In This Issue:

• NAWJ 2010-2011 President Hon. Marjorie Laird Carter, Board Officers Sworn in at 32nd Annual Conference in San Francisco
• NAWJ Women in Prison Committee to Mount 10th Anniversary Bayview Holiday Program, Beyond the Bars, in New York; Storybook Project Members to Attend Annual Family Day in Maryland’s Correctional Institution for Women, Subject of BBC Television
• SHORT VIDEO: Color of Justice Programs Continues with Drive from Members
• Take a Cruise to Alaska with NAWJ, May 22-29, 2011
• NAWJ Past President Judge Bernice Bouie Donald Nominated to the Sixth Circuit
• NAWJ Resource Board Member Sheila Hollis Honored by the Energy Bar Association
• Nominees Sought for Upcoming Vacancy on the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces
• 2011 Membership Directory Update Notice
• Donate to the Shirley A. Tolentino Memorial Scholarship
• Federal Bench Gender Snapshot
• SAVE THE DATE: NAWJ Midyear Meeting, March 11-13th, University of California, Irvine Law School; Hotel in Laguna Beach

A Year End Greeting to our Members,

We wish NAWJ members and supporters a holiday season that is merry and bright, and filled with the music of laughter and the warmth of friendship and love.
Happy Holidays!
Marie Komisar, Jeff Groton and Lavinia Cousin
Your National Association of Women Judges Staff

NAWJ 2010-2011 President Hon. Marjorie Laird Carter, Board Officers Sworn in at 32nd Annual Conference in San Francisco

The Annual Business Meeting held Saturday October 16th afternoon saw NAWJ elect its 31st President, California Superior Court Judge Marjorie Laird Carter. The Saturday meeting was the penultimate event of the Conference, of which over 350 people took part. NAWJ's successful 32nd Annual Conference in San Francisco was held at The Ritz Carlton from October 13 to October 17, 2010. The Conference Chair, Hon. Barbara Ann Zúñiga of the California Superior Court in Contra Costa County, created and presented one of the most stimulating, engaging and humanist experiences for any NAWJ audience.
 

NAWJ President Hon. Marjorie Laird Carter's Installation Remarks
San Francisco, October 16, 2010

The cry has been "we need more women on the bench." We need more diversity. It makes a difference.
Our speakers at this conference have shown that women on the bench do make a difference. NAWJ does make a difference in many lives. Actually, it is the members of NAWJ that make the difference.
There is a woman in Alaska, confident in getting a job when she is released from custody and looking forward to her life.
There is a child in St. Louis who has decided to stay in school and has found someone to be her friend and mentor, because of the Color of Justice Program.
There is a prisoner in New York that can give birth without being shackled. But not in California.
There is a law student in Ohio who was overwhelmed and now feels she has a direction and support along the way.
There are children in Virginia who listen to their mother read a bedtime story, even though she is incarcerated miles away.
There are judges throughout the world who feel more confident about handling their cases and know they can find the answers they need.

Because of our position on the bench, we are in a unique position to make a difference more than just in the courtroom. As we look at the many activities of NAWJ we see judges involved, helping to raise awareness in many areas.
We are only as strong as your involvement. There are a wide variety of opportunities -

• Arrange a program in your community such as Color of Justice
• Be a mentor for law students at Mentor Jet programs
• Join an NAWJ Committee (we have over 20!)
• Come up with ideas for programs and projects
• Encourage qualified women to apply for judicial positions at all levels
• Participate on an educational panel
• Help write an amicus brief

Finding resolutions to matters that primarily effect women can benefit all of us. These are not just "women's issues" and concerns.
Look back at what we have done since that day in 1979 when the few women judges met. With the increase in the number of women on the bench we can reach further and be more effective.
So do what you can, in your own way - you can make a difference to a woman in prison, a child in school, a judge in Africa - and do so much more.

