List of first women lawyers and judges in South Dakota

Firsts in state history

Lawyers

• Cynthia Eloise Cleveland : First female admitted to the bar in the Dakota Territory
• Katie Rockford : First female to take the law examination before the South Dakota Supreme Court
• Blanche Colman : First female admitted to the State Bar of South Dakota
• Dorothy Rehfeld: First female to practice before the federal courts of South Dakota

  Judicial Officers

State

Judge

• Mildred Ramynke : First female judge in South Dakota

  District Court

• Mildred Ramynke : First female appointed to the Fifth Judicial District in South Dakota

  Supreme Court

• Judith Meierhenry : First female appointed as a Justice of the Supreme Court of South Dakota

  Federal

• Karen Schreier: First female appointed by a U.S. President to serve as a U.S. District Judge for the District of South Dakota

  United States Attorney

• Karen Schreier: First female to serve as the U.S. Attorney for South Dakota

  Bar Association

• Stephanie Pochop and Pamela Reiter: First females to serve consecutively as the President of the State Bar of South Dakota

  Firsts in local history

Clay County

• Marjorie Breeden : First female to graduate from the University of South Dakota Law School in Clay County, South Dakota

  Day County

• Mildred Ramynke : First female appointed as a Judge of the Fifth Judicial District

  Grant County

• Mildred Ramynke : First female appointed as a Judge of the Fifth Judicial District

  Marshall County

• Mildred Ramynke : First female appointed as a Judge of the Fifth Judicial District

  Pennington County

• Linda Lea M. Viken: First female to serve as a Magistrate Judge for Pennington County, South Dakota
• Shawn Pahlke: First female to serve as the Director of the Pennington County Public Defender’s Office, South Dakota

  Roberts County

• Mildred Ramynke : First female appointed as a Judge of the Fifth Judicial District

  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 South Dakota