List of African American jurists

This list includes individuals self-identified as African Americans who have made prominent contributions to the field of law in the United States, especially as eminent judges or legal scholars. Individuals who may have obtained law degrees or practiced law, but whose reasons for notability are not closely related to that profession, are generally not listed here.

Name	Historical significance
Violette Neatley Anderson (1882–1937)^[1]	First African-American woman to practice law before the United States Supreme Court on January 29, 1926
Dennis Archer (b. 1942)^[2]	First African American president of the American Bar Association; former mayor of Detroit
Derrick Bell (1930–2011)^[3]	Proponent of critical race theory; law professor at Harvard University
Stephen L. Carter (b. 1954)^[4]	William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law at Yale Law School
Johnnie Cochran (1937–2005)^[5]	Prominent defense attorney
Christopher Darden (b. 1956)^[6]	Associate District Attorney of Los Angeles who gained fame as a prosecutor in the O. J. Simpson trial
Marian Wright Edelman (b. 1939)^[7]	Founder of the Children's Defense Fund
Lani Guinier (1950–2022)^[8]	Voting rights scholar; first African American woman tenured by Harvard Law School
William Henry Harrison Hart (1857–1934)^[9]	Attorney who fought against Jim Crow laws
Barbara Jordan (1936–1996)^[10]	First African American Congresswoman from a southern state; while on House Judiciary Committee was influential in impeachment of Richard Nixon
Wade H. McCree (1920–1987)^[11]	Second African American (following Thurgood Marshall) to serve as Solicitor General of the United States
Barack Obama (b. 1961)^[12]	University of Chicago law professor, United States Senator, first African-American President of the Harvard Law Review, and 44th President of the United States of America
Ida Platt (1862–1939)^[13]	First African-American woman licensed to practice law in Illinois, and the third in the United States
Charlotte E. Ray (1850–1911)^[14]	First Black American female lawyer in the United States
Scovel Richardson (1912–1982)^[15]	Party to a housing desegregation case anticipating Shelley v. Kraemer; also a judge in federal courts from 1957
Patricia J. Williams (b. 1951)^[16]	Proponent of critical race theory; law professor at Columbia University
William F. Yardley (1844–1924)^[17]	Anti-segregation advocate; first African American candidate for governor of Tennessee (1876)

List of African American jurists

Attorneys and legal scholars

Others

Judicial officers

See also

References

Bibliography

Wikiwand - on

Judge	Court/agency and years of service (if known)	State/territory	Status
Sheila Abdus-Salaam^[18]	New York City Civil Court (1992–1993); New York Supreme Court (1993–2009); Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court, First Judicial Department (2009–2013); New York Court of Appeals (2013–2017)	New York	deceased
Nancy Abudu^[19]	United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (2023– )	Georgia	active
Henry Lee Adams Jr.^[20]	Fourth Judicial Circuit of Florida (1979–1993); United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida (1993– )	Florida	active
Oscar W. Adams Jr.^[21]	Supreme Court of Alabama (1980–1993)	Alabama	deceased
Fritz W. Alexander II^[22]	New York Appellate Division, First Department (1982–1985)	New York	resigned
Raymond Pace Alexander^[23]	Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas (1959–1974)	Pennsylvania	deceased
Elreta Melton Alexander-Ralston^[24]	North Carolina District Court (appt. 1968)	North Carolina	deceased
Arenda Wright Allen^[25]	United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (2011– )	Virginia	active
Macon Bolling Allen^[26]	Justice of the Peace for Middlesex County (appt. 1848); Inferior Court of Charleston (appt. 1873); Charleston County Probate Court (appt. 1873)	Massachusetts	deceased
Christopher M. Alston^[27]	Bankruptcy Court, Western District of Washington (2015– )	Washington	active
Rossie D. Alston Jr.^[28]	Court of Appeals of Virginia (2009–2019); United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (2019– )	Virginia	active
Eldora Anderson^[29]	Perry County Probate Court (2006– )	Alabama	active
Percy Anderson^[30]	United States District Court for the Central District of California (2002– )	California	active
Saundra Brown Armstrong^[31]	United States District Court for the Northern District of California (1991– )	California	active
Israel "I.M." Augustine Jr.^[32]	Orleans Criminal District Court (1969)	Louisiana	deceased
Jacquelyn D. Austin^[33]	United States District Court for the District of South Carolina (2011– )	South Carolina	active
Henry Autrey^[34]	United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri (2002– )	Missouri	active
Dionne Phillips Bagsby^[35]	Tarrant County Commissioners Court (1978–2005)	Texas	deceased
Nannette A. Baker^[36]	Missouri Court of Appeals (2004–2009); United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri (2010–2023)	Missouri	retired
Cynthia Baldwin^[37]	Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas (1989–2005); Supreme Court of Pennsylvania (2006–2008)	Pennsylvania	retired
Shannon Baldwin^[38]	Harris County Court (2018– )	Texas	active
Camara Banfield^[27]	Clark County Superior Court (2021– )	Washington	active
Patricia Banks^[39]	Cook County 5th Subcircuit (1994–2018)	Illinois	retired
Boce W. Barlow Jr.^[40]	Connecticut Municipal Court (appt. 1957)	Connecticut	deceased
Randolph Baskerville^[41]	North Carolina 9B Judicial District (2005–2014)	North Carolina	retired
Gordon S. Baranco^[42]	Oakland-Piedmont-Emeryville Municipal Court (1980–1984); Alameda County Superior Court (1984–2016)	California	retired
Lucia Bates^[43]	Harris County Justice of the Peace Court (2019– )	Texas	active
Deborah Batts^[44]	United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (1994–2020)	New York	deceased
DeLawrence Beard^[45]	Sixth Judicial Circuit Court (1996–2007)	Maryland	retired
Cheri Beasley^[46]	North Carolina Supreme Court (2012–2020)	North Carolina	term ended
James A. Beaty Jr.^[47]	United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina (1994–2018)	North Carolina	retired
Diana Becton^[48]	Contra Costa County Municipal Court (1995–1998); Contra Costa County Superior Court (1998–2017)	California	retired
Louis A. Bedford Jr.^[49]	Dallas Municipal Court (1966–1980)	Texas	deceased
Wendy Beetlestone^[50]	United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (2014– )	Pennsylvania	active
Romonda Belcher-Ford^[51]	Polk County District Court (2010– )	Iowa	active
Kathleen Bell^[52]	Arkansas First Judicial District (1989–2016)	Arkansas	retired
Robert M. Bell^[53]	Circuit Court for Baltimore City (1980–1984); Maryland Court of Special Appeals (1984–1991); Maryland Court of Appeals (1991–2013)	Maryland	retired
Te'iva Bell^[54]	Harris County 339th District Court (2021– )	Texas	active
DeAndrea G. Benjamin^[55]	South Carolina Circuit Court (2011–2023); United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (2023– )	South Carolina	active
Alfred H. Bennett^[56]	United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas (2015– )	Texas	active