Dorothy Tyner

Dorothy D. Tyner
Citizenship	American
Academic background
Alma mater	Washburn University

Dorothy D. Tyner was an American judge. She was, along with Mary Alice Miller, the first female judge in Alaska.[1][2]

Personal life

Tyner was originally from Kansas and attended the Washburn University School of Law.[3] She was admitted to the Kansas bar in 1941.[3] In the mid-1940s, she married F.E. Stangl, a soldier at Fort Richardson.[3][4] After her marriage, she continued to use her maiden name as her professional name.[4][3]

Alaskan statehood

Shortly after moving to the territory, she became an advocate for Alaskan statehood.[3][4] In 1947, she argued in front of the United States House of Representatives' Subcommittee on Territorial and Insular Possessions in favor of statehood for Alaska.[3]

Career

While in Kansas City, Tyner worked on the regional war labor board.[5] She also taught law at Washburn University.[5]

Tyner moved to Juneau, Alaska in 1944 as an assistant enforcement attorney in the Office of Price Administration and traveled extensively throughout the state as part of her duties.[3][5] When Tyner visited in Anchorage in 1945 to explore what her prospects might be as an attorney, members of the bar association "wined and dined" her in an effort to lure her to the community.[2] She became the first woman to open a private law practice in Anchorage[6][2] in 1946.[3] She worked in the area of rent control and in 1952 was named the acting area rent director for Alaska.[5]

In 1958, Tyner challenged Hugh Wade, a fellow Democrat, for territorial treasurer.[7]

Tyner was appointed by Governor Wally Hickel[8] as a district court judge in Anchorage in 1968.[2][9] She presided over the case that declared Hale Boggs dead and signed his death certificate.[10] Tyner retired from the bench in 1977.[11]

See also

• List of first women lawyers and judges in Alaska

References

1. "Tyner, Dorothy | Alaska Judicial Council". www.ajc.state.ak.us. Retrieved 2018-01-09.
2. Cravez 2017, p. 87.
3. Tyner, Dorothy D. (1948). United States. Congress. House. Committee on Public Lands. Subcommittee on Territorial and Insular Possessions (ed.). Alaska: Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Territorial and Insular Possessions of the Committee on Public Lands, House of Representatives, Eightieth Congress, First Session, Pursuant to H. Res. 93, August 30, 1947 to September 12, 1947. U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 35–37. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
4. "Alaska Lawyer Campaigns for Statehood". Daily Sitka Sentinel. Sitka, Alaska. September 8, 1948. p. 1. Retrieved May 9, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Tyner named Acting Area Rent Director". Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Fairbanks, Alaska. January 2, 1952. p. 2. Retrieved May 9, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "1945: The "Anchorage Bar Association," including founding partner Edward Davis (second from right) entertains visiting lawyer, Dorothy Tyner who later becomes the first woman to open a private law practice in the city". Hughes White Colbo Wilcox & Tervooren, LLC. 2020. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
7. "Territorial Treasurer". Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Fairbanks, Alaska. February 3, 1958. p. 4. Retrieved May 9, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "The Alaska Court System: Celebrating 50 years" (PDF). Alaska Court System. 2009. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
9. Cravez 2017, p. 77.
10. "Alaska Jury Declares Bogg Died on Flight". The New York Times. February 8, 1973. p. 46.
11. "Cutler sworn in as judge". Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Fairbanks, Alaska. Associated Press. September 27, 1977. p. 2. Retrieved May 8, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.

Work cited

• Cravez, Pamela (April 15, 2017). The Biggest Damned Hat: Tales from Alaska's Territorial Lawyers and Judges. University of Alaska Press. ISBN 978-1-60223-317-1. Retrieved May 9, 2020.