*****

NAWJ 2010-2011 Board of Directors

Executive Committee
President
Hon. Marjorie Laird Carter
California Superior Court, Orange County
Newport Beach, CA

President-Elect
Hon. Amy L. Nechtem
Massachusetts Juvenile Court
Lynn, MA

Vice President, Districts
Hon. Julie E. Frantz
Multnomah County Circuit Court
Portland, OR

Vice President, Publications
Hon. Sheri S. Roman

Appellate Division Second Department
Kew Gardens, NY    Secretary
Hon. Tanya R. Kennedy
Civil Court
New York, NY

Treasurer
Hon. Elisabeth Ashlea Earle
County Court at Law #7
Austin, TX

Finance Committee Chair
Hon. Anna Blackburne-Rigsby
District of Columbia Court of Appeals
Washington, DC

Projects Committee Chair
Hon. Joan V. Churchill
Immigration Court (Retired)
Chevy Chase, MD

District Directors
District 1 (ME, MA, NH, PR, RI)
Hon. Ariane Vuono
Massachusetts Appeals Court, Boston

District 2 (CT, NY, VT)
TBD

District 3 (DE, NJ, PA, Virgin Islands)
Hon. Sandra Robinson
New Jersey State Administrative Law Court
Newark, New Jersey

District 4 (DC, MD, VA)
Hon. Julia B. Weatherly
Prince George's County Circuit Court, Maryland

District 5 (FL, GA, NC, SC)
Hon. Lisa S. Walsh
Miami-Dade County Court
North Miami, Florida

District 6 (AL, LA, MS, TN)
Hon. Sharon Gail Lee
Tennessee Supreme Court, Knoxville

District 7 (MI, OH, WV)
Hon. Katherine L. Hansen
36th District Court
Detroit, Michigan  

District 8 (IL, IN, KY)
Hon. Jane Spencer Craney
Morgan Superior Court 3
Martinsville, Indiana

District 9 (IA, MO, WI)
Hon. Ann Walsh Bradley
Wisconsin Supreme Court, Madison

District 10 (KS, MN, NE, ND, SD)
Hon. Maritza Segarra
Geary County District Court, 8th Judicial District
Junction City, Kansas

District 11 (AR, OK, TX)
Hon. Susan Criss
212th District Court
Galveston, Texas

District 12 (AZ, CO, NM, UT, WY)
Hon. Ann Scott Timmer
Court of Appeals, Division One
Phoenix, Arizona

District 13 (AK, HI, ID, MT, WA, OR)
Hon. Marilyn G. Paja
Kitsap County District Court
Port Orchard, Washington

District 14 (CA, NV)
Hon. Jamoa A. Moberly
California Superior Court, Orange County
Santa Ana, California

Status Directors
International Director
Hon. Sue Pai Yang
New Jersey Workers' Compensation Court
Newark, New Jersey    

ABA Delegate

Hon. Fernande R.V. Duffly
Massachusetts Appeals Court, Boston

 

Women in Prison Committee Holiday Activity

Family Day at the Correctional Institution for Women in Maryland
Judge Marielsa A. Bernard of the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, and founder of NAWJ's Storybook group announces participation in the Jessup Correctional Institution for Women's annual Family Day event to mark the holidays on Saturday, December 11. Near 200 children are expected to attend. The NAWJ Storybook Project will be hosting several tables for interactive activities with the inmate mothers and children, and is expected to be the subject of a BBC television news report. Several of the inmate mothers were already filmed by a reporter and crew at our last taping day, and the BBC crew plans to return to the Family Day event to film the children receiving the books.
For Family Day, the Storybook Project has planned the fun activities for both the mother and child designed to promote the mother/child bond, and to promote literacy. Each activity will have its own table and will include: Face Painting, Cookie Decorating, a Holiday Card Station, and a Read a Book Station.

Bayview Beyond the Bars Program in New York
The 2010 Bayview Beyond the Bars program will be held on Thursday, December 16, 2010, at the Bayview Correctional Facility. This will be the 10th Anniversary of the NAWJ Women in Prison Committee production of the Bayview Holiday Program, Beyond the Bars. Beyond the Bars is organized by 2010 NAWJ Mattie Belle Davis Honoree Judge Debra James.

