court): Louis B. Butler (1977) in 2004^[23]
• First Latino American male (Wisconsin Court of Appeals): Pedro Colón in 2023^[24]
• First Filipino American male:^[25] Raphael Ramos in 2023

Federal judges

• First African American male (U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wisconsin): Charles N. Clevert Jr. (1972) in 1977^[26]
• First African American male (U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin): Charles N. Clevert Jr. (1972) in 1995

Assistant United States Attorney

• First African American male: Grady L. Pettigrew, Jr. in 1975^[27]

District Attorney

• First African American male: Ismael Ozanne in 2010^[28]

Assistant District Attorney

• First African American male: Andrew R. Reneau^[29]

State Bar of Wisconsin

• First Jewish American male president: Benjamin Poss in 1937

Firsts in local history

• Daniel Bernstine:^[30] First African American male to serve as the Dean of University of Wisconsin Law School (1990)
• Paul B. Higginbotham: First African American judge in Dane County, Wisconsin (1994). He was also the first African American municipal court judge in Madison, Wisconsin (1992).
• Juan Colas: First Hispanic American male judge in Dane County, Wisconsin (2008)
• Ismael Ozanne: First African American male to serve as the District Attorney of Dane County, Wisconsin (2010)
• Paul Rigopoulos:^[31] First Greek American male lawyer in Fitchburg, Wisconsin [<nowiki/>[[Dane County, Wisconsin]]]
• Nathan Pereles:^[32] First Jewish American male lawyer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Casimir Gonski (1893):^[33] First Polish lawyer in Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin
• William T. Green (1892): First African American male lawyer in Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin
• George Yep (1949):^[34] First Chinese American male lawyer in Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin
• Harold B. Jackson, Jr.:^[35] First African American male to serve as the Assistant District Attorney of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin
• Clarence Parrish:^[36] First African American male to win a judicial seat in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin (1981)
• Brett Blomme:^[37] First openly LGBT male to win a judicial seat in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin (2020)
• Ralph Ramirez:^[38] First Hispanic American male elected as a circuit court judge in Waukesha County, Wisconsin

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 Wisconsin

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2019-09-20 . Urban spelunking: Irgens' BMO Towers, both old and new . 2024-05-17 . OnMilwaukee.
2. Book: Wisconsin Magazine of History. Quaife. Milo Milton. Schafer. Joseph. Alexander. Edward Porter. 2007. State Historical Society of Wisconsin..
3. News: African-Americans at the University of Wisconsin (1875-1969). June 8, 2015. UW Archives and Records Management. February 13, 2018.
4. News: How a Milwaukee Opera House Kick Started the Fight for Civil Rights. February 11, 2013. MKE Memoirs. February 13, 2018.
5. Book: Wisconsin Lawyer: Official Publication of the State Bar of Wisconsin. 1995. State Bar of Wisconsin.
6. News: Green, William T. 1860 - 1911 Wisconsin Historical Society. August 8, 2017. Wisconsin Historical Society. February 13, 2018.
7. Book: Krupat, Arnold . Boarding School Voices: Carlisle Indian School Students Speak . November 2021 . U of Nebraska Press . 978-1-4962-2890-1 . en.
8. News: 1947-10-09 . Learn of Death of Thomas St. Germaine . 12 . Ironwood Daily Globe . 2022-03-05.
9. Book: Indian's Friend . 1904 . National Indian Association. . en.
10. Web site: Strebel . Erika . 2018-04-13 . Former justice to speak at UW hooding ceremony . 2024-06-07 . en-US.
11. Book: Landman, Isaac . The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia in 10 Volumes: An Authoritative and Popular Presentation of Jews and Judaism Since the Earliest Times . 1939 . Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, Incorporated . en.
12. Web site: John Fiorenza Obituary (2020) - Brookfield, WI - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel . 2024-06-06 . Legacy.com.
13. Web site: 2022-02-28 . 8 notable Black lives laid to rest in Milwaukee's Forest Home Cemetery . 2022-07-19 . WUWM 89.7 FM - Milwaukee's NPR . en.
14. Web site: Sí Se Puede 2016: Wisconsin's 48 Most Powerful Latinos . March 9, 2020 . Madison365 . October 9, 2017 . en-US.
15. Web site: Schultz . Zac . First Hispanic Judge in Dane County . March 9, 2020 . www.nbc15.com . english.
16. Web site: Judge Ralph Ramirez: On the Art and Science of Being a Judge . 2022-01-27 . State Bar of Wisconsin . en.
17. Web site: Communication in the Courtroom. Smith. Dorothy. Spring 1989.
18. Web site: State Bar recognizes Judge Carl Ashley for exceptional contributions to the justice system . 2020-03-14 . WisBar . en-us.
19. Web site: Wisconsin Court System - Court of Appeals Judges - Judge Higginbotham. www.wicourts.gov. January 11, 2018.
20. Web site: A History of Black Madison. Johnson. Michael. Madison365. January 27, 2018 . en-US. 2020-03-12.
21. Web site: Judge Glenn Yamahiro '91 to Give Keynote Speech at LEO Banquet University of Wisconsin Law School . February 15, 2018 . law.wisc.edu.
22. Web site: Glenn Yamahiro '91 named judge University of Wisconsin Law School . February 15, 2018 . law.wisc.edu.
23. Web site: Wisconsin Court System - Louis B. Butler Jr.. www.wicourts.gov. January 30, 2018.
24. Web site: Roche . Mariana La . 2023-06-20 . Wisconsin governor appoints first Latino Judge to Court of Appeals . 2023-06-22 . WISN . en.
25. Web site: Kilmer . Graham . Raphael Ramos Announces for Circuit Court Judge . 2024-06-05 . Urban Milwaukee . en.
26. News: Clevert a trailblazer in federal court . January 19, 2018.
27. Web site: Judge Hackett attended Wayne State University and received an A.B. degree in 1949 and his LL.B degree in PDF Free Download. docplayer.net. 2020-03-12.
28. Web site: Ismael Ozanne: Wisconsin's prosecutor in Robinson case. Michael . Martinez. CNN. May 12, 2015. March 11, 2020.
29. Web site: The History of Wisconsin's Black Lawyers 2019. 2019. Wisconsin Association of African American Lawyers.
30. Book: USBE/HE Professional . 1990 . Career Communications Group . en.
31. Book: Kirkpatrick, Doris . The City and the River . 1975 . Fitchburg Historical Society . en.
32. Web site: 1976-07-29 . The Bicentennial and Milwaukee Jewry . 2024-05-17 . Newspapers.com . en-US.
33. Web site: Pinkowski Files. www.poles.org. September 18, 2017.
34. Web site: George Yep: Milwaukee's First Chinese American Lawyer · MPL . 2024-06-04 . www.mpl.org . en.
35. Book: The Wisconsin Bar Bulletin. 1984. Wisconsin Bar Association. en.
36. Web site: Telling the Story of Wisconsin's Pioneering Black Lawyers. Green. Shannon. WisBar. en-us. March 4, 2020.
37. Web site: Vielmetti. Bruce. Milwaukee County Children's Court Judge Brett Blomme charged with 7 counts of child pornography. 2022-02-17. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. en-US.
38. News: Ramirezes form a portrait of U.S. Latinos. January 13, 2018.