List of first women lawyers and judges in New Jersey
This is a list of the first women lawyer and judge in New Jersey. It includes the year in which the women were admitted to practice law. 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
Lawyers
- Mary Philbrook : First female lawyer in New Jersey
- Elizabeth Blume Silverstein : First female lawyer in New Jersey to independently defend a client on a homicide charge
- M. Bernadine Johnson Marshall and Martha Belle : First African American female lawyers in New Jersey
- Marisol Conde-Hernández : First undocumented female lawyer in New Jersey
Judicial Officers
State
Justice of the Peace
- Martha Kemble: First female Justice of the Peace in New Jersey
Judges
- Libby E. Bernstein Sachar : First female judge in New Jersey
- Shirley Tolentino : First African American female judge in New Jersey
Superior Court
- Sybil Moses : First female to serve as a Judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey to become an Assignment Judge
- Lisa Thornton : First African American female to serve as a Judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey to become an Assignment Judge
Supreme Court
- Marie L. Garibaldi: First female appointed as a Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court
- Deborah Poritz : First female justice to be appointed as the Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court
Federal
District Court
- Anne Elise Thompson : First female and First African American female appointed as a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
- Esther Salas : First Hispanic American woman appointed as a U.S. District Judge in the District of New Jersey
Magistrate Judge
- Esther Salas : First Hispanic American woman appointed as a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the District of New Jersey
Attorneys General
- Deborah Poritz : First female to serve as the Attorney General of New Jersey
- Zulima Farber: First Hispanic American to serve as the Attorney General of New Jersey
- Paula Dow: First African American female to serve as the Attorney General of New Jersey
Deputy Attorney General
- June Strelecki: First female to serve as the Deputy Attorney General for New Jersey
Assistant Attorney General
- Marilyn H. Loftus : First female to serve as the Assistant Attorney General for New Jersey
United States Attorney
- Faith S. Hochberg: First female to serve as the United States Attorney for New Jersey
Assistant United States Attorneys
- Barbara Ann Morris: First female to serve as the Assistant United States Attorney for New Jersey
- Carolyn Elizabeth Arch: First African American to serve as the Assistant United States Attorney for New Jersey
Public Advocate
- Zulima Farber: First female to serve as the Public Advocate for New Jersey
County Prosecutors
- Camelia M. Valdes : First Hispanic American to serve as a County Prosecutor in New Jersey
- Grace H. Park: First Asian American to serve as a county prosecutor in New Jersey
Bar Associations
- Marie L. Garibaldi: First female to serve as the President of the New Jersey State Bar Association
- Karol Corbin Walker: First African American female to serve as the President of the New Jersey Bar Association
- Evelyn Padin: First Latino American female to serve as the President of the New Jersey State Bar Association
- Karol Corbin Walker: First African American female to serve as the President of the Federal Bar of New Jersey
Political Office
- Zulima Farber: First Latino American female to serve as the Acting Governor of New Jersey
Firsts in local history
Atlantic County
- Mary Freed: First female magistrate in Atlantic City, New Jersey
Bergen County
- : Reputed to be the first African American female lawyer in Bergen County, New Jersey
- Sybil Moses : First female judge in Bergen County, New Jersey
- Lois Ely: First female to serve as the Assistant County Prosecutor for Bergen County, New Jersey
Burlington County
- Lillian Baker : First female lawyer in Burlington County, New Jersey
Camden County
- Ann Schmerling Salsberg : First female lawyer in Camden County, New Jersey
- Mary Ellen Talbott : First female judge in Camden County, New Jersey
- Judith S. Charny : First female municipal judge in Cherry Hill, New Jersey
Cumberland County
- Demetrica Todd-Ruiz: First female judge in Vineland, New Jersey
Essex County
- Elizabeth Blume Silverstein : First female lawyer in Essex County, New Jersey
- Golden E. Johnson : First African American female judge in Newark, New Jersey
- Myrna Milan: First Hispanic American female judge in Newark, New Jersey
- Julie Garcia: First female District Attorney for Essex County, New Jersey
Hudson County
- Lilia L. Munoz: First Hispanic American female to serve as the President of the Hudson County Bar Association, New Jersey
Mercer County
- Carmen M. Garcia: First Hispanic American female to be appointed to the Trenton Municipal Court and first Hispanic American female Chief Judge of Trenton Municipal Court.
Middlesex County
- Esther Beckhoff : First female lawyer in Middlesex County, New Jersey
- Arlene Quinones-Perez: First female to become the City Attorney for Perth Amboy
Monmouth County
- Florence Forgotson : First female lawyer in Monmouth County, New Jersey
- Lori Linskey: First female to serve as the First Assistant Prosecutor for Monmouth County, New Jersey
Morris County
- Rose Danna Ruesch : First female lawyer in Morris County, New Jersey
- Katherine Hayden: First female President of the Morris County Bar Association, New Jersey
Ocean County
- Dorothy Reeve: First female lawyer in Ocean County, New Jersey
Passaic County
- Sadie Pasternack Ranzenhofer : First female lawyer in Passaic County, New Jersey
- LaToyia Jenkins Stewart : First African American female judge in Passaic County, New Jersey
- Camelia M. Valdes : First Latino American female to serve as the County Prosecutor for Passaic County, New Jersey
Salem County
- Sandra Lopez: First Hispanic American female judge in Salem County, New Jersey
Union County
- Mary E. Alward : First female lawyer in Union County, New Jersey
- Grace H. Park: First Asian American to serve as the County Prosecutor of Union County, New Jersey
- Kelly A. Waters: First female Public Defender for Mountainside and Fanwood. She later became a municipal court judge in the Union Township.
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 New Jersey