Irma Vidal Santaella

Irma Milagros Vidal Santaella ( Thillet, October 4, 1924 – December 24, 2009) was a Puerto Rican-American judge and lawyer. She was noted as being the first Puerto Rican female lawyer and the first Puerto Rican female Supreme Court Justice in the state of New York.

Santaella was born in New York City on October 4, 1924, though she was raised by her mother and relatives in Puerto Rico. She graduated from Modern Business College in Ponce, Puerto Rico in 1942, and studied pre-med thereafter at Interamerican University of Puerto Rico.

Santaella died in California on December 24, 2009, at the age of 85. The Justice Irma Vidal Santaella Memorial Award for Excellence in the Courtroom was created by the New York State Bar Association in her memory.