March 13, 2018

They joke about being “seasoned” judges or “baby” judges. The talk about conferencing about cases and seeking out advice from one another, and gaining support from one another as they are buffeted by the trauma and conflict of the humans of all ages that end up in their courtrooms.

They are the women of the Mecklenburg District Court.

While so many forums focus on questions judges are ethically bound not to answer because such issues might later come up in cases presented to them, Tuesday’s program of short introductions and lots of questions brought out many issues that the judges felt quite comfortable addressing:

How do you cope? What alternatives to incarceration can you assign guilty defendants to? Where do we find info on judge candidates? With full-time jobs, how do you remain active in community organizations? Who’s working to create a veterans court?

In the video, the presentations begin at minute 11:02. The Q&A begins at minute 20:04. A short address by District Attorney Spencer Merriweather begins at minute 1:16:29.