List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Virginia

This is a list of the first minority male lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Virginia. It includes the year in which the men were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are men 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

Lawyer
  • Wathal G. Wynn (1871):[1][2][3] First African American male lawyer in Virginia

Law Clerk

Judicial Officers

State
Judges
  • James A. Fields:[5][6][7] First African American male judicial officer in Virginia (1879)
  • Willard Douglas (1949):[8][9][10] First African American male judge in Virginia since Reconstruction Era (1974)
  • John M. Tran (1984):[11][12] First Asian American male (Vietnamese American) judge in Virginia (2013)
  • Rupen Shah:[13] First Indian American male judge in Virginia (2017)
Supreme Court

Federal
District Court
Appellate Court
  • Roger Gregory (1978):[20] First African American male appointed as a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (2000) and Chief Justice (2016)

Assistant United States Attorney

Bar Association
  • Michael A. Glasser:[22] First Jewish male to serve as the President of the Virginia State Bar (2014)

Firsts in local history

Alphabetized by county name

Arlington County

Cumberland County

Fairfax County

Gloucester County

Greensville County

Hampton, City of

Norfolk, City of
  • R.G.L. Paige:[29] Reputed to be the first African American male lawyer in Norfolk, Virginia
  • Lester V. Moore:[30] First African American male judge in Norfolk, Virginia (c. 1975)

Prince Edward County

Prince William County

Richmond County

Roanoke County
  • Onzlee Ware:[33] First African American male to serve as a Judge of the Roanoke Circuit Court (2020)

Virginia Beach, City of

Warwick County

Williamsburg-James City County

See also

Other topics of interest

References
  1. Jr, J. Clay Smith (1999). Emancipation: The Making of the Black Lawyer, 1844-1944. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-1685-1.
  2. Harrison, Victoria L. (2018-10-22). Fight Like a Tiger: Conway Barbour and the Challenges of the Black Middle Class in Nineteenth-Century America. SIU Press. ISBN 978-0-8093-3677-7.
  3. Farmer, Vernon L.; Shepherd-Wynn, Evelyn (2012). Voices of Historical and Contemporary Black American Pioneers. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-0-313-39224-5.
  4. Press, BARRY FLYNN Daily. "HIGH PROFILE: Q&A: JERRAULD C. JONES". dailypress.com. Retrieved 2020-06-05.
  5. "121-5004 James A. Fields House". Virginia Department of Historic Resources.
  6. "Winter Catalog". Virginia Beach Parks & Recreation. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
  7. Smith, Jr., J. Clay (1999-01-01). Emancipation: The Making of the Black Lawyer, 1844-1944. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 0812216857.
  8. "Historical Paintings in Amherst County - Amherst County Guidebook". Amherst County Guidebook. 2013-09-16. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  9. Company, Johnson Publishing (1974-02-21). Jet. Johnson Publishing Company.
  10. "Willard H. Douglas, Jr., elected judge". Virginia Appellate Court History. 2016-07-29. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  11. Jackman, Tom (2013-04-05). "McLean's John Tran named first Asian-American judge in Va. history". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-02-15.
  12. "Alumnus Named First Asian-American Judge in Virginia History | GW Law | The George Washington University". www.law.gwu.edu. Retrieved 2018-02-15.
  13. "First Indian-American Judge Appointed in Virginia". Retrieved 2018-01-26.
  14. Franklin, Ben a; Times, Special to the New York (1983-04-12). "First Black Named to Virginia Court". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-01-30.
  15. "Former Virginia Supreme Court Justice John Charles Thomas to speak at Convocation | William & Mary". www.wm.edu. Retrieved 2018-01-30.
  16. McGlone, Julian Walker, Tim. "Va. Supreme Court Justice Leroy Hassell, 55, dies". Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved 2018-01-12.
  17. "James R. Spencer". University of Virginia School of Law. 2017-06-28. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
  18. Times-Dispatch, FRANK GREEN Richmond. "Va.'s first African-American federal judge to semi-retire next year". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved 2019-01-14.
  19. Upon Spencer's appointment as a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in 1986
  20. "Judge Roger Gregory Makes History Again". The Seattle Medium. 2016-07-18. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
  21. "Colby Magazine vol. 100, no. 3". Issuu. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
  22. Crews, Edward R. (2014). "Legal Leaders". Richmond Law (via Issuu). Retrieved 2019-01-07.
  23. "First Latino Judge Sworn In at Arlington General District Court". ARLnow.com - Arlington, Va. Local News. 2019-05-23. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  24. Bonastia, Christopher (February 2012). Southern Stalemate: Five Years Without Public Education in Prince Edward County, Virginia. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226063898.
  25. Smith, Jessie Carney (2012-12-01). Black Firsts: 4,000 Ground-Breaking and Pioneering Historical Events. Visible Ink Press. ISBN 9781578594252.
  26. "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form" (PDF). United States Department of the Interior National Park Service. 2009.
  27. WRAY-WELSH, TERESA. "Celebrating Black History". Independent-Messenger. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  28. "Hampton district judge retiring". Daily Press. May 12, 1995. Retrieved 2019-03-28.
  29. "Paige, R. G. L. (1846–1904)". www.encyclopediavirginia.org. Retrieved 2017-09-24.
  30. "TRAILBLAZING JURIST RETIRES, REFLECTS ON HIS ROLE IN LIVES". scholar.lib.vt.edu. Retrieved 2019-01-17.
  31. Berti, Daniel. "General Assembly approves first Latino judge for Prince William". Prince William Times. Retrieved 2020-03-14.
  32. Slayton, Jeremy. "Lawyer T.D. Taylor, 72, dies". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
  33. Friedenberger, Amy (March 12, 2020). "Ex-legislator Onzlee Ware promoted to become Roanoke Circuit Court's first black judge". Roanoke Times. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  34. Harper, Jane. "Virginia Beach to get its first black Circuit Court judge". pilotonline.com. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
  35. DailyPress.com. "ALBERT DURANT SR., CIVIC ACTIVIST, 71". dailypress.com. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  36. ROBERTSON, ELLEN. "Faces of 2018: They left their mark, and left us". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved 2019-01-18.
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