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List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Ohio

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This is a list of the first minority male lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Ohio. 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 Ohio's history

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Nathaniel R. Jones: First African American male to serve as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio (1962)
Robert Morton Duncan: First African American male Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court (1969)
Eric Brown: First Jewish American male Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court (2010)

Lawyers

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  • First Native American male:[1] James McDonald (1823)[2]
  • First African American male: John Mercer Langston (1854)[3]
  • First Somali-born male: Ismail Mohamad (2017)[4]

State judges

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Federal judges

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Attorney General of Ohio

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Assistant U.S. Attorney

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Ohio State Bar Association

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  • First Jewish American male president: Simeon M. Johnson in 1912[22]
  • First African American male president: John A. Howard from 1981-1982[23][24]

Firsts in local history

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  • Athornia Steele:[25] First African American male to serve as the Dean of Capital University Law School (2003) [Delaware, Fairfield, and Franklin Counties, Ohio]
  • Andrew Jackson Davison:[26] First African American male lawyer in Athens County, Ohio
  • Vincent Zottarelli and Benjamin D. Nicola:[27][28] First Italian American male lawyers in Cleveland, Ohio [Cuyahoga County, Ohio]
  • Frank D. Celebrezze:[29] First Italian American male judge in Cleveland, Ohio (1937) [Cuyahoga County, Ohio]
  • Pablo Castro:[30] First Hispanic American male magistrate of the Cleveland Municipal Court (2007)
  • John Francis:[31] First African American male to serve as the City Attorney for Columbus, Ohio (c. 1977)
  • Robert Morton Duncan (1952):[10][32] First African American male elected to serve in a judicial office in Franklin County, Ohio
  • William L. Mallory (1986):[33] First African American male to serve as a Judge of the Hamilton County First District Court of Appeals of Ohio
  • John A. Howard:[23][24] First African American male elected as a judge in Lorain County (Elyria Municipal Court 1984 to 1999) after serving as the first African American President of the Ohio State Bar Association (1981-1982).
  • Gustalo Nunez:[34] First Hispanic American male judge in Lorain County, Ohio
  • Robert V. Franklin, Jr.:[35] First African American male to serve as a Judge of the Toledo Municipal Court (1960) and later the Lucas County Common Pleas Court (1968)
  • Charlie Hider:[36] First Arab American male lawyer in Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio
  • Robert A. Pinn (1879):[37][38] First African American lawyer in Massillon County, Ohio and Stark County, Ohio[39]
  • Moses H. Jones:[40][41] First African American male lawyer in Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio
  • Russell L. Carter:[42] First African American male judge in Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio (1996)
  • Arthur Fisher:[43] First African American male elected as a Judge of the Common Pleas Court (Domestic Relations) in Montgomery County, Ohio
  • Gerald Parker:[43] First African American male to serve as a Judge of the Montgomery County Common Pleas Court General Division, Ohio
  • Jeff Payton:[44] First African American male judge in Richland County, Ohio
  • Robert A. Pinn (1879):[37][38] First African American lawyer in Massillon County, Ohio and Stark County, Ohio[39]
  • Clay E. Hunter:[45] First African American male judge in Stark County, Ohio (upon his appointment to the Canton Municipal Court in 1962)
  • Kyle L. Stone (2021):[46] First African-American elected prosecutor in Stark County, Ohio
  • Joseph D. Roulhac:[47] First African American male judge in Akron, Ohio (Summit County, Ohio; 1967). He was also the first African American Assistant Summit County Prosecutor.
  • Isaac C. Hunt, Jr:[48] First African American male to serve as the Dean of University of Akron School of Law (1987)

