NAWJ District One Summer 2019 Newsletter

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION of WOMEN JUDGES

Summer, 2019

Edition 1; Volume 3

DISTRICT ONE

REGISTRATION INFORMATION Early Registration Deadline: August 1, 2019 Click here to register online.

To see the agenda click here. _______________________________________________________

DISTRICT ONE NEWS Welcome all new members! I am so happy to tell you that since the first of the year, we have a total of 18 new members! Thank you for joining and supporting NAWJ!!!!

I am looking for ideas for events in the fall. All suggestions welcomed.

Thank you, Have a great summer!!!!!!!

Hon. Mary Lou Muirhead’s Trip to Africa (May, 2019) Last November my cousin asked if I wanted to join her on a trip to Africa. After months of planning, we left Kennedy on May 2. We had a stopover in Doha, Qatar and were to arrive in Nairobi, Kenya the next day. We missed our connecting flight and stayed overnight in Doha, but that was the only glitch in our visit to East Africa.

The tour group was small, eight people; four in each of the jeeps when we left Nairobi for the savannah. First stop -- the Samburu National Reserve in the Rift Valley. Our “lodge” was smack in the middle of the reserve and our accommodations were “glamping” tents. There were no fences so they discouraged being outside the tent at night, but the only animals that ventured near us were the monkeys. We had slingshots to waive around at them keep the monkeys at bay.

We were up early and out on the savannah with our guide. Within minutes we were face to face with elephants, giraffes, zebras, lions and other creatures you just read about. These “game rides” were twice a day; early in the morning and later in the evening.

We visited the Masai tribal village. The Masai are primitive, nomadic and polygamous. (Not so primitive that they did not charge us $25 American dollars each for our visit).

We had a hot air balloon ride in Masai Mara at sunrise, followed by a champagne breakfast and visited the equator. Then it was off to Tanzania. We flew into Kilimanjaro and did get to see Mt. Kilimanjaro, although the top was in the clouds. More game rides, a quest for tanzanite and a trip to the Ngorongoro Crater (a site for destination weddings).

We spent most days in our least dirty clothes and there were no hairdryers to be found. Our last night was spent in a luxury resort, with me soaking in a hot tub!

The trip was amazing. The people were all very welcoming (although they could not get their heads around the fact that we did not belong to tribes). The food was plentiful and, while we did have crocodile and ostrich at one meal in Nairobi, “familiar.� Lunch and dinner went from soup to nuts. Every place we stayed was equipped with a full bar. We flew back on May 17 with wonderful memories and new friends.

Hon. Mary Lou Muirhead, Boston Housing Court, Former District One Director ____________________________________________________________________

Color of Justice Program Judge Stacey Fortes Lowell First Justice Hosts Second Annual “Color of Justice” Program to Introduce Young Women of Color to Law careers (LOWELL, MA) - Lowell District Court First Justice Stacey Fortes hosted the second annual “Color of Justice,“ a recent day-long event at the court created to introduce middle school girls of color, to careers in the legal profession. The theme for this year’s program was based on a quote by Children’s Defense Fund President Marian Wright Edelman, “You can’t be, what you can’t see.” The 48 seventh and eighth graders from the Bartlett, Butler, and Sullivan schools attended panel discussions, participated in a courthouse tour, and were served lunch during breakout sessions.

Panelists included judges, probation officers, clerks, police, assistant district attorneys, and lawyers. They shared their personal experiences and backgrounds, according to Judge Fortes. The speakers at the May 17 event encouraged the students to pursue careers in law, discussed the significance of personal commitment and perseverance, and the role and importance of the criminal justice system.

“This is an event I plan to present every year to introduce young women of color to careers in the legal profession. Who knows we may have a future judge, probation officer, clerk or lawyer in the group.”

“I found the students to be very engaged in the panel discussions and inquisitive about the role we play in the courts. I am happy to have participated in an event that helps educate children about the legal profession,” said Lowell District Assistant Chief Probation Officer Ethel Ryan Gomes.

The first panel, “A Day in the Life of a Judge” featured talks by Judge Fortes, Associate Justice of the Appeals Court Sabita Singh, Associate Justice of District Court Barbara Pearson, and Associate Justice of the District Court Tejal Mehta. The second panel discussion, “How do I become a lawyer?,” included talks by Attorney Melissa Devore, Attorney Lisa Wagner of the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS), and Assistant District Attorney Amy Parker of the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office. A third panel, “What is it like to work in a courthouse?” featured Probation employees Lowell District Assistant Chief Probation Officer Ethel Gomes and Probation Officer Katherine Diaz. First Assistant Clerk Janice Carroll, Sessions Clerk Meredith Cotter, Staff Spanish Interpreter Mary Martinez, and Lowell Police Officer Nadja Peace were among the other professionals who shared their experiences with the young women.

“Thank you for preparing me for my future,” wrote one middle schooler.

One of the teachers who brought the children to the court, wrote: “Dear Judge Fortes, taking our students to the Color of Justice event has been one of my most favorite things to do in my 18-year career at the Sullivan School. I saw how excited and inspired the girls were.”

This event was introduced last year by Judge Fortes, a member of the National Association of Women Judges (NAWJ) in District 1. The Washington, DC-based NAWJ, established in 1979, is described on its website as “a dynamic gathering of women judges who are dedicated to preserving judicial independence to women,

minorities, and other historically disfavored groups while increasing the number and advancement of women judges, and providing cutting-edge judicial education.”

The students were treated to lunch offered during break-out sessions where the children and mentors continued their discussions which were followed by a tour of the courthouse. Each of the students were presented with tote bags, donated by NAWJ, filled with books such as “My OWN Words,” by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, “Just Mercy,” by Bryan Stevenson, and “Trell,” by Dick Lehr.

Submitted by: Coria Holland, Communications Director, Massachusetts Probation Service

Color of Justice Participants, May 25, 2019

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MaryLou Muirhead’s iCivics Class After a long winter of planning Ms. Either’s class visited the Eastern Division of the Housing Court on June 4, 2019. Class 4E spent several weeks practicing their role in six skits, developed by iCivics, about the Rule of Law. They learned about the order and security in the law, of the legitimacy of the law based on the people’s input, a system of checks and balances, the equal application of the law, procedural fairness and access to justice. After each skit, the class talked with Judge Muirhead about what they learned from the skits.

The students visited the holding cell adjacent to the courtroom, had a pizza picnic and each one student had his or her picture taken on the judge’s bench.

A few days later they sent thank you notes to the court. Some children really liked preparing and performing the skits, some liked having their picture taken and some liked the holding cell. One girl didn’t like the fact that she was limited to two pieces of pizza and one boy wrote “I must admit I did not find court interesting, but thank you for your time.”

Mr. Wheeler (court officer), Ms. Ethier’s Class 4E and Judge Muirhead: Equal Application of the Law (in the center behind the mic is Judge Muirhead’s granddaughter, Emme Saunders)

Please click here to renew or join NAWJ

MARY DACEY WHITE Mary.white@jud.state.ma.us 617-735-8123