List of first minority male lawyers and judges in North Carolina
Appearance
This is a list of the first minority male lawyer(s) and judge(s) in North Carolina. 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
Lawyers
- George Lawrence Mabson (1871):[1] First African American male lawyer in North Carolina
- Horace Locklear (1972):[2] First Native American male lawyer in North Carolina
Judicial Officers
State
Judges
- Lacy Maynor:[3][4] First Native American (Lumbee) male judge in North Carolina (c. 1950s)[5]
- Sammie Chess Jr.:[6][7] First African American male judge in North Carolina (1971)
- Clifton Johnson:[8] First African American male to serve as a Resident Superior Court Judge in North Carolina (1977)
- Cy A. Grant Sr.:[9] First African American male to serve as a Senior Resident Superior Court Judge in North Carolina (1988)
- Sandy Dexter Brooks (1976):[10][11] First Native American (Lumbee) male to serve as a superior court judge in North Carolina (1989)
- Brad Letts:[12] First Native American (Cherokee) male judge in North Carolina (2000)
- Albert Diaz (1988):[13][14] First Hispanic American male judge in North Carolina (2001)
- Lou Olivera:[15] First Latino American male elected as a judge in North Carolina (2012)
District Court
- Clifton Johnson:[8] First African American male to serve as a Chief District Court Judge in North Carolina (1974)
Court of Appeals
- Clifton Johnson:[8] First African American male to serve as a Judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals (1982)
Supreme Court
- Henry Frye:[16][17] First African American male appointed as a Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court (1983) and Chief Justice (1999)
Federal
District Court
- Richard Erwin:[18] First African American male to serve as a federal district court judge in North Carolina (1980)[19]
Appellate Court
- Albert Diaz (1988):[13][14] First Hispanic American male appointed as a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (2010)
Assistant Attorney General
- Walter E. Ricks III:[20] First African American male to serve as the Assistant Attorney General of North Carolina (1973)
United States Attorney
- Mickey Michaux (1964):[21] First African American male to become a U.S. Attorney in North Carolina (1977)[22]
Assistant United States Attorneys
- Henry Frye:[16][17] First African American male to serve as an Assistant United States Attorney in North Carolina (1963)
- Zeppelin Wong:[23][24] First Asian American male to serve as an Assistant United States Attorney in North Carolina (1963)
District Attorney
- Carl Fox:[25] First African American male to serve as a District Attorney in North Carolina (1984)
Assistant District Attorney
- Walter Johnson, Jr.:[26] First African American male to serve as an Assistant District Attorney in North Carolina (c. 1960s)
Bar Association
- Cressie H. Thigpen, Jr.:[27] First African American male to serve as the President of the North Carolina State Bar Association (2005)
Firsts in local history
Alphabetized by county name
Alamance County
- Moses Burt Jr. (c. 1959):[28] First African American male lawyer in Alamance County, North Carolina
- Larry Brown Jr.:[29][30] First African American male judge in Alamance County, North Carolina (2017)
Buncombe County
- Robert L. Harrell:[31][32] First African American male judge in Buncombe County, North Carolina (1983)
Cabarrus County
- Jason R. Parker:[33] First African American male to serve as the Assistant District Attorney for the 25th Prosecutorial District [Cabarrus County, North Carolina]
Chatham County
- Carl Fox:[25] First African American male to serve as a District Attorney for Chatham and Orange Counties, North Carolina (1984)
Cumberland County
- John S. Leary (1892):[34] First African American male lawyer in Fayetteville, North Carolina [Cumberland County, North Carolina]
Davidson County
- Walter Whitted Hoover:[35] First African American male to serve as a Justice of the Peace in High Point, North Carolina [Davidson, Forsyth, Guilford and Randolph Counties, North Carolina]
Durham County
- R. McCants Andrews (1921):[36][37] First African American male lawyer in Durham, North Carolina [Durham County, North Carolina]
- Lowell Siler:[38] First African American male to serve as the County Attorney of Durham County, North Carolina (2009)
Forsyth County
- Walter Whitted Hoover:[35] First African American male to serve as a Justice of the Peace in High Point, North Carolina [Davidson, Forsyth, Guilford and Randolph Counties, North Carolina]
Franklin County
- Randolph Baskerville:[39] First African American to serve as a Assistant District Attorney for the 9th Judicial Circuit in North Carolina [Franklin, Granville and Vance Counties, North Carolina]
Granville County
- Randolph Baskerville:[39] First African American to serve as a Assistant District Attorney for the 9th Judicial Circuit in North Carolina [Franklin, Granville and Vance Counties, North Carolina]
Guilford County
