Interview with Judge Danielle Douglas by Lucy Fogarty
D
anielle K. Douglas is a Judge of the Contra Costa Superior Court. She was appointed by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. on July 16, 2014.
vice president of a bank. She achieved this after successfully raising three children, with very few tools provided to her on how to be a good mother.
She was a Deputy District Attorney in Contra Costa County from 2000 to 2013 and was most recently an Assistant District Attorney at the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office. She successfully prosecuted an Antioch gang member, who received a life sentence without the possibility of parole, for the shooting of a 16-year-old boy at an Antioch house party in 2011.
Judge Douglas followed suit and, after having her first child at age 17, worked her way through college and law school. She was appointed as a judge at age 40. Judge Douglas now has three girls ages 23, 14 and 4.
Judge Douglas grew up in Redwood City. Her mother was a bank teller and her father was a clerk in a grocery store. Very few of her family members attended college, so growing up, her role models were the Huxtables of “The Cosby Show.” Heathcliff was in the medical profession and Clair was an attorney. Judge Douglas ultimately decided to take the legal route, as her mother told her she was good at arguing. Her mom was a huge inspiration for Judge Douglas. With only a high school diploma, her mother is now a
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Food is one of Judge Douglas’ passions. If she had to pick a favorite, it would be cheese. She started cooking at age 12 and would love to own a small restaurant or a food truck. She hopes to take a month off sometime to travel to Paris to attend cooking school. An avid watcher of cooking programs, she enjoys “Iron Chef,” “Hell’s Kitchen” and “Masterchef,” to name a few. Judge Douglas’ favorite quote is the Serenity Prayer, “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” s