First woman elected judge in Louisiana dies at 77

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Funeral services will be held Saturday for the first woman elected to serve as a judge in Louisiana and first African-American to serve as chief judge of the state's Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal.

The Louisiana Judicial Council, an affiliate of the National Bar Association Judicial Council, on Wednesday confirmed the Saturday death of Joan Bernard Armstrong. She was 77.

Armstrong retired from the bench in 2011 after 37 years, which made her the longest-serving judge in the state at the time. When she was elected to the Orleans Parish Juvenile Court bench in 1974, she was the first female and first African-American woman elected judge in the state.