New Jersey’s legal system has become more diverse over the last quarter-century, chipping away at the glass ceiling for women and minorities.
But more work remains, acknowledged Glenn Grant, state administrative director of the courts, addressing a Law Day gathering in the Morris County Courthouse on Wednesday.
The point was underscored by Michael Paul Wright, appointed in 2007 as the first Black judge in the Morris/Sussex vicinage of state Superior Court.
“Fifteen years later, I remain the only Black judge in the vicinage. If a community is to trust its local judiciary, then the bench must reflect to some degree the makeup of that community,” Wright said, in video remarks played for guests at the opening of Black Pioneers in the Law, an exhibition in which he is featured prominently.
Sponsored in part by Bethel A.M.E. Church and the nonprofit Art in the Atrium Inc., the exhibit runs through Juneteenth in the jury assembly room of the courthouse in Morristown.
Law Day was established by President Eisenhower in 1958 to remind Americans of the central role the law plays in our democracy. On the heels of a global pandemic, that reminder is worth revisiting, said Morris/Sussex Assignment Judge Stuart Minkowitz.
Slideshow photos by Kevin Coughlin. Click/hover on images for captions:
“During a period of personal struggle for so many, with a war in Europe, and social and political discord, Law Day provides an opportunity for us to commemorate our shared national idea of liberty and justice and equality under the law. And it affords us an opportunity to rededicate ourselves to those great principles,” Minkowitz said.
A string ensemble from Morristown High School played America the Beautiful, and a sea of black-robed judges and prosecutors pledged allegiance to flags held high by an honor guard from the Morris Sheriff’s Office in historic Court Room Number One of the 1827 courthouse.
Chris Schellhorn Jr., president of the Morris County Bar Foundation and Morris County’s chief assistant prosecutor, presented a plaque to students from West Morris Mendham High School, second-place finishers in a statewide mock trial competition. (The school has bested other Morris schools for 18 straight years.)
The afternoon’s theme was Cornerstones of Democracy: Civics, Civility, and Collaboration. While the Constitution is a “brilliant roadmap” for democracy, it’s not enough on its own, cautioned Steven Loewenthal, president of the Morris County Bar Association.
“It requires everyone in this country, frankly, to care about democracy and freedom,” he said.
Increasingly, we get bogged down in controversies, losing sight of common goals and becoming so divided that we stop discussing issues, the lawyer asserted.
“Hopefully today …will remind us of what we all want, which is a country where the Constitution and the rule of law is respected, but also where we respect the opinions of our fellow Americans.
“This great national experiment can only succeed if we respect each other’s differences. I feel strongly about that. Protect each other’s freedoms to express those differences, to celebrate our differences. And only that way can we ensure that we, the people, can choose our own fate and make our own future, free from tyranny,” Loewenthal said.
‘REALISTIC IS WAY OVER-RATED’
The Pioneers reception included keynotes from Rashad Shabaka-Burns, former trial court administrator for the vicinage, and Donita Judge, associate executive director of the nonprofit Center for Constitutional Rights.
Judge was a flight attendant until 9/11, when her best friend died on United Flight 93. She opted to refocus on her childhood dream of arguing Civil Rights cases. The Rutgers Law School graduate has spent much of her second career fighting voter suppression; in 2008, she successfully beat back attempts to disenfranchise 600,000 voters in her native Ohio.
“The path I took was not the normal path… I did not choose to be a voting rights attorney. Somewhere along the way, I was chosen,” said the Morris County resident, who was one of seven children. She advised young people to be open to unexpected opportunities.
“Don’t make any plans, because someone has already has written your script,” Judge said.
Judge Wright said he, too, never could have envisioned his trajectory, from running a successful law practice to becoming Morris County’s first Black assistant prosecutor en route to his trailblazing judicial appointment. A guidance counselor once suggested he set his sights on “something more realistic.”
“I’m here to tell anyone who will listen–realistic is way overrated,” Wright said, encouraging “everyone to dream, and dream big. Then do the work, and be persistent and tenacious in pursuit of those dreams.”
He closed by imploring his fellow judges to stay humble.
“Remember: Many, if not most of the decisions you will make, are going to affect litigants in significant, dare I say, life-altering ways,” Wright said.
“Be diligent. Seek justice. Be kind.”
Sam, those would be problems and not “issues.”
walk to cars
Lets not lose sight of what is happening in our Morristown Parking Authority and how embarrassing it is to bring outside guest to a place that once was safe, clean and bright for customers and now is none of those things. Elevators continue to be out of order making wheel-chair accessibility hard, light bulbs out at night makes it dangerous to talk to cars, no police presence makes it unsafe for females and males, unclean full of cans and bottles on ground…. unacceptable. Why not address these issues?