NATIONAL ASSOCIATION of WOMEN JUDGES
Fall - Winter, 2019
Edition 2; Volume 1
DISTRICT ONE
NEWSLETTER
Judge Horan is pictured with her family above at MJC Annual Dinner
Congratulations to our sister, the Hon. Diana H. Horan, First Justice of the Worcester Housing Court on her receiving the 2019 Judicial Excellence Award from the Massachusetts Judicial Conference on November 5, 2019, at The College of the Holy Cross. We are all so proud of her!!!!! On December 5, 2019 at 6:00 pm, NAWJ is co-sponsoring a dinner at Paul and Elizabeth’s, 150 Main Street in Northampton, Massachusetts. The Hon. Maureen Walsh, of the District Court is organizing the event. If you in the area and wish to attend, please contact Maureen at Maureen.walsh@jud.state.ma.us as soon as possible.
ANNUAL CONFERENCE REPORT I attended the Annual Conference in Los Angeles from Oct. 15th – 19th, 2019. It was a fabulous conference. Judge Elizabeth Allen White, of Los Angeles was the chair and she out did herself!!!! District One: The following District One members attended the Annual Conference: Chief Justice Paula Carey, Hon. Anne Kenney Chaplin (Housing Court), Hon. Fairlie Dalton (Housing Court), Hon. Nan Duffly (Ret. Supreme Judicial Court), Hon. Stacey Fortes (District Court), Hon. Karen Green (Superior Court), Hon. Germarie Mendez-Negron, (Puerto Rico), Chief Justice Amy Nechtem (Juvenile Court), and Hon. Mary Dacey White (District Court).
Judges Amy Nechtem, Stacey Fortes, Karen Green, Mary Lou Muirhead, Mary Dacey White, Nan Duffly, Germarie Mendez-Negron and Fairlie Dalton (left to right).
We held the District One Breakfast Meeting on October 17th. Members present discussed and voted on a dues for our district. The dues collected would be held by NAWJ Main Office but would be at our disposal when needed to put on a function or reception for our district members. NAWJ allots a stipend of $500.00 per year which can be used for district functions. Any amount of the $500.00 that is not used, is lost as it does not carry over to the next year. Meeting attendees from District One voted that the yearly dues should be $50.00. If you wish to pay this additional amount, please send a check for $50.00 to me at the Brookline District Court. The check should be made payable to NAWJ – District One. I hope all members find this satisfactory and will send the dues to me by the end of January, 2020.
Next on our agenda at the meeting was Membership! We would like to increase our numbers. We currently have 61 members for the district our goal is to double that number. As a result of our discussions, we felt that having a NAWJ member at the various court conferences in the spring of 2020, to talk up NAWJ. I can designate a liaison for each court and if necessary, I could attend the conference with that person to give a brief presentation on NAWJ or the liaison can do it if, I can’t attend. I will provide all of the brochures, etc. Please give me your input and let me know if you would like to be the liaison!!! FUTURE DISTRICT ONE EVENTS FOR 2020!!!!! o New Judge Reception, late February, 2020; o Branching Out: an event with our sisters in the executive and legislative branches of government; o Color of Justice Program. NATIONAL UPDATE FROM NAWJ Highlights from the conference: The Strategic Plan for NAWJ was approved by the Board and members attending the conference. Our very own Amy Nechtem was instrumental in getting the Strategic Plan to the board for confirmation! Congratulations and thank you for your hard work over these past years!! The programs were excellent and on most days, it was very hard to decide which panel to attend. I attended the panel on Homelessness but also wanted to attend the panel on Elder Issues and Abuse. We were entertained by screenplay writer Jonathan Shapiro and his play, Sisters in the Law. It is about Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sandra Day O’Connor. It opened in Las Vegas this past summer and next playing in Los Angeles and then on to NYC!! Maybe it will get to Boston!! If I hear anything, I will let you all know. We heard from our new President, Bernadette D’Souza from New Orleans. Her theme for her presidency is “Access to Justice: Innovation through Global Judicial Leadership”. We are off to a great year!!
Bringing Access into Harmony with Justice National Association of Women Judges 2020 Midyear Meeting
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER: $375 until December 31, 2019 CLICK HERE FOR HOTEL RESERVATIONS: $199/night, plus taxes.
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Registration will open after the first of the year.
Click here to renew or join NAWJ ______________________
Mary Dacey White
District One Director Mary.white@jud.state.ma.us 617-735-8123