Disir
Platinum Member
- Sep 30, 2011
- 28,003
- 9,610
Seeing you as a judge probably causes some black kids to think, ‘That person is like me, I can be a judge too.’
I have a lot of students do that. I have a gavel on my bench that we don’t use every day, during any proceedings. I use it just for courtroom tours. And when I have students come in, I get off the bench and talk to them. Often, I’ll be in my robe, but I unzip my robe and they’re just amazed that I have clothes on like everybody else, up under it. And it kind of humanizes it, I’m a real person. And then they begin to talk to me, and then I invite them to come up and sit on my bench. And they sit there, and it’s just an amazing moment to watch them realize, they could do this. They might want to do this. And often that moment breaks from, when they first get up there and they start to look around, and I sit them in the chair, and I tell them, ‘Do you want to hit that gavel?’ And they just kind of spark. It’s just beautiful to see a young person see, that they have unlimited possibilities. And it’s just really a nice feeling and a nice moment for me to have, and it’s one that I always savor and reflect on once they leave. And then they begin to talk to me, you know, about people in their family, what they want to do, why they might want to do it, the other things they’re interested in. Often when I take them in my chambers, they see all my books, and they’re often very interested in the books. Do I read the books? Don’t read ‘em all at the same time – but they think that that’s cool, so it kind of opens up, ‘Oh, this wasn’t what I thought it was. This isn’t how it was on television, I can do this, and this is something I might want to consider.’ Because we need a variety of people to be in the field.
Interview: Judge Adrienne Nelson, first black Oregon Supreme Court Justice
She was the second black judge in Oregon. The first black judge died before she became a judge some 12 years ago.
That to me is just crazy. Oregon is like behind the times, no?
I have a lot of students do that. I have a gavel on my bench that we don’t use every day, during any proceedings. I use it just for courtroom tours. And when I have students come in, I get off the bench and talk to them. Often, I’ll be in my robe, but I unzip my robe and they’re just amazed that I have clothes on like everybody else, up under it. And it kind of humanizes it, I’m a real person. And then they begin to talk to me, and then I invite them to come up and sit on my bench. And they sit there, and it’s just an amazing moment to watch them realize, they could do this. They might want to do this. And often that moment breaks from, when they first get up there and they start to look around, and I sit them in the chair, and I tell them, ‘Do you want to hit that gavel?’ And they just kind of spark. It’s just beautiful to see a young person see, that they have unlimited possibilities. And it’s just really a nice feeling and a nice moment for me to have, and it’s one that I always savor and reflect on once they leave. And then they begin to talk to me, you know, about people in their family, what they want to do, why they might want to do it, the other things they’re interested in. Often when I take them in my chambers, they see all my books, and they’re often very interested in the books. Do I read the books? Don’t read ‘em all at the same time – but they think that that’s cool, so it kind of opens up, ‘Oh, this wasn’t what I thought it was. This isn’t how it was on television, I can do this, and this is something I might want to consider.’ Because we need a variety of people to be in the field.
Interview: Judge Adrienne Nelson, first black Oregon Supreme Court Justice
She was the second black judge in Oregon. The first black judge died before she became a judge some 12 years ago.
That to me is just crazy. Oregon is like behind the times, no?
