List of LGBTQ state supreme court justices in the United States
(Redirected from List of LGBT state supreme court justices in the United States)
Below is a list of the names of openly LGBT persons who have served on the highest court of a state or territory in the United States.
The first state with an openly LGBT justice was Oregon, where Rives Kistler was named to the bench in 2003.[1] The first U.S. territory with an openly LGBT justice was Guam, where Benjamin Cruz was appointed in 1997.[2] As of October 31, 2025[update], there are 10 openly LGBT state supreme court justices, serving in 9 states.
In U.S. states
editCurrent
edit| Order | State | Court | Justice | Ref | Service as justice | As chief justice | Mandatory retirement |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Colorado | Colorado Supreme Court | Monica Márquez | [3] | 2010–present | 2024–present | 2041 |
| 2 |  Hawaii | Supreme Court of Hawaii | Sabrina McKenna | [4] | 2011–present | – | 2027 |
| 3 |  Connecticut | Connecticut Supreme Court | Andrew J. McDonald | [5] | 2013–present | September 6, 2024–September 30, 2024 | 2036 |
| 4 |  Washington | Washington Supreme Court | Mary Yu | [6] | 2014–present | – | 2032 |
| 5 |  Nevada |
Supreme Court of Nevada | Lidia S. Stiglich | [7] | 2016–present | 2023–2024 | 2024 |
| 6 |  New Mexico |
New Mexico Supreme Court | C. Shannon Bacon | [8] | 2019–present | 2022–2024 | 2026 |
| 7 | Washington | Washington Supreme Court | Helen Whitener | [9] | 2020–present | – | 2039 |
| 8 |  New York | New York State Court of Appeals | Anthony Cannataro | [10] | 2021–present | 2022–2023 | 2035 |
| 9 |  California | Supreme Court of California | Kelli Evans | [11] | 2023–present | – | 2026 |
| 10 |  Massachusetts | Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court | Gabrielle Wolohojian | [12] | 2024–present | – | 2030 |
Former
edit| Order | State | Court | Justice | Ref | Service as justice |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Oregon | Oregon Supreme Court | Rives Kistler | [1] | 2003–2018 |
| 2 | Oregon | Oregon Supreme Court | Virginia Linder | [13] | 2007–2016 |
| 3 | Massachusetts | Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court | Barbara Lenk | [14] | 2011–2020 |
| 4 | New York | New York State Court of Appeals | Paul Feinman | [15] | 2017–2021 |
| 5 |  Vermont | Vermont Supreme Court | Beth Robinson | [16] | 2011–2021 |
| 6 | Oregon | Oregon Supreme Court | Lynn Nakamoto | [17] | 2016–2021 |
| 7 | Massachusetts | Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court | Elspeth B. Cypher | [18] | 2017–2024 |
| 8 |  Minnesota | Minnesota Supreme Court | Margaret Chutich | [19] | 2016–2024 |
| 9 | California | Supreme Court of California | Martin Jenkins | [20] | 2020–2025 |
In U.S. territories
edit| Order | Territory | Court | Justice | Ref | Service as justice | As chief justice |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Guam | Supreme Court of Guam | Benjamin Cruz | [2] | 1997–2001 | 1999–2001 |
| 2 |  Puerto Rico | Supreme Court of Puerto Rico | Maite Oronoz Rodríguez | [21] | 2014–present | 2016–present |
See also
editOther topics of interest
edit- List of African-American jurists
- List of Asian American jurists
- List of Hispanic and Latino American jurists
- List of Jewish American jurists
- List of Native American jurists
- List of first women lawyers and judges in the United States
- List of first minority male lawyers and judges in the United States
References
edit- 1 2 "Amid debate over rights, number of gay judges rising". USA Today. October 17, 2006.
- 1 2 Silva, David (November 25, 1997). "Cruz Control: Newly Appointed Guam Supreme Court Justice Benjamin Cruz May Be the Nation's Highest-Ranking Gay Judge". The Advocate. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
- ↑ "Ritter appoints Marquez to Colo. Supreme Court". KDVR. September 8, 2010. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011.
- ↑ Kobayashi, Ken (January 26, 2011). "McKenna is named to state's high court". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Retrieved March 9, 2011.
- ↑ "County Fair: The Queering of Connecticut". Fairfield County Weekly. February 28, 2008. Archived from the original on December 19, 2008. Retrieved February 28, 2008.
- ↑ Provenza, Nick (May 2, 2014). "Assistant Metro Editor". Seattle Times. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
- ↑ Chereb, Sandra (March 9, 2017). "New Nevada Supreme Court justice has 'pursuit of justice' in her heart". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
- ↑ Bolcer, Julie. "Lesbian Judge Wins Statewide Race". Advocate. Pride Media. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
- ↑ La Corte, Rachel (April 13, 2020). "Judge G. Helen Whitener appointed to state Supreme Court". Seattle Times. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
- ↑ Clark, Dan (May 26, 2021). "Cuomo Announces Picks To Fill Two Seats on New York's Highest State Court". WSKG-TV. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
- ↑ Bajko, Matthew (January 2, 2023). "California Supreme Court welcomes 1st queer woman". Bay Area Reporter. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
- ↑ Leblanc, Steve (February 8, 2024). "Massachusetts governor nominates former romantic partner to state's highest court". Associated Press. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
- ↑ "Political Notebook: Bisexual, lesbian politicians stump in SF". Bay Area Reporter. November 22, 2007. Archived from the original on June 22, 2021. Retrieved December 28, 2009.
- ↑ Goodnough, Abby (April 4, 2011). "Lesbian Judge Chosen for Top Massachusetts Court". New York Times. Archived from the original on April 11, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
- ↑ McKinley, James (June 21, 2017). "First Openly Gay Judge Confirmed for New York's Highest Court". The New York Times. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
- ↑ "Vt. gov.'s high court nominee pushed civil unions, marriage law". Worcester Telegram & Gazette. October 21, 2011.
- ↑ Gay & Lesbian Archives of the Pacific Northwest (GLAPN). "Openly LGBT elected in Oregon".
- ↑ "Newly Confirmed SJC Justice Cypher '80 to Speak at Emerson". Emerson News & Events. Emerson College. March 15, 2017. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
- ↑ Bakst, Brian (January 22, 2016). "Dayton MN Supreme Court pick is court's first openly gay justice". MPR News. Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
- ↑ Dolan, Maura (November 10, 2020). "First openly gay justice confirmed to serve on the California Supreme Court". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
- ↑ "Puerto Rico appoints first openly gay chief justice". Sun-Times National. February 23, 2016. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved March 1, 2017.