List of first minority male lawyers and judges in New York
Appearance
This is a list of the first minority male lawyer(s) and judge(s) in New York. It includes the year in which the men were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are other distinctions such as the first minority men in their state to obtain a law degree or become a political figure.
Firsts in state history
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ea/James_C._Matthews_%28Albany%2C_NY_Judge%29.jpg/202px-James_C._Matthews_%28Albany%2C_NY_Judge%29.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/Hong_Yen_Chang1.jpg/186px-Hong_Yen_Chang1.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Cardozo2.jpg)
Law Degree
- James Campbell Matthews (1870):[1][2] First African American male to earn a law degree in New York (1870)
Lawyers
- Sampson Simson (1800):[3][4] First Jewish American male lawyer in New York
- George Boyer Vashon (1847):[5][6] First African American male lawyer in New York[7]
- Hong Yen Chang (1888):[8] First Asian lawyer (who was a Chinese immigrant) in New York
- Thomas H. Lee (1936):[9][10] First Chinese American lawyer admitted to the New York State Bar
- George Yamaoka (1939):[11] First Japanese American male lawyer in New York
- Harris L. Kimball:[12][13][14] First openly LGBT male lawyer in New York (1973)
- E. Carrington Boggan:[15] First openly LGBT male lawyer to argue a case before the New York Court of Appeal (1973)
- Gao Xiqing (1988):[16][17] First Chinese citizen (male) to pass the New York State Bar Exam
- Cesar Vargas (2015):[18] First undocumented male admitted to practice law in New York
Judicial Officers
State
Judges
- James Campbell Matthews (1870):[1] First African American male judge in New York (1895)
- James S. Watson and Charles E. Toney:[19] First African American males elected respectively as judges in New York (1930)
- Emilio Nunez (1929):[20] First Hispanic American male judge in New York (1951)
- Randall T. Eng (1973):[21][22][23][24] First Asian American male (Chinese American) judge in New York (1983)
- Mark A. Montour (1983):[20][25] First Native American male state judge in New York (2013)[26]
- William Thom:[20][27] First openly LGBT male judge in New York (1984)
- Danny K. Chun (1987):[28][29] First Korean American male judge in New York
Appellate Court
- Benjamin N. Cardozo (1891):[30] First Jewish male to serve on the New York Court of Appeals (1914)
- Harold A. Stevens (1938):[31] First African American male appointed as a Judge of the New York Court of Appeals (1974)
- Fritz W. Alexander, II (1951):[20] First African American male to serve as an Associate Judge of the New York Court of Appeals (1985)
- Paul Feinman (1985):[32] First openly LGBT male appointed as a Judge of the New York Court of Appeals (2017)
Court of Claims
- Robert J. Mangum (1949):[20] First African American male appointed as a Judge of the New York State Court of Claims (1967)
Supreme Court
- Albert Cardozo: First Jewish American male to serve as a Justice of the Supreme Court of New York (1867)
- Salvatore A. Cotillo (1912):[33] First Italian American male appointed as a Justice of the Supreme Court of New York (1924)
- Gilberto "Gilbert" Ramirez (c. 1957):[34][35] First blind and Puerto Rican male appointed as a Justice of the Supreme Court of New York (1975)
- Marquette Floyd:[36] First African American male appointed as a Justice of the New York State Supreme Court
- Oliver D. Williams:[37] First African American male appointed as a Justice of the New York State Supreme Court from the Second Judicial Conference (1963)
- Samuel L. Green:[20] First African American male (outside of New York City) elected to the New York State Supreme Court, Eighth Judicial District (1978)
- Richard Failla:[12] First openly LGBT male to be elected as a Justice of the New York State Supreme Court (1989)
Supreme Court, Appellate Division
- John Carro (1956):[38] First Puerto Rican male appointed as a Justice of the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division (1979)
- William “Willie” Thompson:[39] First African American male to serve on the Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department
- Samuel L. Green:[20] First African American male to serve on the Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department (1983)
- Peter Tom (1975):[40] First Asian American male appointed to the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division (1994)
Federal
District Court
- Henry Bramwell:[41] First African American male appointed as a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York (1974)
- Richard C. Casey (1958):[42] First blind male appointed as a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (1997)
- Randolph Treece:[43] First African American male to serve as a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York (2001)
Circuit Court
- Raymond Lohier (1991):[44] First Haitian American male to be appointed as a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (2010)
Special Deputy Attorney General
- Cornelius W. McDougal:[45] First African American to serve as the Special Deputy Attorney General of New York (1926)
Assistant United States Attorney
- Thomas H. Lee:[46][47] First Asian American male to serve as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in New York (1951)
District Attorneys
- Robert T. Johnson:[48][49] First African American male elected to serve as District Attorney in New York (1989)
- Eric Gonzalez:[50] First Latino American male elected to serve as District Attorney in New York (2017)
Political Office
- Richard Harewood:[51] First African American male (a lawyer) elected to a statewide office in New York (upon his election multiple times to the House of Representatives)
- Gilberto "Gilbert" Ramirez (c. 1957):[34][35] First blind and Puerto Rican male (a lawyer) elected to the New York State Assembly (1965)
- Herman Badillo:[52] First Puerto Rican male (a lawyer) elected as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York (1971)
- Sean Patrick Maloney (1992):[53] First openly LGBT male (a lawyer) elected to Congress from New York (2013)
Bar Associations
- Simon W. Rosendale:[54] First Jewish male to serve as the President of the New York State Bar Association
- Archibald R. Murray:[55] First African American male to serve as President of the New York State Bar Association
- Glenn Lau-Kee:[56] First Asian American male to serve as the President of the New York State Bar Association (2014)