Color of Justice Programs Continue

A Color of Justice Mentoring Conference in Cincinnati

As part of a daylong Color of Justice Mentoring Conference, which included MentorJet, then NAWJ President Justice Dana Fabe, and District Directors Judges Margaret Clark and Jane Craney gathered at the University of Cincinnati's College of Law to encourage the near 30 undergraduates who attended to pursue careers in law.
With a welcome from College of Law Dean Louis Bilionis, students heard from a panel consisting of Judge Nadine Lovelace Allen, Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas; Angelina Jackson, Staff Attorney, Justice and Policy Center; Nathaniel Lampley, Jr., Managing Partner, Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP; and Senator Eric H. Kearney, 9th District, Ohio.
Selene Martin, Director, LexisNexis Cares, and her team of LexisNexis staff prepared a relevant interactive learning program whose subject included the prospective mosque at 'Ground Zero' which helped students unpack how legal questions arise in our ever changing society. Assistant Dean Mina Jones Jefferson, and Professor of Clinical Law Marianna Brown Bettman were instrumental marking a successful mentoring achievement.
An Equal Access to Justice Scholarship was awarded to University of Cincinnati's College of Law Sapphire Diamant-Rink during the day's Luncheon.

"Judges Talk to Students About the Color of Justice"
NAWJ member San Francisco Superior Court Judge Charlene Kiesselbach chaired an exciting Color of Justice program in her courtroom on November 9. As well serving as the moderator for the panel of judges, an engaged group of 40 students from San Francisco's college prep Balboa High School, took part in two interactive panels, one of attorneys and another of consisting of judges. A guest ADA and defense attorney simulated arguments in a criminal proceeding. Eliza Rodrigues of Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold, and on behalf of the Queens Bench Bar Association, and LexisNexis' Roy S. Turner, Jr., Esq., a Court Solutions Manager took part in organizing efforts.

Read The Recorder's Kate Moser blog entry below:
Talking to high school students today, First District Justice Martin Jenkins recalled a moment when he experienced discrimination as a young lawyer.
He was a new prosecutor in the Alameda County district attorney's office, and he was working on the case against Huey Newton, the Black Panther leader accused of murder.
"About two months into that case, the bailiff in the courtroom had been seeing me every day," Jenkins told the group of Balboa High School law academy students, who were assembled in Judge Charlene Padovani Kiesselbach's courtroom in San Francisco. "One day I walked in the courtroom, and he looked at me, clearly recognized me, and said no family members of the defendant are allowed on this side of the courtroom," Jenkins said. "Ultimately what became clear to me was that he was bothered by the fact that this young black man was involved in this high-profile case. Sometimes in life there are people who have trouble with who you are and where you are, but you cannot allow that to limit where you go and how it is that you travel to get to the places that you want to get to."
Jenkins was joined on the panel -- part of a Color of Justice program for students exploring legal careers, presented by the National Association of Women Judges -- by Supreme Court Justice Ming Chin and judges Brenda Harbin-Forte on the Alameda bench and Suzanne Bolanos on the San Francisco bench.
"Decide what it is you want to be and go after it and just keep working," said Harbin-Forte, who noted that she defied the odds when she became a lawyer and a judge after having a baby when she was a teenager.

Cruise the Gulf of Alaska!
May 22-29, 2011

Dear NAWJ Member,
Judge Margie Carter, NAWJ President and Justice Dana Fabe, Immediate Past President have planned an NAWJ Mini-Conference onboard an Alaskan Cruise from May 22-29 of 2011.
At present, departure is set from Vancouver, B.C. on Sunday, May 22, sailing up the Inside Passage to Seward, Alaska, where we will disembark and travel two hours to Anchorage, Alaska for a reception hosted at Dana's log home in the foothills of the Chugach Range on Sunday evening, May 29. Stops would include Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, and College Fjord. Judicial Education session(s) would be provided onboard the ship:
The deposit for the cruise is currently $700, and is fully refundable until March 7.
NAWJ is working with the Holland America Line and the rates being offered (per person based on double occupancy) are:
Inside Cabin, cost per person, double occupancy = $749.00, including all meals and port fees. Taxes and fees of $117.50 are extra.
Outside Cabin, double occupancy = $949.00, including all meals and port fees. Taxes and fees of $117.50 are extra.
Additional Information:
A $75 per cabin shipboard credit will be provided for both types of cabin.
Prices do not include airfare to Vancouver and return from Anchorage. Anchorage has nonstop service to Seattle, Portland, Salt Lake, and Chicago, and one-stop service to most major U.S. airports.
Transportation is provided by Holland from Seward to Anchorage for $72 per person. This is not included in the price of the cruise.
These prices include a double upgrade of cabin, to a Large Inside cabin and a Large Outside cabin with full, unobstructed ocean view.
There will also be a conference cocktail reception on board. Shore excursion options are extra.
If you may be interested in participating, please email Jeff at jgroton@nawj.org so that we may get a rough idea of the number of cabins to block.
Below you will find the itinerary:
7-DAY GLACIER DISCOVERY - NORTHBOUND
Holland America Line
Ship: ms Statendam
Embark Port: Vancouver, B.C., CA
Disembark Port: Seward (Anchorage), Alaska US

