This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Idaho. 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.
Lawyers
First female: Helen Young (1895)[ 1]
First female prosecutor: Kate E. Nevile Feltham (1914) in 1926[ 1]
First female to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court: Mazellah (M.) Pearl McCall (1919) in 1924[ 2]
First female to argue a case before the Supreme Court of Idaho : Adelyne Martha Burrus Champers (1927) in 1929[ 1] [ 3]
First Japanese American female: Rei Kihara Osaki (1943)[ 4]
First Hispanic American female: Joanne P. Rodriguez (1983)[ 3]
First African American female: Ida Leggett (1986)[ 1] [ 5]
First Native American (Cherokee /Shoshone ) female: Cassandra Lee Furr Dunn (1974)[ 2]
Law Clerks
First female to clerk for the Supreme Court of Idaho : Mary Schmitt (1940) in 1941[ 3]
First female to clerk for the U.S. District Court in Idaho: Ina Mae Wheeler Hanford (1952) in 1952[ 3]
State judges
Federal judges
Deputy Attorney General
First female (Deputy Assistant): Susan Maria Flandro (1968) in 1968[ 1]
United States Attorney
First female: Betty H. Richardson (1982) from 1993-2001[ 1] [ 12]
Assistant United States Attorney
First female: Mary Hobson in 1978[ 3]
Prosecuting Attorney
First female: Kate E. Nevile Feltham (1914) in 1926[ 13]
Idaho State Bar Association
First female president: Kaye O'Riordan in 1988[ 1]
Firsts in local history
Mary Elizabeth Schmitt (1940):[ 14] [ 15] Canyon County, Idaho )
Karen Jean Orndorff Vehlow (1975):[ 1] Ada County, Idaho
Jan M. Bennetts:[ 16] Ada County, Idaho (2014)
Barbara Buchanan:[ 17] Bonner County, Idaho (2013)
Stacey DePew:[ 18] Jerome County, Idaho (2018)
Megan Marshall:[ 19] Latah County, Idaho (2018)
Alberta Morton Phillips (1941):[ 20] Latah County, Idaho ]
Mary Jensen Smith Oldham (1935):[ 1] Rexburg, Idaho [Madison County, Idaho ]
Kate E. Nevile Feltham (1914):[ 13] Washington County, Idaho (1926)
See also
Other topics of interest
References
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "The First 50 Women in Idaho Law (1895-1975)" (PDF) . Idaho State Bar. Retrieved October 6, 2016 .^ a b Kristensen, Debora K. (2005). "1895–1975: The First 50 Women In Idaho Law" (PDF) . ^ a b c d e f Grasham, Debora Kristensen. "THE FIRST WOMEN OF IDAHO'S BENCH AND BAR" (PDF) . Western Legal History . 32 (1). ^ Kristensen, Debora K.; Bar, Idaho State (2005). First fifty women in Idaho law ^ a b "Milestones for Women in Idaho Law" . Idaho State Bar. Retrieved October 6, 2016 .^ MATTHEWS, MYCHEL. "Once the youngest judge in Idaho, ZoeAnn Shaub dead at 83" . Twin Falls Times-News . Retrieved 2018-02-02 . ^ Upon her appointment as a Judge of the Fourth Judicial District of Idaho
^ "Judge Juneal Kerrick to retire after more than 30 years at the Canyon County Courthouse" . Idaho Press-Tribune . Retrieved 2018-02-09 .^ a b "A Benchmark For Idaho's First Female Justice Linda Copple Trout Has No Grand Strategy For Change" . Spokesman.com . Retrieved 2018-02-02 .^ "College of Idaho alumna Candy Dale enjoys giving time back to school" . Idaho Press . Retrieved 2022-02-16 .^ Raji, Tobi (2024-05-23). "Biden has appointed 201 judges, boosting diversity of federal courts" . Washington Post . ISSN 0190-8286 . Retrieved 2024-05-31 . ^ "BETTY RICHARDSON RECEIVES PRESTIGIOUS KATE FELTHAM AWARD" . Federal Bar Association Idaho Chapter . 1:2 . May 2006.^ a b "The First 50 Women in Idaho Law: KATE E. NEVILE FELTHAM - September 22, 1914(1859 – 1936)" (PDF) .^ "Gooding lawyer Schmitt broke a lot of glass ceilings" . Twin Falls Times-News . Retrieved 2017-10-20 .^ "The Gooding widow who broke up the boys' club" . Twin Falls Times-News . Retrieved 2017-10-20 .^ Hansen, Stephanie Schaerr (2018-02-13). "Jan M. Bennetts, prosecuting attorney, Ada County" . Idaho Business Review . Retrieved 2018-12-27 . ^ "1st District Has First Female Judge | The Spokesman-Review" . www.spokesman.com . Retrieved 2018-12-27 .^ KAUFFMAN, GRETEL. "Meet Jerome County's next magistrate judges" . Twin Falls Times-News . Retrieved 2018-10-05 . ^ "U.S. Courts, District of Idaho" . id.uscourts.gov . Retrieved 2023-11-20 .^ Yenser, Pamela (Winter 2009). "100 Years of Legal Education". University of Idaho Magazine .