CALIFORNIA SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE, MARJORIE LAIRD CARTER, ELECTED PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF WOMEN JUDGES

(San Francisco, California.) Orange County Superior Court Judge Marjorie Laird Carter has been elected President of the National Association of Women Judges (NAWJ), the nation's leading voice for women jurists. An active member since 1990, she has held all major offices and served on numerous committees. She becomes NAWJ's 31st President.

Judge Carter was appointed to the California Trial Court in 1990 and later appointed to the Central Municipal Court, Orange County California and elevated to the Orange County Superior Court upon Court Unification in 1998. She served as Presiding Judge of the Central Municipal Court and the Statewide Court Finance Committees. A former teacher, Judge Carter continues to be active in judicial education and has served on the faculty for trial court budgeting, probate and ethics courses.

Born in Tennessee, Judge Carter's family moved to Pasadena, California where she grew up. She attended Chapman University in Orange, California, taught elementary school, had two children, and then went to Irvine University School of Law. She was an associate in several small law firms and in private practice focusing on business and corporate law and probate matters, prior to her appointment to the bench by Governor Deukmejian.

Judge Carter said, "Throughout its history, NAWJ has been steadfast in its mission of service - service to vulnerable populations, to each other, to our profession, to our communities, and, ultimately, to our nation as a whole. I have benefited personally and professionally from NAWJ's vision and commitment, and I've seen so many others benefit as well. This organization has given much to me, and I'm delighted to have the opportunity to give back."

NAWJ is dedicated to preserving judicial independence, ensuring equal justice and access to the courts for women, minorities and other historically disfavored groups, providing judicial education on cutting-edge issues, and increasing the numbers and advancement of women judges at all levels to more accurately reflect their full participation in a democratic society. Its approximately 1,200 members include federal, state, tribal, military and administrative law judges at both the appellate and trial levels from every state in the nation.

Judge Marjorie Laird Carter's term of office as NAWJ President began on October 16, 2010. She will serve for one year. For more on the National Association of Women Judges, visit www.nawj.org.

For more information contact Marie Komisar 202-393-0222 ext 10.