List of first women lawyers and judges in Connecticut

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

Lawyers

First female: Mary Hall (1882)
First females to serve as municipal court prosecutors: Shirley R. Bysiewicz and Lillian Malley Vernon c. 1951
First African American female: Bessye Anita Warren Bennett (1974)
First African American female to open a law practice: Patricia Harleston (1974) in 1975
First Latino American (female) prosecutor: Rosita "Bae" Cremer (1978)
First Asian Pacific Islander female: Elizabeth Yen (1980)
First DACA-recipient (female): Denia Perez in 2018

State judges

First female (justice of the peace): Alice J. O'Neill in 1921
First female (trial court/circuit court): JoAnne Kulawiz in 1972
First female (Superior Court of Connecticut): Ellen Bree Burns (1947) in 1976
First female (Connecticut Supreme Court): Ellen Ash Peters (1954) in 1978
First female (Colorado Court of Appeals/Chief Judge): Antoinette Dupont
First female (Chief Justice; Connecticut Supreme Court): Ellen Ash Peters (1954) in 1984
First African American female: E. Curtissa R. Cofield in 1991
First Hispanic American (female): Carmen E. Espinosa in 1992
First Asian American (female): Nina F. Elgo (1990) in 2004
First Portuguese American female: Maria AraÃÂºjo Kahn (1989) in 2006
First Hispanic American female (Connecticut Court of Appeals): Carmen E. Espinosa in 2011
First Hispanic American female (Connecticut Supreme Court): Carmen E. Espinosa in 2013
First Asian American (female) (Connecticut Court of Appeals): Nina F. Elgo (1990) in 2018

Federal judges

First female (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit): Susan L. Carney (1977):
First female (U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut): Ellen Bree Burns (1947) in 1978
First female (U.S. Magistrate Judge for the District of Connecticut): Joan G. Margolis in 1985
First female (Chief Judge; U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut): Ellen Bree Burns (1947) in 1988
First South Asian (female) (U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut): Sarala Nagala in 2021
First Latino American female (U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut): Maria Eugenia Garcia in 2022

Attorney General of Connecticut

First female: Clarine Nardi Riddle (1974) from 1989-1991

Assistant Attorney General

First Asian American (female): Nina F. Elgo (1990) in 2000

United States Attorney

First female (acting): Nora Dannehy from 2008-2010
First female: Deidre M. Daly in 2014
First African American (female): Vanessa R. Avery in 2022

Assistant United States Attorney

First African American female: Cheryl Brown Wattley in 1978
First Latino American female: Carmen E. Espinosa in 1980
First Pacific Islander (female): Carolyn Ikari in 1995
First South Asian (female): Krishna Patel in 1999

State's Attorney

First African American (female): Gail Petteway Hardy in 2007

Assistant State's Attorney

First female: Anne C. Dranginis (1972) in 1977
First African American (female) to serve as a Supervisory Assistant State's Attorney: Juliett L. Crawford in 1988

Public Defenders

First female: Ellen B. Lubell around 1977
First African American (female) to serve as the Chief Public Defender: TaShun Bowden-Lewis in 2022

Assistant Public Defender

First Latino American (female) to act as a Supervisory Assistant Public Defender: Grace Cavero FeliÃÂº in 1998

Connecticut Bar Association

First female (president): Marilyn Seichter from 1989-1990
First female (executive director): Alice A. Bruno in 2012
First Hispanic American (female) (president): Maggie I. Castinado in 2023

Firsts in local history

Vivien Hall Root: First female lawyer in Fairfield County, Connecticut (c. 1905)
Dianne Andersen (c. 1950s): First female lawyer in Danbury, Connecticut [Fairfield County, Connecticut]
Dianne Yamen: First female probate judge in Danbury, Connecticut (1990) [Fairfield County, Connecticut]
Mary Hall (1882): First female lawyer in Hartford County, Connecticut
Catherine Kligerman: First female to serve as the President of the Hartford County Bar Association, Connecticut (1990)
Eboni S. Nelson: First African American (female) to serve as the Dean of the University of Connecticut School of Law (2020)
Susan C. O'Neill: First female lawyer in Waterbury, New Haven County, Connecticut
Ellen B. Lubell: First female to serve as a Public Defender for the New Haven Judicial District (c. 1977) [<nowiki/>New Haven County, Connecticut]

References