List of first minority male lawyers and judges in New York
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 graduate from law school or become a political figure.
Mark A. Montour (1983):[31][37] First Native American male state judge in New York (2013)[38]
William Thom:[31][39] First openly LGBT male judge in New York (1984)
Danny K. Chun (1987):[40][41] First Korean American male judge in New York
Ned B. Bertulfo:[42] First Filipino American male to serve as a state administrative law judge in New York
Joseph Zayas:[43] First Latino American male to serve as the chief administrative law judge in New York (2023)
Seth Marnin:[44] First openly LGBT male judge in New York (2023)
Vikram Vilkhu:[45][46] First Indian American criminal judge in New York (2024)
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):[47] First Italian American male appointed as a Justice of the Supreme Court of New York (1924)
Gilberto "Gilbert" Ramirez (c. 1957):[48][49] First blind and Puerto Rican male appointed as a Justice of the Supreme Court of New York (1975); Gilbert Ramirez Park in Brooklyn is named in his honor.[50]
Marquette Floyd:[51] First African American male appointed as a Justice of the New York State Supreme Court
Oliver D. Williams:[52] First African American male appointed as a Justice of the New York State Supreme Court from the Second Judicial Conference (1963)
Samuel L. Green:[31] First African American male (outside of New York City) elected to the New York State Supreme Court, Eighth Judicial District (1978)
Richard Failla:[16] 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):[53] First Puerto Rican male appointed as a Justice of the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division (1979)
William “Willie” Thompson:[54] First African American male to serve on the Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department
Samuel L. Green:[31] First African American male to serve on the Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department (1983)
Peter Tom (1975):[55] First Asian American male appointed to the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division (1994)
Thomas H. Lee:[75][76] First Asian American male to serve as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in New York (1951)
District Attorneys
Robert T. Johnson:[77][78] First African American male elected to serve as District Attorney in New York (1989)
Eric Gonzalez:[79] First Latino American male elected to serve as District Attorney in New York (2017)
Assistant District Attorney
James Dickson Carr:[80] First African American male to serve as an Assistant District Attorney in New York (1899)
Edwin Torres:[81][82] First Puerto Rican male to serve as an Assistant District Attorney in New York (1958)
Randall T. Eng (1973):[32][33][34][35][36] First Asian American male (Chinese American) to serve as an Assistant District Attorney in New York
Political Office
Richard Harewood:[83] 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):[48][49] First blind and Puerto Rican male (a lawyer) elected to the New York State Assembly (1965)
Stephen Lessard:[89] 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]
James D. Carr:[97] First African American male to serve as the Assistant District Attorney in New York City (1898)
Myles Paige (1925):[31] First African American male to serve as a Judge of the New York City Magistrate’s Court (1936)
Thomas H. Lee:[75][76] First Asian American male licensed to practice law in New York City (1936)
Emilio Nunez (1927):[98] First Latino American male judge in New York City (1952–1956)
Walter H. Gladwin (1941):[31] First African American to become a New York City Criminal Court Judge and an Assistant District Attorney in the Bronx
Francis E. Rivers:[31][99] First African American male judge on the City Court of New York (1943)
Randall T. Eng (1973):[32][33][34][35] 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:[31] First openly LGBT male to become a Judge of the New York City Criminal Court (1985)
Arnold Lim:[31] First Asian American male appointed as a Judge of the Family Court in New York City (2000)
Conrad K. Harper:[100] First African American male to serve as the President of the New York City Bar Association (1990–1992)
Alexander Jeong:[101] First Asian American male appointed as a Deputy Administrative Judge of the New York City Criminal Courts (2014)
Roger Juan Maldonado:[102] First Latino American male to serve as the President of the New York City Bar Association (2018)
Muhammad U. Faridi:[103] First Muslim American male to serve as the President of the New York City Bar Association (2024)
Albany County
John Baker:[104] First African American male to serve as the Dean of Albany Law School (1991)
William Carter:[66] First African American male to serve as a Judge of the Albany City Court (2002)
David Soares:[105] First African American male to serve as the District Attorney of Albany County, New York (2004)
Richard Rivera:[94][95] First Latino American male judge in Albany County, New York (2015)
Bronx County (New York City)
Harold A. Stevens (1938):[61][31] First African American male to serve as a Supreme Court Justice, First Judicial District (New York and Bronx Counties, 1955)
Gaius Charles Bolin Sr.:[106] First African American male lawyer in Dutchess County, New York. He was also the first Black (male) President of the Dutchess County Bar Association.[107]
Raul Figueroa:[92][93] First Hispanic American lawyer to work for Buffalo, New York. He later became the first Hispanic American (male) elected as a Judge of the Buffalo City Court in 1984. [Erie County, New York]
Lance D. Clarke:[116] First African American male to serve as the President of the Nassau County Bar Association (2007)
Alfred Robbins (1957):[31] 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.
Harold A. Stevens (1938):[61][31] First African American male to serve as a Supreme Court Justice, First Judicial District (New York and Bronx Counties, 1955)
Edwin Torres:[81][82] First Puerto Rican male to serve as the Assistant District Attorney in New York County (1958)
Danny K. Chun (1987):[40][41] First Korean American male appointed as the Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan [New York County, New York]
Michael Tecklenburg:[117] First deaf male (who is also African American) to graduate from Columbia Law School (1989; New York County, New York)
Langston McKinney:[121] First African American male to serve as the Judge of the Syracuse City Court (1986) [Onondaga County, New York]
Gordon Cuffy:[122][123] 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:[124] First African American male to serve as an Assistant District Attorney in Queens
Kenneth Browne Hollis:[125] First African American male to serve as a Justice of the Queens Supreme Court (1973)
Randall T. Eng (1973):[32][33][34][35] 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:[31] First Hispanic American male elected as a Judge of the Civil Court in Queens County, New York (1994)
Richard M. Gutierrez:[126] 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:[31] First Hispanic American male judge in Staten Island (Richmond County, New York; 2013)
^Copland, Laura (July 2013). "The Rise and Fall of Moses Simons: A Black Lawyer in the New York City Criminal Court, 1816-1820". Afro-Americans in New York Life and History. 37 (2): 81–114. GaleA339255272ProQuest1428042133.