- Walter Whitted Hoover:[35] First African American male to serve as a Justice of the Peace in High Point, North Carolina [Davidson, Forsyth, Guilford and Randolph Counties, North Carolina]
- George Henry Mitchell (1900):[40] First African American male lawyer in Greensboro, North Carolina [Guilford County, North Carolina]
Mecklenburg County
- John S. Leary (1892):[34] First African American male lawyer in Charlotte, North Carolina [Mecklenburg County, North Carolina]
- Clifton Johnson:[8] First African American male to serve as a District Court Judge in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina (1969)
- Spencer Merriweather:[41] First African American male to serve as the District Attorney of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina (2019)
Orange County
- Carl Fox:[25] First African American male to serve as a District Attorney for Chatham and Orange Counties, North Carolina (1984)
Pitt County
- Mario Perez:[42] First Hispanic American male judge in Pitt County, North Carolina (2018)
Randolph County
- Walter Whitted Hoover:[35] First African American male to serve as a Justice of the Peace in High Point, North Carolina [Davidson, Forsyth, Guilford and Randolph Counties, North Carolina]
Vance County
- Charles Wesley Williamson (1932):[43] First African American male lawyer in Henderson, North Carolina [Vance County, North Carolina]
- Randolph Baskerville:[39] First African American to serve as a Assistant District Attorney for the 9th Judicial Circuit in North Carolina [Franklin, Granville and Vance Counties, North Carolina]
Wake County
- George Greene:[44] First African American male judge in Wake County, North Carolina
Wayne County
- Nereus Deleon Smith:[45][46] First African American male lawyer in Goldsboro, North Carolina [Wayne County, North Carolina]
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 North Carolina
References
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: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Upon Maynor becoming a Judge of the Maxton Recorder's Court during the 1950s
- ^ Smith, Jessie Carney (2012-12-01). Black Firsts: 4,000 Ground-Breaking and Pioneering Historical Events. Visible Ink Press. ISBN 9781578594252.
- ^ Writer, Bob Burchette Staff. "Former judge honored with portrait". Greensboro News & Record. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
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- ^ a b "U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Albert Diaz to deliver Elon Law Commencement address". E-Net! Elon University News & Information. Retrieved 2018-01-29.
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- ^ a b Justice At the Top: Nine Distinguished Jurists Serve on State and D.C. Highest Courts. Ebony. April 1983.
- ^ a b CHRISTIAN, PAULA (August 7, 1999). "HENRY FRYE: BREAKING RACIAL BARRIERS\ CHIEF JUSTICE IS JUST FRYE'S LATEST FIRST". Greensboro News and Record. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
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: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Wake Forest University School of Law (Winston-Salem, N. C. ) (1986). Wake Forest University Jurist [Spring 1986]. Wake Forest University.
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- ^ Smothers, Ronald (1992-05-03). "THE 1992 CAMPAIGN: Congressional Races; 2 Strangely Shaped Hybrid Creatures Highlight North Carolina's Primary". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-12-18.
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- ^ "The Pioneers: David Robinson II '64 and Walter Johnson Jr. '64 recall integrating Duke". Duke University School of Law. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
- ^ "ATTORNEY CRESSIE H. THIGPEN, JR. IS ELECTED AS NEW CHAIRMAN OF NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY'S BOARD OF TRUSTEES". www.nccu.edu. Retrieved 2019-01-05.
- ^ "Civil Rights Movement" (PDF).
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: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b "John S. Leary Association of Black Attorneys | Association of Black Attorneys". www.learybar.com. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
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- ^ "And Justice for All | » Lowell Siler, Durham County Attorney, 2009-Present". Retrieved 2020-03-12.
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- ^ Glenn, Sarah Delia, Gwendolyn. "Spencer Merriweather Wins Race For Mecklenburg District Attorney". www.wfae.org. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Pitt County's first Hispanic judge sworn in - Daily Reflector". www.reflector.com. Retrieved 2019-01-09.
- ^ Vann, Andre (2000). Vance County, North Carolina. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9780738506630.
- ^ "Judge George Greene". NC Heritage. Retrieved 2019-01-15.
- ^ "Black History Month". City of Goldsboro. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
- ^ Smith, Jr., J. Clay (1999-01-01). Emancipation: The Making of the Black Lawyer, 1844-1944. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 0812216857.