Black Judges on Justice.

• Author: Cook, Jr., Julian Abele

Herein the longing of black men [and women] must have respect: the rich and bitter depth of their experience, the unknown treasures of their inner life, the strange rendings of nature they have seen, may give the world new points of view and make their loving, living, and doing precious to all human hearts. And to themselves in these the days that try their souls, the chance to soar in the dim blue air above the smoke is to their finer spirits boon and guerdon for what they lose on earth by being black.(1)

Linn Washington(2) has written and compiled a provocative book that gives the reader a look into the minds, lives, and aspirations of many of our nation's outstanding Black jurists.(3)

His endeavor to "help fill the void in the literature on Black judges by presenting the experiences and insights of distinguished jurists" (p. xix) should be read by anyone who believes in the equality of justice under the law. This book should provide a special inspiration to the minority students, lawyers, and judges who often search -- sometimes without success -- for role models with backgrounds similar to their own. It also should leave all readers with the knowledge that there is a continuing need for Black men and women to bring their experiences, hopes, and ambitions to the bench. Contemporary society often portrays Black people as violent, poor, and less intelligent than others. Written entirely in the first person by individual judges,(4) Washington's book attacks these stereotypes with images of intelligent, thoughtful, committed Black jurists, all of whom have made, and are continuing to make, a meaningful impact upon their communities and our nation.(5)

Washington seeks to accomplish four goals. First of all, he hopes that the reader will learn something about the struggles, accomplishments, and philosophies of a few Black judges whose judicial pronouncements have affected the daily lives of the people in the communities in which these judges serve. Second, Washington explores the impact of the Black perspective on the law. He submits that these judges' experiences add to the academic fiber of the law and can provide an insight into their decisionmaking processes as they relate to social policy matters. Third, he attempts to correct any distorted views about racism in our society that the readers may bring to this book. Finally, Washington attempts to give young lawyers and judges of color a sense of their responsibility to the community as students of the law. He vividly demonstrates, through the words of several Black judges, that it is possible and desirable to assume the role of a judge with all of the fervor and ideals that are borne of the Black experience.(6)

1. SHE WAS ONCE ON THE BOARD OF UNITED CHURCH WOMEN

   For centuries, the history of Black Americans has been recorded in twisted tales born out of bigotry. Sometimes, the lies are blatant. At other times, they take on the form of political rhetoric or scientific study -- when an advocate asserts that Black people are genetically incapable of possessing the intellectual capabilities of their white counterparts. Often, however, these mistellings of history result from omissions -- sometimes inadvertent and sometimes purposeful. Take, for example, the experience of Judge Constance Baker Motley at the week-long school for newly appointed federal judges that she attended shortly after her appointment to the United States District Court in Manhattan. On the opening day of the school, one of the lecturers introduced each of the new judges by making references to their many accomplishments in the field of law. In introducing Motley, however, he limited her tremendous accomplishments as a lawyer and community activist to her membership on the boards of the United Church Women and the YMCA (p. 129). In so doing, he failed to recognize that she was the first female to work with Thurgood Marshall at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and that during her tenure there she won nine of her ten cases before the Supreme Court, including James Meredith's historic fight for entry into the University of Mississippi (p. 128). He also ignored her impressive credentials as the first Black woman in the New York State Senate, the first female president of the Borough of Manhattan, the first Black female federal judge, and the first woman to serve as Chief Judge for the Southern District of New York (pp. 128-29, 144).

   One of the subjects of this book expresses his passionate disappointment over the failure of law schools to teach their students about the correlation between the law and the evils of racism. Retired Chief Judge A. Leon Higginbotham of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals notes with great despair that, although law schools do teach the importance of such significant Supreme Court cases as Marbury v. Madison,(7) rarely, if ever, do they provide students with an opportunity to study the nation's first three major cases involving the plight of Black people(8) or the most racist case in the history of the state of Missouri.(9)

   Washington's book also presents a glimpse of Black American judges not often seen by the general public. For instance, Judge Veronica S. McBeth of the Los Angeles Municipal Court believes that whenever any Black participant in a judicial proceeding -- whether it is a criminal defendant, a party to a civil lawsuit, a witness, a juror, or an attorney -- enters a courtroom, the presence of a Black judge on the bench forces that participant to accept the judicial process and prevents her from summarily rejecting it as part of a racist conspiracy (p. 36).

   Indeed, this book demonstrates that the visibility of Black jurists is extremely important to the entire community. Judge McBeth says that "[j]udges have a tremendous power to educate because everybody looks up to them, even if they are Black. It is important for people to hear a judge up there telling them it is their obligation to be fair, telling them it's the American way to do things" (p. 36). Fully recognizing that judges are often less visible than other public officials, Judge Reggie B. Walton of the District of Columbia Superior Court wryly notes that "[w]e now have a number of generations, maybe two or three, where people living in certain environments have never in their lives seen anybody leave the house and go to work" (p. 110). That fact makes it all the more important for authors such as Washington to highlight the accomplishments of people of color and thereby to give our young people something to hope for other than prison, poverty, or early death.

   On a different level, Judge Abigail R. Rogers, who travels around the state of South Carolina as a family court judge, tells how her mere presence as a judicial officer -- a Black judge -- brings a justifiable sense of pride to many of the Black citizens and leaders in the small communities where she sits. Rogers recounts with pleasure the occasions when Black people visited her courthouse just to talk or bring food as their expressions of welcome. Once, a group of people who had heard that the new judge in town was a Black female waited in the courthouse parking lot to applaud her arrival (p. 218). It is obvious that they were immensely proud to have her -- a Black female judge -- as a role model.

   I have had similar satisfying experiences during my tenure as a federal judge. One of the most important and fulfilling aspects of being a Black judge is seeing the pride in the eyes of the people of color as they come into my courtroom. At the completion of a trial last fall, I followed my regular policy of inviting the jurors to visit my chambers in order to glean their impressions about the lawyers and witnesses in the case and about the judicial process in general. After we discussed various aspects of the case and the trial, the Black foreperson summoned all of her nerve, looked at me, and inquired, "Are you Black?" Upon my reply of "Since birth," she proudly turned to her fellow jurors and said, "I told you so." People need to know that we are out here.

2. A REFLECTION OF THREE HUNDRED YEARS OF DISCRIMINATION

   The difference between the experience of persons of color and persons not of color is that we persons of color have the advantage of having to turn negative experiences into positive experiences. We have a more mature outlook on life; we understand the importance of being fair to other persons because we don't want other persons to have the negative experience that we have had. [p. 188, quoting Judge Charles Z. Smith]

   Washington points out that the quest for equality led several of my colleagues to their present positions. Little did R.A. Pearson, the president of the University of Maryland, know that when he rejected Thurgood Marshall's application to the law school because of his race, he set this future Supreme Court Associate Justice on a mission that would change the course of American history.(10)

   In a like manner, the decision of Justice Fred L. Banks of the Mississippi Supreme Court to go to law school from his desire to change the legal landscape in his home state of Mississippi. Mississippi...