Association of African American California Judicial Officers, Inc.
NEWSLETTER - VOLUME XXVI
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HAPPY MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. DAY
AAACJO CELEBRATES AND HONORS THE MAN,
HIS MISSION, AND HIS LEGACY
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Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., originally, Michael Luther King, Jr., was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, but subsequently changed his name to Martin. Dr. King’s father and grandfather served as pastors at Ebenezer Baptist Church, and Dr. King continued the tradition from 1960 until his death in 1968.
Dr. King attended Georgia’s segregated schools, and graduated from high school when he was 15 years-old. He then attended the prestigious Morehouse College, a historically Black college from which both his father and grandfather graduated. He received his bachelor’s degree in 1948, and then after three years of study at Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania, he earned a Bachelor of Divinity in 1951. Dr. King received his doctorate degree in theology at Boston University in 1955. During his tenure in Boston, Dr. King met Coretta Scott, who was studying voice at the New England Conservatory of Music. After a 16-month courtship, the two were married by Dr. King’s father in 1953, and started a family: two sons and two daughters.
Dr. King was always a prolific operative for the civil rights of African Americans, and was a member of the executive committee of the NAACP. In December 1955, Dr. King led the first great nonviolent demonstration of contemporary times in the United States—the Montgomery Bus Boycott—after Rosa Parks’ arrest for refusing to surrender her seat to a white person. It was a seminal event in the civil rights movement. The boycott lasted 382 days. During those days, Dr. King was arrested, his home was bombed, and he was subjected to great personal abuse; yet, he persevered. On December 21, 1956, the Supreme Court of the United States declared unconstitutional the laws requiring segregation on buses.
In 1957, Dr. King was elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which was founded to provide new leadership for the growing civil rights movement. During his 11-year tenure until his death in 1968, Dr. King embraced ideals from his Christian roots, as well as operational techniques from Mohandas Gandhi, to fight injustices. He spoke at more than 2,500 events, authored five books, and wrote numerous articles. Dr. King led a massive protest in Birmingham, Alabama, and in the process, caught the world’s attention. It inspired his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”,
a response to eight white Alabama clergymen who criticized Dr. King for his activism and advised Blacks they should be patient.
Dr. King emphasized that the protests were a necessary action based on the current social and political conditions of African Americans that were rooted in systemic racism that white authorities had ignored for far too long.
Dr. King planned drives in Alabama to register African Americans to vote; he directed the peaceful march on Washington, D.C., of 250,000 people to whom he delivered his address, “I Have a Dream”; he conferred with President John F. Kennedy and campaigned for President Lyndon B. Johnson; he was awarded five honorary degrees; he was named Man of the Year by
Time
magazine in 1963; and became not only the symbolic leader of African Americans, but also a world figure. When he was 35 years-old, Dr. King became the youngest man awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
On the evening of April 4, 1968, while standing on the balcony of his motel room in Memphis, Tennessee, Dr. King was assassinated. He was 39 years-old.
Thank you, Dr. King, for your courageous leadership, your fortitude, and your sacrifices. Thank you for daring to change the world.
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AAACJO'S
FOUNDING MEMBER
KEVIN BRAZILE
TO RECEIVE A PRESTIGIOUS HONOR
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Presiding Judge Kevin Brazile
The Metropolitan News Enterprise will be honoring Founding Member Presiding Judge Kevin Brazile at its 32nd Annual “Persons of the Year” Dinner on Friday, January 31, 2020. The black-tie affair will be held at the California Club, 538 South Flower Street, in Downtown Los Angeles, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $220 per person, and RSVPs are required by January 24, 2020. For more information, see below.
Congratulations to Presiding Judge Kevin Brazile for this well-deserved honor!
We hope you will join us on Jan. 31 for the
32nd
Annual
“Persons of the Year” Dinner
Honoring
K
EVIN
B
RAZILE
Presiding Judge, Los Angeles Superior Court
R
ONALD
F. B
ROT
President, Los Angeles County Bar Association
S
ELMA
M
OIDEL
S
MITH
Attorney, Composer
Emcee:
Former Los Angeles District Attorney Robert H. Philibosian
Presenters will be Los Angeles Superior Court Presiding Judge Kevin Brazile (conferring scrolls on the other honorees), Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey, Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, Los Angeles Police Chief Michel R. Moore; and Los Angeles County Bar Association President Ronald Brot (presenting to the other honorees).
