Cline, Nellie

Cline was admitted to the Kansas bar in 1912 and was the first woman to make oral arguments before the Kansas Supreme Court in 1918 after being elected as a county attorney general. In 1920, she was one of four women elected to the Kansas House of Representatives, where she served until 1924. While in office, she helped pass a law protecting farm workers. In the 1930s, she moved to Idaho, where she was elected to the Idaho House of Representatives and Senate, serving a total of eight terms in the Idaho legislature. She was the first woman in the Idaho Senate. While in office in Idaho, she helped pass laws on pensions for firefighters, police officers, and teachers. Nellie Cline is occasionally referred to as "Nellie Cline Steenson," her name after she married.