Eunice Hunton Carter (1899-1970) was an African American lawyer and the first African American woman to be a district attorney in the state of New York. She married a dentist, Leslie C. Carter in 1924. They had one son. Several years after her son’s birth she began law school. She obtained her law degree from Fordham Law School. She was admitted to the New York Bar in 1934. She was the first black female to pass the New York State Bar.
In 1934, New York Special Prosecutor, Thomas E. Dewey appointed Carter as his deputy assistant prosecutor. While working on several prostitution cases, Carter started to see a possible tie to organized crime. Based on her insights, special prosecutor Thomas E. Dewey launched a raid on 8 brothels. The evidence discovered resulted in the conviction of New York’s top organized crime leader, Charles “Lucky” Luciano. This was the largest organized crime prosecution in the U.S. at the time. Carter left the district attorney’s office in 1945 and returned to private practice. Carter died in 1970.
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