List of first women lawyers and judges in Iowa explained

This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Iowa. 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 Iowa's history

Law degree

• First female law graduate: Mary Beth Hickey in 1873^[1]

Lawyers

• First female: Arabella Mansfield (1869)^[2]
• First female (actively practice): Judith Ellen Foster: (1872)^[3]
• First African American female: Gertrude Rush (1918)^{[4] [5]}

State judges

• First female: Lynne Brady Neuhaus from 1973-2002^[6]
• First female (Iowa Court of Appeals): Janet Johnson from 1978-1983
• First female (Iowa Supreme Court): Linda K. Neuman from 1986-2003^{[7] [8]}
• First female (Chief Justice; Iowa Supreme Court): Marsha K. Ternus in 2006^[9]
• First African American female: Romonda Belcher-Ford (1995) in 2010^{[10] [11]}

Federal judges

• First female (Seventh Judicial District): Margaret Briles from 1977-1992^[12]
• First female (serve on the bench of either of Iowa's federal district courts): Celeste F. Bremer (1977)^[13]
• First female (Fifth Judicial District): Linda R. Reade (1980) from 1993-2002
• First female (Chief Judge; Seventh Judicial District): Bobbi M. Alpers (1983) in 2006^[14]
• First female (U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa and confirmed as an Article III judge): Stephanie Marie Rose (1996) beginning in 2012^[15]

Attorney General of Iowa

• First female: Bonnie Campbell (1985) from 1991-1995^[16]

Assistant United States Attorney

• First African American (female) (Northern District of Iowa): Stephanie Wright^{[17] [18]}

County Attorney

• First female: Emily L. Newbold in 1923^{[19] [20]}

Iowa State Bar Association

• First female president: Carroll J. Reasoner^[21]

Firsts in local history

• Nancy Whittenburg:^[22] First female appointed as a district county judge in District 3A of Iowa (2003)^[23]
• Mary Sokolovske:^[24] First female appointed as a district county judge in District 3B of Iowa (2000)^[25]
• Dusti Relph (2005):^[26] First female appointed as a Judge of Iowa District Court 5B (2014)
• Adria Kester:^[27] First female appointed as a Judge of Iowa District Court 2B (2017)
• Rosemary Shaw Sackett (1963):^[28] First female to practice law in Spencer, Iowa. She would later become a judge. [<nowiki/>[[Clay County, Iowa]]]
• Margaret Kolarik (1925):^[29] First female lawyer in Clinton, Iowa [<nowiki/>[[Clinton County, Iowa]]]
• Virginia Bedell:^{[30] [31]} First female to serve as the County Attorney for Dickinson County, Iowa (1938)
• Mary B. Hickey Wilkinson:^[32] First female to graduate from the University of Iowa College of Law (1873) [<nowiki/>[[Johnson County, Iowa]]]
• Anna Harvat Holbert (1899):^[33] First female lawyer in Iowa City, Iowa [Johnson County, Iowa]
• Ann Gales:^[34] First female district associate judge in Kossuth County, Iowa (2014)
• Imogen B. Emery (1933):^[35] First female lawyer in Cedar Rapids, Iowa [<nowiki/>[[Linn County, Iowa]]]
• Willie Stevenson Glanton:^[36] First female (and African American female) to become an Assistant Polk County Attorney
• Linda K. Neuman: First female to serve as a part-time magistrate in Scott County, Iowa (c. 1980)
• Ruth Harkin:^[37] First female to serve as the County Attorney for Story County, Iowa
• Emily L. Newbold: First female to serve as a County Attorney in Van Buren County, Iowa (1923)
• Sherry Raduenz:^[38] First female lawyer in Decorah, Iowa [<nowiki/>[[Winneshiek County, Iowa]]]

See also

• List of first women lawyers and judges in the United States
• Timeline of women lawyers in the United States
• Women in law