- Stephen Lessard:[57] First openly LGBT male to serve as the president of a major bar association in New York [upon becoming the President of the New York County Lawyers Association (NYCLA) in 2019]
Firsts in local history
Alphabetized by county name
Region
- Antonio Delgado (c. 2005):[58] First African American / Hispanic male (a lawyer) to be elected to Congress from Upstate New York (2019)
New York City (in general)
- James D. Carr:[59] First African American male to serve as the Assistant District Attorney in New York City (1898)
- Myles Paige (1925):[20] First African American male to serve as a Judge of the New York City Magistrate’s Court (1936)
- Thomas H. Lee:[46][47] First Asian American male licensed to practice law in New York City (1936)
- Emilio Nunez (1927):[60] First Latino American male judge in New York City (1952-1956)
- Walter H. Gladwin (1941):[20] First African American to become a New York City Criminal Court Judge and an Assistant District Attorney in the Bronx
- Francis E. Rivers:[20][61] First African American male judge on the City Court of New York (1943)
- Randall T. Eng (1973):[21][22][23][24] First Asian American male (Chinese American) appointed as a Judge of the New York City Criminal Court (1983) and Presiding Justice of the Appellate Division, Second Department (2012)
- Richard Failla:[20] First openly LGBT male to become a Judge of the New York City Criminal Court (1985)
- Arnold Lim:[20] First Asian American male appointed as a Judge of the Family Court in New York City (2000)
- Conrad K. Harper:[62] First African American male to serve as the President of the New York City Bar Association (1990-1992)
- Roger Juan Maldonado:[63] First Latino American male to serve as the President of the New York City Bar Association (2018)
Albany County
- William Carter:[64] First African American male to serve as a Judge of the Albany City Court (2002)
- David Soares:[65] First African American male to serve as the District Attorney of Albany County, New York (2004)
- Richard Rivera:[66] First Latino American male judge in Albany County, New York (2015)
Bronx County (New York City)
- Harold A. Stevens (1938):[31][20] First African American male to serve as a Supreme Court Justice, First Judicial District (New York and Bronx Counties, 1955)
- Robert T. Johnson:[48][49] First African American male elected to serve as District Attorney of Bronx County, New York (1989)
Dutchess County
- Gaius Charles Bolin Sr.:[67] First African American male lawyer in Dutchess County, New York
- William Sanchez:[68] First Hispanic American male elected as a judge in Dutchess County, New York
Erie County
- Raul Figueroa:[69] First Hispanic American lawyer to work for Buffalo, New York [Erie County, New York]
Kings County (New York City)
- Francis "Frank" L. Corrao (1891):[70][71] First Italian American male lawyer in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York
- Rufus L. Perry:[72] First African American male to serve as the Assistant District Attorney in Kings County, New York (1895)
- Lewis S. Flagg, Jr.:[73] First African American male elected as a judge in Brooklyn, New York (1953)
- William “Willie” Thompson:[39] First African American male to serve as an administrative judge in Kings County, New York
- Richard Rivera:[20] First Puerto Rican male elected as the Civil Court Judge in Kings County, New York (1990)
- Eric Gonzalez:[50] First Latino American male elected to serve as District Attorney for Brooklyn, Kings County, New York State (2017)
- Manuel A. Romero:[74] First Latino American male to serve as the President of the Brooklyn Bar Association, New York (2004)
Monroe County
- T. Andrew Brown:[75] First minority male to serve as the President of the Monroe County Bar Association, New York
Nassau County
- Moxey Rigby (1925):[20] First African American male judge in Nassau County, New York (1959)
- Alfred Robbins (1957):[20] First African American judge from Long Island to become President of the Board of Judges in the District Court (1974). He later became the first African American male appointed as the Supervising Judge of the Court, as well as the first African American elected to the Supreme Court on Long Island, Tenth Judicial District.
New York County (New York City)
- Harold A. Stevens (1938):[31][20] First African American male to serve as a Supreme Court Justice, First Judicial District (New York and Bronx Counties, 1955)
- Danny K. Chun (1987):[28][29] First Korean American male appointed as the Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan [New York County, New York]
- Michael Tecklenburg:[76] First deaf male (who is also African American) to graduate from Columbia Law School (1989; New York County, New York)
- Peter Tom (1975):[40] First Asian American male elected to the New York State Supreme Court in New York County (1990)
Onondaga County
- Langston McKinney:[77] First African American male to serve as the Judge of the Syracuse City Court (1986) [Onondaga County, New York]
- Gordon Cuffy:[78][79] First African American male to serve as the County Attorney (2008) and a judge in Onondaga County, New York (2017)
Queens County (New York City)
- William Tucker Gavin:[80] First African American male to serve as an Assistant District Attorney in Queens
- Kenneth Browne Hollis:[81] First African American male to serve as a Justice of the Queens Supreme Court (1973)
- Randall T. Eng (1973):[21][22][23][24] First Asian American male (Chinese American) appointed as a Justice of the New York State Supreme Court, Queens County (1991) and Administrative Judge of the Criminal Term, Queens County Supreme Court (2007)
- Jaime Rios:[20] First Hispanic American male elected as a Judge of the Civil Court in Queens County, New York (1994)
- Richard M. Gutierrez:[82] First Latino American male to serve as the President of the Queens County Bar Association, New York (c. 2011)
Richmond County (New York City)
- Raymond Rodriguez:[20] First Hispanic American male judge in Staten Island (Richmond County, New York; 2013)
Suffolk County
- Marquette Floyd:[36] First African American male judge in Suffolk County, New York (1969)
Westchester County
- Antonio Joseph Marino:[83] First Italian American male lawyer in Rye, Westchester County, New York
See also
Other topics of interest
- List of first women lawyers and judges in the United States
- List of first women lawyers and judges in New York
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