$220 per person; $2,100 for a table of 10 if payment is by a single check
or credit card or PayPal transaction.
PLEASE NOTE: Some computers--such as those at the Los Angeles Superior Court--are set up to block online payments such as those via PayPal. If you encounter that, please use a different computer or telephone (213) 346-0033 to put the charge on your credit card.
Reservations are required; no tickets will be sold at the door
Deadline for Reservations: Jan. 24 (unless sold out earlier).
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AAACJO FOUNDING MEMBERS
JUDGE SAMANTHA JESSNER
AND
JUDGE MICHELLE WILLIAMS COURT
TO PRESENT AT CJA AND
RUTTER GROUP JOINT PROGRAM
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Judge Samantha Jessner and Judge Michelle Williams Court
Founding Members Judge Samantha Jessner and Judge Michelle Williams Court are participating in the Joint Rutter/CJA Program on February 22, 2020. Judge Jessner is planning the program with Justice Lee Edmon and Attorney Phil Cook. This is the second time that Judge Jessner has planned this program with Justice Edmon. They presented a technology and trial program in 2018. Judge Jessner also participates in Rutter’s Civil Law Update every year with Justice Edmon and Judge Keith Karnow, and has participated (and assisted Justice Edmon in planning) Rutter’s Civil Procedure Before Trial two-day seminar.
Judge Jessner recruited both AAACJO Founding Members Judge Williams Court and Judge Rupert A. Byrdsong to participate in the February program. Judge Williams Court will be serving on a panel entitled, “Professional Witnesses Take the Stand – Admissibility Issues After
Sargon
and
Sanchez.”
Judge Jessner will be serving on a panel entitled, “Empaneling a Jury: Selecting and Connecting with the Fact Finder.” The name of the entire program is “Examining Trial Issues – A to Z (with a few stops along the way): The Masters’ Perspectives.” Judge Williams Court also regularly participates in Rutter’s Personal Injury Update.
Congratulations to Judges Jessner and Williams Court on these notable achievements!
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AAACJO’s Midyear Meeting will be held on
Friday
,
March 13, 2020,
at
7:30 p.m.
, at the Monterey Plaza Hotel, located at 400 Cannery Row, Monterey, CA 93940. CJA’s Midyear Conference will also be held at the same venue from March 12-14, 2020. AAACJO's meeting is listed in CJA's Midyear Conference brochure. The room assignment for AAACJO’s Annual Meeting will be identified at the conference. All members are encouraged to attend. We look forward to seeing you there!
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Annual membership fees in the amount of $50 for General Members are due on
January 20, 2020
. For General Members who wish to avoid annual dues and upgrade to Lifetime Membership, AAACJO’s Executive Board has established a Lifetime Membership
payment plan
for those who do not wish to make a one-time payment of $450. Instead, members may make four equal payments of $112.50, due quarterly (January, April, July, and October). If you are interested in upgrading to Lifetime Membership pursuant to the payment plan, please advise Secretary Carla L. Garrett at carla.garrett@dgs.ca.gov and mail your first payment to the following address:
AAACJO
6709 La Tijera Blvd.
Box 339
Los Angeles, CA 90045
Thank you for your continued support of AAACJO.
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2020
JUDICIAL INTERN OPPORTUNITY PROGRAM
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The American Bar Association's Section of Litigation invites you to participate in this summer’s 2020 Judicial Intern Opportunity Program (JIOP). JIOP places diverse and economically disadvantaged law students with judges for summer internships. Over the past 19 years, 2,800 students have interned with judges through JIOP, including 158 students this past summer. Summer 2020 proudly marks ABA's 20th anniversary of advancing diversity and inclusion in the profession.
Judges determine which students they interview and ultimately hire. Volunteer lawyers evaluate students' qualifications for the internship and recommend students for judicial consideration. Application materials from students who score competitively will be sent to you and other judges to be considered for interviews and internships.
