List of first women lawyers and judges in Indiana

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

Lawyers

First female: Elizabeth Eaglesfield (1875) First female to practice law after appealing to the Indiana Supreme Court: Antoinette Dakin Leach (1893) First African American female: Helen Elsie Austin (1930) First Asian American female (Filipino descent): Lourdes Dellota Alba (1966)

State judges

First female: Ella Groninger in 1919

First female (elected): V. Sue Shields in 1964

First female (county court): Linda Lucille Chezem in 1975

First African American female: Phyllis Senegal (1975) First female (Indiana Court of Appeals): V. Sue Shields in 1978 First female (circuit court): Linda Lucille Chezem in 1982 First (African American) female (Indiana Supreme Court): Myra C. Selby (1995) First female (Chief Justice; Indiana Supreme Court): Loretta Rush in 2014

Federal judges

First female (U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana): Sarah Evans Barker (1969) First African American (female) (U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana): Tanya Walton Pratt (2010) First African American (female) from Indiana (United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit): Doris Pryor (2022)

Attorney General of Indiana

First (African American) female: Pamela Carter from 1993-1997

Public Defender

First (African American) female: Harriette Bailey Conn in 1970

United States Attorney

First female (U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana; full term): Virginia Dill McCarty (1977) from 1977-1981 First female (Northern District of Indiana; Acting): Tina L. Nommay in 2021

Assistant United States Attorney

First female: Sarah Evans Barker (1969) in 1972

Bar Association

First female president (Indiana State Bar Association): Jeanne S. Miller in 1988

First female president (Indianapolis Bar Association): Mary Y. Marsh in 1988

First African American female president (Indianapolis Bar Association): Cynthia J. Ayers in 2006

Firsts in local history

Carina Warrington (1915): First female lawyer in Allen County, Indiana

Karen E. Richards: First female to serve as the Prosecutor for Allen County, Indiana Lisa Swaim: First female judge in Cass County, Indiana (2019) Clementine Barthold (1980): First female judge in Clark County, Indiana Judith Dwyer (1963): First female judge in Daviess County, Indiana (1987) Derexa Savage King (1951): First female lawyer in Dubois County, Indiana Beth Ann Butsch: First female lawyer and judge (2010) in Fayette County, Indiana Susan Orth: First female judge in Floyd County, Indiana (2004) Edith Eulalia Hendren (1921): First female lawyer in Greene County, Indiana Dena Benham Martin: First female judge in Greene County, Indiana AmyMarie Travis: First female appointed as a Judge of the Superior Court of Jackson County (2018) Cynthia S. Emkes (1985): First female judge in Johnson County, Indiana (1987) Susan Hemminger: First female judge in LaPorte County, Indiana Kimberly Kiner: First African American female judge in LaPorte County, Indiana Linda Lucille Chezem: First female to serve as a Judge of the Lawrence County Court, Indiana (1975) Hentietta Trisch Willkie (1897): First woman admitted to the bar in Madison County. Angela Warner Sims: First female circuit judge for Madison County, Indiana (2012) Ella Groninger: First female judge in Marion County, Indiana (1919) Z. Mae Jimison: First African American female appointed as a Judge of the Superior Court in Marion County, Indiana (1988) Cynthia J. Ayers: First African American female elected as a Judge of the Superior Court in Marion County, Indiana (1991) Karen E. Bravo: First African American (female) to serve as the Dean of Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law (2020)