List of first women lawyers and judges in Alaska

This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Alaska. 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 obtain a law degree or become a political figure.

Firsts in state history

Sharon L. Gleason: First female Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska (2012)
Morgan Christen: First female Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (2012)

Lawyers

Judicial Officers

State

Judges
Superior Court
  • Beverly Cutler:[11][12][13] First female appointed as a Judge of the Superior Court of Alaska (1982)
District Court
  • Nora Guinn:[14] First Alaska Native female (non-attorney) to serve as a District Court Judge in Alaska (1967)
Appellate Court
  • Marjorie Allard (1999):[1][15] First female appointed as a Judge of the Alaska Court of Appeals (2012)
Supreme Court
  • Dana Fabe (1976):[1] First female appointed as a Justice of the Alaska Supreme Court and Chief Justice of the Alaska Supreme Court (1996)

Federal

District Court
  • Sharon L. Gleason (1984):[16] First female appointed as a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska (2012)
Appellate Court
  • Morgan Christen (1986):[17] First female appointed as a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (2012)

Attorney General

United States Attorney

District Attorney

  • Catherine Stevens (née Bittner Chandler):[20] First female to serve as a District Attorney in Alaska (c. 1960s-1970s)

Bar Association

  • Donna Willard-Jones:[21] First female to serve as the President of the Alaska Bar Association (1979-1980)

Firsts in local history

Alphabetically arranged by borough

Municipality of Anchorage

  • Dorothy Tyner:[6][1] First female lawyer in Anchorage, Alaska. [Municipality of Anchorage, Alaska]
  • Mahala Ashley Dickerson (1959):[3] First African American female lawyer in Anchorage, Alaska [Municipality of Anchorage, Alaska]
  • Mary Anne Henry:[22] First female prosecutor in the Anchorage District Attorney's Office (c. 1970s)
  • Karen Hunt (1973):[1][23] First female appointed as a Judge of the Superior Court of Anchorage (1983) [Municipality of Anchorage, Alaska]

Fairbanks North Star Borough

Fairbanks

  • Aline Chenot Baskerville Bradley Beegler (1920):[14][24] First female lawyer in Fairbanks, Alaska

City and Borough of Juneau

Matanuska-Susitna Borough

  • Beverly Cutler:[11][12][13] First female judge of the Superior Court of Palmer (1982) [Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska]

North Slope Borough

Utqiagvik (Barrow)

  • Sadie Neakok:[4][5] First female magistrate in Utqiagvik (Barrow), Alaska (1960)

Unorganized Borough

Bethel Census Area

Bethel
  • Nora Guinn:[14] First Alaska Native female (non-attorney) to serve as a magistrate of Bethel, Alaska (1959)

See also

Other topics of interest

References

  1. Cravez, Pamela (2017-04-15). The Biggest Damned Hat: Tales from Alaska's Territorial Lawyers and Judges. University of Alaska Press. ISBN 9781602233171.
  2. "Dorothy Awes Haaland | Alaska Women's Hall Of Fame". 2013-11-04. Archived from the original on 2013-11-04. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
  3. "Dickerson, Mahala Ashley (1912-2007) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed". www.blackpast.org. Retrieved 2018-01-20.
  4. "Profiles in Change: Names, Notes and Quotes for Alaskan Women - Sadie Neakok". www.alaskool.org. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
  5. United States of American Congressional Record. Government Printing Office.
  6. "Tyner, Dorothy | Alaska Judicial Council". www.ajc.state.ak.us. Retrieved 2018-01-09.
  7. Anchorage, University of Alaska (2010-11-03). "Pamela Scott Washington to be first female African-American District Court of Alaska judge - Green & Gold News". Green & Gold News. Retrieved 2018-01-09.
  8. DeBERRY/Frontiersman, ROBERT. "The Hon. Pamela Scott Washington". Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman. Retrieved 2018-01-09.
  9. Upon her appointment as a Judge of the Alaska Third District
  10. "Gov. Walker appoints Herman Walker as Anchorage Superior Court judge". Anchorage Daily News. 2015-07-26. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
  11. "Judge Cutler to leave courtroom behind her". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
  12. Wellner, Andrew. "Judge Cutler to hang up robe". Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
  13. "BEVERLY "BEV" CUTLER". PROJECT JUKEBOX: Digital Branch of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Oral History Program.
  14. Cravez, Pamela (2017-04-15). The Biggest Damned Hat: Tales from Alaska's Territorial Lawyers and Judges. University of Alaska Press. ISBN 9781602233188.
  15. "Gov. Parnell appoints Allard to Court of Appeals". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved 2018-01-09.
  16. "Begich Welcomes Senate Approval of Judge Sharon Gleason - Alaska Business Monthly - November 2011 - Anchorage, AK". www.akbizmag.com. Retrieved 2018-01-03.
  17. "Judge Morgan Christen Welcomed to Ninth Circuit". www.ca9.uscourts.gov. Retrieved 2018-01-09.
  18. "Biographical Information for Grace Schaible" (PDF). American Bar Association. Retrieved December 1, 2010.
  19. "Karen Loeffler Sworn in as Alaska's First Female U.S. Attorney". Tickle The Wire. 2009-12-14. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
  20. "Senators' Wives Keep Pace With Washington Demands". Fairbanks Daily News Miner Archives. May 1, 1984. Retrieved 2019-03-27.
  21. Carter, Terry (May 2003). Barrister in the Backwoods. American Bar Association.
  22. "Anchorage's first woman prosecutor dies in Oregon". Anchorage Daily News. 2011-02-09. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
  23. "Womens Hall of Fame Karen L. (Lueck) Hunt » » Alumnae". alaskawomenshalloffame.org. Retrieved 2018-01-09.
  24. Movius, Phyllis Demuth (2010-03-15). A Place of Belonging: Five Founding Women of Fairbanks, Alaska. University of Alaska Press. ISBN 9781602231108.
  25. "First Women Lawyers in the United States - Women's Legal History" (PDF). Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  26. "Biographical Statement: Angie Kemp" (PDF). Alaska Judicial Council.
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