Dorothy Tyner
# Dorothy Tyner

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

## Personal life

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

## Alaskan statehood

Shortly after moving to the territory, she became an advocate for Alaskan statehood. 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.

## Career

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

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. 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. She became the first woman to open a private law practice in Anchorage in 1946. She worked in the area of rent control and in 1952 was named the acting area rent director for Alaska.

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

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