Judges receive student materials for consideration by mid-January, or as soon as first semester grades are available. Students are notified when they move on to the judicial review stage but do not know where their materials are sent.
Judges should only interview students they are interested in considering for placement. In addition, in order to ensure all applicants are considered, individual student materials will be sent to more than one judge for review.
Students are expected to accept the first internship they are offered through the program and must accept offers within 24 hours. Students are required to intern for a minimum of six weeks for 32 hours per week. Individual judges determine each intern's working hours and other conditions of employment. Many judges require students to stay longer than the six week minimum. Students selected to the program are awarded $2,000 to help offset some of the expenses associated with the summer placement.
ABA is currently accepting applications from first-year and second-year students. ABA hopes you will reserve a position in your chambers for a JIOP intern and appreciate your partnership in this critically important diversity initiative. For judges interested in participating in this year's program, click on the button below.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
Please review and support the events listed below. Part of our organization’s purpose is to support each other and to participate in outreach activities in support of our bar associations and community. It is also important to share information, when you become aware, that celebrates the accomplishments of other judicial officers, whether work related or otherwise. To do so, please contact
President Laura Walton at LWalton@lacourt.org,
Immediate Past President Bobbi Tillmon at
BTillmon@lacourt.org
or Secretary Carla L. Garrett at
Carla.Garrett@dgs.ca.gov
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CJA MIDYEAR CONFERENCE
MARCH
12 - 14, 2020
MONTEREY, CA
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SAVE THE DATE!
JUDICIAL COUNCIL OF CABL-NORTH
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
JUDGES DINNER
(
Invitations to Follow)
FEBRUARY 28, 2020
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On Their Shoulders
A Tribute to African American Judges
Claremont Country Club
5295 Broadway Terrace, Oakland, CA
Friday, February 28, 2020
5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Tickets $125
A Program for Judicial Officers Only
Remember to Bring Your Robes for a Group Photo - 6 p.m.
Featuring a Fireside Chat
Hon. Martin Jenkins (Ret.) & Hon. Thelton Henderson
Award Winners To Be Announced
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NBA MIDYEAR CONFERENCE
MARCH
19 - 21, 2020
ATLANTA, GA
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SAVE THE DATE!
CABL CONFERENCE
APRIL 23 - 26, 2020
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SAVE THE DATE!
IAWL BIENNIAL CONFERENCES
MAY 7 - 10, 2020
AUSTRALIA
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SAVE THE DATE!
NBA INTERNATIONAL AFFILIATES MEETING
MAY 23, 2020
AMSTERDAM, THE HAGUE, BRUSSELS & PARIS
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SAVE THE DATE!
NBA ANNUAL CONVENTION
JULY
25 - 30, 2020
WASHINGTON, DC
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OUTREACH TO NEW MEMBERS
The purpose of the Association of African American California Judicial Officers, Inc. (AAACJO) shall be to promote the common professional interests of its membership by (1) improving the administration of justice; (2) considering matters concerning the judiciary and specific issues and concerns impacting the African-American community; (3) supporting the Code of Judicial Ethics; (4) promoting the interchange of ideas and encouraging cooperation among members; (5) promoting diversity amongst the bar and the judiciary; (6) communicating, educating, and networking among African American judicial officers, other members of the judiciary, bar associations and the general community; and (7) mentoring and application support of judicial candidates.
A member application appears on AAACJO's website: AAACJO.org. Invite a colleague to join you and other Appellate Court Justices, State Court Judges and Commissioners, Administrative Law Judges, and the State Bar Court, statewide.
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PLEASE SHARE
Should you discover information concerning the achievements, recognition, or milestones of any AAACJO member, please share the news with President Laura Walton at LWalton@lacourt.org, Immediate Past President Bobbi Tillmon at BTillmon@lacourt.org or Secretary Carla L. Garrett at Carla.Garrett@dgs.ca.gov, so that we can include the news in upcoming AAACJO newsletters.
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Association of African American California Judicial Officers, Inc.
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