List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Washington D.C.

This is a list of the first minority male lawyers and judges in Washington, D.C. 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 graduate from law school or become a political figure.

Firsts in the federal district's history

 

Robert Heberton Terrell: First African American male judge in Washington, D.C.

 

Eric Holder: First African American male to serve as the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia (1993)

Law School

• Yasimori Asada:^[1] First Japanese male student to enroll at the Georgetown University School of Law (1877) [Washington, D.C.]
• Winston A. Douglas, Elmer W. Henderson, William D. Martin and Lutrelle F. Parke:^[1] First African American male students to enroll at the Georgetown University School of Law (1948) [Washington, D.C.]
• Albert T. Gonzales (1935):^[2][3] First blind male to graduate from Georgetown University School of Law [Washington, D.C.]

Lawyer

• George Boyer Vashon (1869):^[4] First African American male lawyer in Washington, D.C.

Judicial Officers

Justice of the Peace

• John A. Moss:^[5] First African American male Justice of the Peace in Washington, D.C. (1873)

Judges

• Robert Heberton Terrell (1893):^[6] First African American male judge in Washington, D.C.
• Spottswood William Robinson III (1939): First African American male serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (1966) and the chief justice of the District of Columbia Circuit (1981)
• Austin L. Fickling:^[7] First African American to serve on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals (1968)
• William B. Bryant (1939):^[8][9] First African American male appointed as the chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (1977)
• David S. Tatel (1966):^[10][11] First blind male to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (1994)
• Theodore Roosevelt Newman Jr. (1958):^[12] First African American male appointed as the chief judge of the Washington Court of Appeals (1976)
• Ricardo M. Urbina (1970):^[13] First Latino American male judge in Washington, D.C. (1981). He would later become a district court judge.
• Maurice B. Foley:^[14] First African American male to serve as a Judge of the United States Tax Court (1995)
• Amit P. Mehta (1997):^[15] First Asian Pacific American male serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (2013)
• Sri Srinivasan (1995):^[16][17][18] First South Asian American male serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (2013) and serve as its chief judge (2020)
• Brad Garcia:^[19] First Latino American male to serve as a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (2023)

Attorney General

• Karl Racine:^[20] First Haitian-born American male elected as the Attorney General of the District of Columbia (2010)

United States Attorney

• Eric Holder (1976):^[21][22] First African American male to serve as the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia (1993-1997)

Assistant United States Attorney

• William B. Bryant (1939):^[8][9] First African American male as the Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia (1951-1954)

Bar Association

• Charles Duncan:^[9][23] First African American male to serve as the president of the D.C. Bar Association
• Darrell G. Mottley:^[24] First Hispanic American male to serve as the president of the D.C. Bar Association (2011)

Faculty

• Viet D. Dinh:^[25] First Vietnamese American law professor tenured at Georgetown University

See also

• List of first minority male lawyers and judges in the United States

Other topics of interest

• List of first women lawyers and judges in the United States
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Washington D.C.

References

1. "Georgetown Law Chronology". www.law.georgetown.edu. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
2. "NFBNM Newsletter - June 2013". www.nfbnm.org. Retrieved 2018-12-18.
3. mchavira. "Albert T. Gonzales | Office of the President | New Mexico State University". Retrieved 2018-12-18.
4. Smith, J. Clay Jr. (1999-01-01). Emancipation: The Making of the Black Lawyer, 1844-1944. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 0812216857.
5. Smith, J. Clay Jr. (1999-01-01). Emancipation: The Making of the Black Lawyer, 1844-1944. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 0812216857.
6. "Terrell, Robert H. (1857-1925) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed". www.blackpast.org. Retrieved 2018-01-10.
7. Andrews, Dale C.; Mintz, Lawrence A. (1979). "Austin L. Fickling: A Memorial and Retrospective". Howard Law Journal. 22: 169.
8. Office, U. S. Government Printing. Congressional Record, V. 151, Pt. 18, October 27 to November 7, 2005. Government Printing Office.
9. "From the President: Diversity and the D.C. Bar". www.dcbar.org. Retrieved 2019-01-07.
10. "First Blind Judge Elected to Michigan Supreme Court | JDJournal". Retrieved 2018-01-16.
11. "Blind Judge Makes History, Joins Michigan's Supreme Court". Huffington Post. 2014-12-28. Retrieved 2018-01-16.
12. Sollors, Werner; Titcomb, Caldwell; Underwood, Thomas A. (March 1993). Blacks at Harvard: A Documentary History of African-American Experience At Harvard and Radcliffe. NYU Press. ISBN 9780814779729.
13. Print, Congress (U S. ) Joint Committee on (2012). 2011-2012 Official Congressional Directory, 112th Congress, Convened January 5, 2011. Government Printing Office. ISBN 9780160886539.
14. "UC Hastings Law Welcomes New Visiting Professors". UC Hastings Law | San Francisco. 2022-08-19. Retrieved 2022-09-14.
15. West, Richard Springer, India. "Senate Confirms Amit P. Mehta District Court Judge in D.C." India West. Retrieved 2018-01-19.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
16. "Sri Srinivasan: Supreme Court justice in the making?". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2018-01-19.
17. "Amit Priyavadan Mehta nominated to U.S. District Court - New York". www.thesouthasiantimes.info. Retrieved 2018-01-19.
18. indica (2020-02-15). "Indian-American Sri Srinivasan is US appeals court's chief judge, the country's 2nd most powerful court". Indica News. Retrieved 2020-03-14.
19. "First Latino Garcia Confirmed to Powerful D.C. Circuit Court (2)". news.bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved 2023-06-02.
20. Shapiro, T. Rees; DeBonis, Mike (November 4, 2014). "Karl Racine wins first-ever race for D.C. attorney general". Washington Post.
21. Rennison, Callie Marie; Dodge, Mary (2016-12-01). Introduction to Criminal Justice: Systems, Diversity, and Change. SAGE Publications. ISBN 9781506347745.
22. "America could get its first black attorney general". mcclatchydc. Retrieved 2018-12-15.
23. "Legends in the Law: Charles T. Duncan". www.dcbar.org. Retrieved 2019-01-07.
24. "HBA-DC Congratulates Member Darrell G. Mottley on Becoming First Hispanic President of The DC Bar". Hispanic Bar Association - District of Columbia. July 6, 2011.
25. Mui, Ylan Q. (2001-08-29). "From East to West, Then Up and to the Right". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-03-17.