This is a list of Iowa'sfirst women lawyers and judges. It includes the year the women were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are women who achieved other distinctions, such as becoming the first in their state to graduate from law school or become a political figure.
Firsts in Iowa's history
Arabella Mansfield: First female admitted to practice law in Iowa (1869)Judith Ellen Foster: First female to actually practice law in Iowa (1872)
Law degree
First female law graduate: Mary Beth Hickey in 1873[1]
First African American female: Romonda Belcher-Ford (1995) in 2010[10][11]
First Latino American female: Kimberly Sue Ayotte in 2019[12]
Federal judges
First female (Seventh Judicial District): Margaret Briles from 1977-1992[6][13]
First female (serve on the bench of either of Iowa's federal district courts): Celeste F. Bremer (1977)[14]
First female (Fifth Judicial District): Linda R. Reade (1980) from 1993-2002[6]
First female (Chief Judge; Seventh Judicial District): Bobbi M. Alpers (1983) in 2006[15]
First female (U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa and confirmed as an Article III judge): Stephanie Marie Rose (1996) beginning in 2012[16]
Stephanie Wright, First Black Assistant District Attorney Northern District of Iowa (1994-2018)First African American (female) (Northern District of Iowa): Stephanie Wright[18][19]