Other topics of interest

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

References

1. Web site: Law School History and Milestones College of Law - The University of Iowa . 2024-05-20 . law.uiowa.edu . en.
2. Book: The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa. Hudson. David. Bergman. Marvin. Horton. Loren. May 2009. University of Iowa Press. 9781587297243.
3. Web site: Women's Legal History Biographical Search. Women's Legal History. 2017-10-25.
4. Web site: Gertrude Rush, first Black female lawyer in Iowa African American Registry. www.aaregistry.org. 2016-10-07.
5. Book: Smith, John Clay. Rebels in Law: Voices in History of Black Women Lawyers. 2000. University of Michigan Press. 9780472086467. en.
6. 2005. A Celebration of Iowa's Women Jurists. IoWoman. 35. 6.
7. Web site: Linda K. Neuman Past Justices Iowa Judicial Branch. www.iowacourts.gov. 2018-01-10.
8. Web site: 2015 Iowa Women's Hall of Fame Honoree: The Honorable Linda K. Neuman. humanrights.iowa.gov. 2018-12-27.
9. Web site: Marsha K. Ternus Past Justices Iowa Judicial Branch. www.iowacourts.gov. 2020-02-21.
10. News: 2010-10-11 . Law alumna selected as first black female judge in Iowa . Newsroom Drake University . 2018-02-01.
11. Web site: Iowa gets its first African-American female judge - KTTC Rochester, Austin, Mason City News, Weather and Sports . 2018-02-01 . www.kttc.com.
12. News: Wellner . Brian . Iowa's longest-serving district judge retires . The Quad-City Times . 2018-01-10.
13. Bremer's career has been as follow: 1985-1990 (part-time magistrate judge, Southern District of Iowa); 1990-2021 [full-time magistrate judge, including several years as Chief Magistrate Judge); 2021-present (recall status)]
14. News: Lemmon . Dustin . Alpers appointed chief judge, first woman to hold the post . The Quad-City Times . 2018-02-10.
15. Web site: Grassley Statement on the Nomination of Stephanie Rose to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of Iowa Chuck Grassley . 2018-01-20 . www.grassley.senate.gov.
16. Book: Clinton, William J.. Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, William J. Clinton, 1995, Bk. 1, January 1 to June 30, 1995. registration. 377. first female attorney general iowa.. 1994. Government Printing Office. en.
17. Web site: Stephanie Wright, first black assistant U.S. attorney in Iowa northern district, to retire. Hemenway-Forbes. Meta. Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier. en. 2020-03-10.
18. News: Gabriel . Trip . 2023-03-18 . A Retired Prosecutor’s Quest for Recognition . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-04-11 . 0362-4331.
19. Book: The Iowa Alumnus. 1922. en.
20. Web site: NEWBOLD, Willis Boyd: Died 1946. iagenweb.org. 2020-02-27.
21. Web site: DAA Profile - University of Iowa Center for Advancement. www.foriowa.org. en. 2019-01-02.
22. Web site: And Justice for Nancy: Iowa's First Judicial District gets first woman judge. Tennant. Jean. Sioux City Journal. en. 2019-07-10.
23. District 3A includes Buena Vista, Cherokee, Dickinson, Emmet, Kossuth, Lyon, O'Brien, Osceola and Palo Alto Counties.
24. Web site: Hytrek . Nick . Sokolovske retiring as district judge . 2018-12-27 . Sioux City Journal . en.
25. District 3B includes Crawford, Ida, Monona, Plymouth, Sioux and Woodbury Counties.
26. Web site: Dusti Relph becomes first woman judge in Iowa District 5B . 2018-02-08 . www.corydontimes.com.
27. Web site: District Court Judge Comments on the Finalists for the Open Iowa Supreme Court Justice Seat . 2020-03-09 . Raccoon Valley Radio - The One to Count On . en-US.
28. News: Sackett's historic career coming to a close. 2011-11-01. Spencer Daily Reporter. 2017-09-26.
29. Web site: Famous Clinton Lawyers. Herald. Gary HerrityThe Clinton. Clinton Herald. en. 2018-12-19.
30. Sackett. Rosemary Shaw. Summer 2014. REFLECTIONS OF AN AGING FEMALE JUDGE. Journal of Gender, Race and Justice. 17. 449.
31. Web site: Women's History. March 2017. Facets. en. 2020-02-27.
32. Book: Women lawyers and the origins of professional identity in America: the letters of the Equity Club, 1887 to 1890. Drachman. Virginia G.. Club. Equity. 1993. University of Michigan Press. 9780472103058. en.
33. Web site: Mrs. Anna Harvat Holbert, first female lawyer in Iowa City. Newspapers.com. en. 2019-03-27.
34. Web site: Kossuth judge is a county first News, Sports, Jobs - Messenger News. en-US. 2018-12-27.
35. News: Time Machine: Imogen Emery The Gazette. The Gazette. 2017-10-13.
36. Web site: Willie Stevenson Glanton, Iowa's first black female legislator, dies at age 95. Des Moines Register. en. 2019-01-06.
37. Web site: Meet the five Iowa women who will be inducted into the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame. Schmidt. Mitchell. The Gazette. en. 2020-02-27.
38. Web site: Large hen crashes into vehicle radiator. decorahnewspapers.com. 2019-07-10.