See also

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Other topics of interest

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References

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  1. ^ Dennis, Yvonne Wakim; Hirschfelder, Arlene; Molin, Paulette F. (2022-10-25). Indigenous Firsts: A History of Native American Achievements and Events. Visible Ink Press. ISBN 978-1-57859-806-9.
  2. ^ McDonald, the first Native American male lawyer in the United States, completed his legal training in Ohio in 1823. He eventually returned to his home state of Mississippi due to the lack of legal opportunities in Ohio.
  3. ^ "John Mercer Langston". www.oberlin.edu. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  4. ^ Siegel, Jim. "Somali refugee passes bar, runs for Ohio House". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  5. ^ Smith, Jessie Carney (2012-12-01). Black Firsts: 4,000 Ground-Breaking and Pioneering Historical Events. Visible Ink Press. ISBN 9781578594252.
  6. ^ "Jackson, Perry B." Case Western Reserve University. Retrieved 2018-01-29.
  7. ^ Landman, Isaac; Cohen, Simon (1942). The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia ...: An Authoritative and Popular Presentation of Jews and Judaism Since the Earliest Times. Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, Incorporated.
  8. ^ "WHITE, CHARLES W." Encyclopedia of Cleveland History | Case Western Reserve University. 2019-09-04. Retrieved 2020-02-17.
  9. ^ "Robert V. Franklin, Jr., 1926-2011". Toledo Blade. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  10. ^ a b c "Robert Morton Duncan". www.supremecourt.ohio.gov. Retrieved 2018-01-29.
  11. ^ "Congressional Record". www.congress.gov. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
  12. ^ "Toledo Blade - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
  13. ^ "Judge was revered member of Hispanic community". The Blade. 2003-10-18. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
  14. ^ "Eric Brown". www.sconet.state.oh.us. Retrieved 2019-01-17.
  15. ^ KARFELD, MARILYN H. (8 October 2010). "Brown, O'Connor vie for Supreme Court chief justice". Cleveland Jewish News. Retrieved 2019-01-17.
  16. ^ a b "THOMAS LAMBROS - Greek-American judge is honored by his peers". www.ellines.com. February 17, 2021. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  17. ^ a b "George W. White led U.S. District Court: news obituary". cleveland.com. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
  18. ^ KARABIN, SHERRY (September 22, 2023). "Ret. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Randolph Baxter remembered". www.akronlegalnews.com. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  19. ^ Meighan, Shahid. "Sarah Morrison is new Chief Judge for U.S. District Court for Southern Ohio". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
  20. ^ Staff Writer. "The next big thing?". Columbus Monthly. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  21. ^ Congressional Record, V. 147, Pt. 15, October 25, 2001 to November 7, 2001. Government Printing Office. 2006. ISBN 9780160754241.
  22. ^ The Reform Advocate. 1912.
  23. ^ a b "SAYING GOODBYE". newspaperarchive.com. June 20, 2002. Retrieved 2019-01-05.
  24. ^ a b Howard, Judge John A. "Judge John Howard dies at age 78". The Morning Journal. Retrieved 13 June 2002.
  25. ^ "Our History - Capital University Law School". law.capital.edu. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  26. ^ Walker, William (29 January 2020). "In series, students shine light on Athens' first black attorney". The Athens NEWS. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
  27. ^ Neff, William B. (1921). Bench and Bar of Northern Ohio. Historical publishing Company.
  28. ^ Price, Mark J. (2017-11-27). Mafia Cop Killers in Akron: The Gang War before Prohibition. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4396-6382-0.
  29. ^ "Italian Americans". www.clevelandmemory.org. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  30. ^ "3 inducted into Otsego's Hall of Fame". infoweb.newsbank.com. February 21, 2022. Retrieved 2024-04-15.
  31. ^ "John Francis and Bill Thornton". digital-collections.columbuslibrary.org. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  32. ^ "Robert Duncan, First Black Justice on the Ohio Supreme Court, Dies at 85". www.courtnewsohio.gov. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  33. ^ "Municipal Court Judge William Mallory | Hamilton County Courts". Retrieved 2019-01-15.
  34. ^ "Lorain County's first Hispanic judge remembered for 'making good'". chroniclet.com. Retrieved 2022-08-26.
  35. ^ "Robert V. Franklin, Jr., 1926-2011". Toledo Blade. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  36. ^ Hiel, Betsy (March 26, 2000). "Little Syria thrives in Toledo as the world heads toward war". The Blade. Retrieved 2024-06-01.
  37. ^ a b WebAlive. "Today in Black History, 3/1/2013". Retrieved 2017-09-23.
  38. ^ a b Knapp, Amy L. "Black History Month: Honoring Massillon notables". The Independent. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
  39. ^ a b "Black History: Underground Railroad & Anti-Slavery". Massillon Museum. Retrieved 2017-10-26.
  40. ^ "The Dayton Foundation: Black History Month: 5 Innovative Figures of the African-American Community Fund". www.daytonfoundation.org. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
  41. ^ "About AACF – African-American Community Fund (AACF)". aacfdayton.org. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
  42. ^ Mendell, David (15 August 1996). "OBITUARY CITY'S FIRST BLACK JUDGE DIES * RUSSELL L. CARTER, 77, WAS A CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY WHO PRACTICED LAW FOR MORE THAN 50 YEARS". Dayton Daily News. p. 1.B. ProQuest 253957806.
  43. ^ a b Moore, Rhonda (2019-01-15). "Two Miami Valley men make history as the first African Americans in their positions". WRGT. Retrieved 2019-01-18.
  44. ^ "Payton, Richland County's first African-American judge, served on the bench for 22 years. His replacement is white, but said he has a strong history working with many diverse individuals". News-Journal. January 7, 2010. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
  45. ^ Canton, Ohio, Attorney Named Municipal Judge. Jet Magazine. 1962-03-15.
  46. ^ Ohio's Only Black Elected Prosecutor Prepares To Take Office In Stark County. 28 December 2020. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  47. ^ bjstaff. "First black judge in Akron served on bench for 20 years". www.ohio.com. Retrieved 2018-01-12.
  48. ^ Pernell, LeRoy (2007). "Reflecting on the Dream of the Marathon Man: Black Dean Longevity and Its Impact on Opportunity and Diversity". University of Toledo Law Review. 38.