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Her honor : my life on the bench-- what works, what's broken, and how to change it

Call Number

  • 921 C7944 (CEN)

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Edition

First edition.

Publication Information

New York : Celadon Books, 2021.

Physical Description

xxvi, 309 pages ; 25 cm

Summary

Judge Cordell, the first African American woman to sit on the Superior Court of Northern California, knows firsthand how prejudice has permeated our legal system. And yet, she believes in the system. From ending school segregation to legalizing same-sex marriage, its progress relies on legal professionals and jurors who strive to make the imperfect system as fair as possible. Cordell takes you into her chambers where she haggles with prosecutors and defense attorneys and into the courtroom during jury selection and sentencing hearings. She uses real cases to highlight how judges make difficult decisions, all the while facing outside pressures from the media, law enforcement, lobbyists, and the friends and families of the people involved.

Notes

Includes index.

Contents

  • Introduction. Bitten by the judge bug
  • Trials and tribulations in juvenile court. Les enfants terribles: criminal cases ; Making a murderer: the felony murder rule
  • Domesticity and its discontents. Family matters: marriage and divorce ; Where there's a will: court battles over the dearly departed ; Would you be mine?: adoptions ; The name game: name changes
  • Juries and judges. Thank you for your service: jury duty ; Judges for sale: judicial elections ; Bad judges: judicial misconduct ; J'accuse!: judges under attack
  • Hot-button Issues. Bacchus unbound: the drunk driving dilemma ; It's all in your head: mental health cases ; Parsing sentences: judicial discretion ; The art of the plea deal: the plea bargain dilemma
  • Conclusion. The fix: ten suggestions for reform ; In my end is my beginning.

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