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Her honor : my life on the bench ... what works, what's broken, and how to change it / LaDoris Hazzard Cordell.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : Celadon Books, 2021Edition: First EditionDescription: xxvi, 309 pages ; 25 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781250269607
  • 1250269601
Subject(s): Genre/Form:
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.
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. Provided by publisher.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Notes Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Dr. James Carlson Library Biography CORDELL, L. C794 Available bite marks on top corner of front cover. 5/30/2023 33111010602270
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library Biography CORDELL, L. C794 Available 33111010745418
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

In Her Honor , Judge LaDoris Hazzard Cordell provides a rare and thought-provoking insider account of our legal system, sharing vivid stories of the cases that came through her courtroom and revealing the strengths, flaws, and much-needed changes within our courts.

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.

Her Honor is an entertaining and provocative look into the hearts and minds of judges. 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.

Cordell's candid account of her years on the bench shines light on all areas of the legal system, from juvenile delinquency and the shift from rehabilitation to punishment, along with the racial biases therein, to the thousands of plea bargains that allow our overburdened courts to stay afloat--as long as innocent people are willing to plead guilty. There are tales of marriages and divorces, adoptions, and contested wills--some humorous, others heartwarming, still others deeply troubling.

Her Honor is for anyone who's had the good or bad fortune to stand before a judge or sit on a jury. It is for true-crime junkies and people who vote in judicial elections. Most importantly, this is a book for anyone who wants to know what our legal system, for better or worse, means to the everyday lives of all Americans.

Includes index.

"My life on the bench ... what works, what's broken, and how to change it"--Cover.

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.

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. Provided by publisher.

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