This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Texas. 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
Law School
Hattie Ruth Elam Briscoe: First African American female to graduate from law school in Texas (1956)
Lawyers
Edith W. Locke (1902): First female admitted to practice law in Texas, though she did not exercise the right Hortense Sparks Ward (1910): First female lawyer in Texas, as well as the first female admitted to practice law before the U.S. Supreme Court (1915) Florence Bates (1914): One of the first female lawyers in Texas. She would leave the profession and become a Hollywood actress later in life. Beverly Tarpley (1952): First female lawyer in Texas to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court Charlye O. Farris (1953): First African American female lawyer in Texas Edna Cisneros (1955): First Hispanic American female lawyer in Texas
Judicial Officers
State
Judges
Sarah T. Hughes (1922): First female judge in Texas (1935) Charlye O. Farris (1953): First African American female to serve as a judge pro tem in Texas (1954) Harriet Mitchell Murphy (1969): First African American female judge in Texas (1973) Wendy Duong: First Vietnamese American (female) judge in Texas (1992) Orlinda Naranjo: First Latino American female elected to a countywide judgeship in Texas (1994) Barbara Hartle: First openly LGBT female judge in Texas (2006) Phyllis Frye (1981): First openly LGBT judge in Texas (2010) Tonya Parker: First openly LGBT African American (female) elected to a judicial seat in Texas (2010) Rabeea Sultan Collier: First Muslim American and Pakistani American (female) judge in Texas (2019) Manpreet Monica Singh: First Sikh female judge in Texas (2023)
County Court
Mary Velma Davenport: First female county judge in Texas (c. 1938) Charlye O. Farris (1953): First African American female elected as a county judge pro tem in Texas (1954) Alicia Chacón: First Latino American female elected as a judge of a major county in Texas (c. 1990s)
Municipal Court
Barbara Hartle: First openly LGBT female to become a municipal court judge in Texas (2006) Phyllis Frye (1981): First openly LGBT individual appointed as a municipal court judge in Texas (2010)
District Court
Sarah T. Hughes (1922): First female appointed as a Judge of the District Court in Texas (1935) Elma Salinas Ender (1978): First Latino American female to serve as a state district court judge in Texas (1983) Mary Roman: First Latino American female elected as a state district court judge in Texas (1992) Kristen Hawkins (2000): First female elected as a Judge of the Eleventh District Court in Texas (2017) Renee Rodriguez-Betancourt: First female to become the youngest district court judge in Texas (2017)
Court of Appeals
Shirley W. Butts (1954): First female appointed as Justice of the Fourth Court of Appeals in Texas (1981) Camille Hutson–Dunn (1963): First female appointed as a Justice of the First Court of Appeals in Texas (1984) Alice Oliver–Parrott: First female to serve as a Chief Justice in the Texas Court of Appeals (1991-1996) Gaynelle Griffin Jones: First African American female to serve as an appellate court judge in Texas (1992) Linda Reyna Yanez: First female to serve as a Justice of the Thirteenth Court of Appeals in Texas (1993) Leanne Johnson: First female elected to serve as a Justice of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for Texas (2014) Dori Contreras: First female justice appointed as the Chief Justice of the Thirteenth Court of Appeals in Texas (2019) Frances Bourliot: First Asian American female elected as an appellate court judge in Texas (2020) Robbie Partida-Kipness: First Hispanic American (female) to serve as a Judge of the Fifth Court of Appeals in Texas (2018) Yvonne T. Rodriguez: First Latino American female to serve as the Chief Justice of the Eighth Court of Appeals (2021)
Criminal Court of Appeals
Sharon Keller (1978): First female to serve as the Presiding Judge of the Texas Criminal Court of Appeals (2000) Elsa Alcala: First Latino American female to serve as a Judge of the Texas Criminal Court of Appeals (2011)