22 May 2011 Vancouver, B.C., CA Depart 5:00pm
23 May 2011 Inside Passage Cruising Only
24 May 2011 Ketchikan, Alaska, US Arrive 7:00am - Depart 3:00pm
25 May 2011 Juneau, Alaska, US Arrive 8:00am - Depart310:30pm
26 May 2011 Skagway, Alaska, US Arrive 7:00am - Depart39:00pm
27 May 2011 Glacier Bay Cruising Only
28 May 2011 College Fjord Cruising Only
29 May 2011 Seward (Anchorage), Alaska US Arrive 6:00am

NAWJ Past President and United States District Judge for the Western District of Tennessee Bernice Bouie Donald Nominated by President Barack Obama for the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
In a statement, President Obama recognized Judge Donald's 28 years of judicial experience, 15 of which has been on the U.S. District Court for the Western Tennessee. "Judge Donald has shown an outstanding commitment to public service throughout her career and as a District Judge in Tennessee." I am proud to nominate her today for a seat on the United States Court of Appeals and I am confident she will serve the American people with distinction."
Judge Donald was born and raised in Desoto County, Mississippi. In the 1960s, Judge Donald was one of the first students to integrate Olive Branch High School. In 1974, she graduated from Memphis State University (now the University of Memphis) and in 1979 she received her law degree from the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law at Memphis State University.
After graduating from law school, Judge Donald worked briefly as a sole practitioner before accepting a position as a staff attorney at Memphis Area Legal Services, where she provided legal assistance to low-income individuals. In 1981, she joined the Shelby County Public Defender's Office. In 1982, Judge Donald was elected to serve as a judge on the Court of General Sessions in Shelby County, making her the first female African-American judge in the history of Tennessee. In 1988, she became the first female African-American federal bankruptcy judge in the nation when she was appointed to that position by the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Judge Donald currently serves as the Secretary of the American Bar Association. She was NAWJ's eleventh President serving in 1990-91.

NAWJ Resource Board Member Sheila Hollis Honored by the Energy Bar Association and the Charitable Foundation of the Energy Bar Association with the Paul E. Nordstrom Service Award
A longtime supporter of NAWJ, for whom some may know as our gracious host before meetings on Capitol Hill, Sheila Hollis is chair of Duane Morris LLP's Washington, D.C. office and a member of the firm's Executive Committee and Partners' Board. She is a partner in its Energy, Environment and Resources Practice Group. The Paul E. Nordstrom Service Award recognizes bar members who demonstrate exemplary long-term service or a particularly significant example of public service to the community. Paul Nordtrom's widow, Dr. Kathleen Henry, will present the award to Ms. Hollis on December 9 at the Energy Bar Association's Eighth Annual Fundraising Gala, "Empower By Giving," in conjunction with its Mid-Year Meeting, in Washington, D.C.

Nominees Sought for Upcoming Vacancy on the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces
Current Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAAF) Chief Judge Andrew Effron will retire on September 30, 2011. His replacement cannot be a Republican, as no more than three of the members of the Court may be from the same political party, and three Republicans currently sit on CAAF. Additionally, no person who retires after more than 20 years of active military service is eligible for appointment.
If you have ideas for potential nominees from among our members or others who meet these criteria, please contact them and advise them of the vacancy. NAWJ member Judge Denise Vowell who brought this circumstance to our attention will be happy to collect any names and resumes, and answer questions. She looks forward to your feedback

