Judge Cordell.Photo: Laurie Naiman
Judge LaDoris Hazzard Cordell knows about making an impact. She was the first Black woman jurist in Northern California — and continues to fight for justice outside of the courtroom. In her upcoming memoir,HerHonor, Cordell revisits her almost two decades on the bench. The result is an “insider account” of the U.S. legal system, which Cordell argues continues to serve an important purpose even if parts are “broken.” In her book, the judge shows how plea bargains help keep flooded courtrooms working and the “racial biases” that are threaded throughout the court system. Plus, she reflects on the moving and heartbreaking family cases she’s overseen. “I would preside over thousands of cases and come to learn that judging is not for the faint of heart,” Cordell, 71, writes in the book’s introduction. In an essay for PEOPLE, Cordell — now a legal commentator and police reform advocate who has won multiple awards for her public service — revisits the case that made her walk away from the bench forever.
Celadon Books)
My tenure on the bench was a conflicted one. By simply donning my robe, I knew that I lent legitimacy to a system that disproportionately targeted people of color. Most of the criminal cases over which I presided involved defendants who looked like me. My presence on the bench gave defendants of color hope that they would be seen not as a bunch of gangbangers, thugs and drug addicts but as a human beings; and it would allow for the possibility that many were better than the worst crimes they committed. It was no coincidence that defendants of color wanted to appear before me, the only Black judge among a sea of white jurists in a criminal court system overflowing with African American and Latinx defendants. The power of the racial connection is enormous; it’s also an enormous burden.
To his credit, during the nearly two years that he had been held in the jail pending his sentencing, Mr. Hill had been a model prisoner. He obtained his G.E.D., and successfully completed every educational and rehabilitation program that the jail had to offer (anger management, alcohol and drug recovery). And while he had found God, a common discovery among inmates, there was the possibility that Mr. Hill had, in fact, undergone a genuine transformation. The problem was that the law did not give me the discretion to do anything. Only the prosecutor had the authority to dismiss one of his strikes, and she chose not to.
Not long thereafter, I retired from the bench.
source: people.com
