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 January 12, 2024[update] , there are 11 openly LGBT state supreme court justices, serving in 10 states.
In U.S. territories [ edit ] Other topics of interest [ edit ] ^ a b "Amid debate over rights, number of gay judges rising" . USA Today . October 17, 2006. ^ a b 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 . ^ 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 . ^ 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 . ^ Dolan, Maura (November 10, 2020). "First openly gay justice confirmed to serve on the California Supreme Court" . Los Angeles Times . Retrieved November 12, 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 . ^ "Political Notebook: Bisexual, lesbian politicians stump in SF" . Bay Area Reporter . November 22, 2007. 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 . ^ "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 .