Contact:
Denise Vowell
Chair, Military Courts Committee
Special Master, U.S. Court of Federal Claims
2011 Membership Directory Update Notice
If you haven't already replied to our annual email request for updates to the Membership Directory please take a moment to send Lavinia (lcousin@nawj.org) any new or revised information you have not sent already.
In Memoriam: NAWJ Past President the Honorable Shirley A. Tolentino, 1943-2010
The Honorable Shirley A. Tolentino, a Hudson County judge for 26 years and the first African-American woman to serve on New Jersey's Superior Court bench, died Oct. 31. She was 67.
NAWJ President from 1996-97, Judge Tolentino was also the first African-American woman judge on the Jersey City Municipal Court and was its first black presiding judge.
Shirley Tolentino joined NAWJ in 1980, and in 1985 she served as NAWJ's Treasurer and Chair of the Committee on Minorities. In 1996 when she was President-Elect, she and other NAWJ board members met with President William Clinton in the Oval Office and presented him a plaque for his commitment to women in the judiciary. She then later that year led a delegation of NAWJ members to IAWJ's Third Biennial Conference in the Philippines.
Among her proudest NAWJ accomplishments were submitting the Gender Fairness Strategies: Maximizing our Gains proposal to the State Justice Institute; completing a report on expert testimony in the defense of battered women; participation in the Leadership Institute at the University of Memphis; projects that work in implementation of the Violence Against Women Act; and assisting "our sisters" at IAWJ.
In 2002 then NAWJ President Karla Moskowitz presented Judge Tolentino with the NAWJ Excellence in Service Award during the ABA's Annual Meeting. Judge Tolentino remarked that her year as President of NAWJ and strengthening the bond between NAWJ and the ABA, as well as the NBA, a national bar association of black lawyers, were her most memorable experiences.
Click here to read account of funeral, and see a small photo gallery.

The family requests contributions be made to:
The Hudson County Bar Association Foundation - Shirley A. Tolentino Scholarship
583 Newark Avenue
Jersey City, NJ 07306
Phone: (201) 798-4708
or
Saint Elizabeth College - Shirley A. Tolentino Scholarship which is in the process of being established.
Contributions should be made payable to the scholarship and mailed to:
Dr. Ernesto Tolentino
41 Gifford Avenue
Jersey City, New Jersey 07304
Phone: (973) 290-4000
Federal Bench Gender Snapshot
Thanks to Lynn Schafran for this trend chart of women on the federal bench. Click here to see the trend.

Events
NAWJ 2011 Midyear Leadership Conference
The NAWJ 2011 Midyear Leadership Conference will take place March 11-13, 2011 in Laguna Beach, California. Click here to view the tentative program schedule.
NAWJ 2011 Annual Conference
The NAWJ 2011 Annual Conference will take place in Newark, New Jersey October 12 - 16, 2011 at the Hilton Newark Penn Station. Click here for more information on the Conference's website.
The NAWJ 2012 Annual Conference will take place in Miami, Florida.
The NAWJ 2013 Annual Conference will take place in New Orleans, Louisiana.

NAWJ
Mission Statement:
The National Association of Women Judges' mission is to: Promote the judicial role of protecting the rights of individuals under the rule of law through strong, committed, diverse judicial leadership, fairness and equality in the courts, and equal access to justice.

About NAWJ:
Since its formation in 1979, NAWJ has inspired and lead the American judiciary in achieving fairness and equality for vulnerable populations. Led by two visionary women - Justice Joan Dempsey Klein and Justice Vaino Spencer - 100 brave and intrepid women judges met and formed an organization dedicated to the following ideals: ensuring equal justice and access to the courts for all including women, youth, the elderly, minorities, the underprivileged, and people with disabilities; providing judicial education on cutting-edge issues of importance; developing judicial leaders; increasing the number of women on the bench in order for the judiciary to more accurately reflect the role of women in a democratic society; and improving the administration of justice to provide gender-fair decisions for both male and female litigants.

From the day it was founded, NAWJ has been committed to diversity in our membership. Our organization welcomes both men and women. We include appellate, trial, tribal, administrative law judges, state and federal judges, and members from every state in the nation.

NAWJ takes pride in its accomplishments. We were at the forefront in the establishment and implementation of gender bias task forces in both federal and state courts. We have greatly advanced the administration of justice in areas of domestic violence, child support and child custody, and the treatment of women in the courts of America. We also are respected as a leader in educating judges on bioethics, elderly abuse, the sentencing of women offenders with substance abuse problems; improving conditions for women in prison; and the problems facing immigrants in our court system. Currently we are developing curricula on the effect of genetic advances on women and vulnerable populations, the impact of international law on state and federal courts, and cognitively disabled persons in criminal courts.

In addition to addressing these and other important issues, NAWJ provides an opportunity for judges to meet and discuss professional issues of mutual concern in a supportive atmosphere. Connecting with others with the same values, we laugh, enjoy life and mentor one another nationwide.