Tell us about your community growing up. Looking back, how did they shape who you are now?

My family is my source of strength and inspiration. My mother grew up in North Carolina under “Jim Crow” laws. My father was the first generation son of Jamaican immigrants. Despite the deep and systemic discrimination they faced in this country, they were both devoted to constitutional ideals of equality and justice.   

I was born in Washington, DC, at a time when our nation’s capital was still legally segregated under Jim Crow laws. Because they believed so strongly in the ideals of equality and justice, my parents were dedicated to the civil rights movement. When I was a young child, my parents participated in the 1963 March on Washington, where they were so moved by Dr. Martin  Luther King, Jr., delivering his “I Have a Dream” speech. They shared the story of that experience often and felt that they played an important role in history. From my parents, I understood that I, too, had a role to play in Dr.  King’s vision of a just American society.

When I was still a young child, my parents moved us back to Queens,  New York. Our house was right around the corner from my paternal grandparents. We had a close-knit extended family, with many Sunday dinners hosted by my grandmother.  

Describe your journey to law school. What motivated you to enroll?

When I was in high school, my mother went to law school, and she later became a judge on the New York State Supreme Court. Later on, my mother and I were both judges at the same time, and I drew great inspiration from her career. My father was a local elected official in Queens. My parents were active in our church, which we attended every Sunday. They were also devoted to civic action and community organizing. Because of their example and their teachings, I knew that I wanted to be a lawyer early on. This was during the years of the civil rights movement in this country. I recall vivid images on the television of civil rights protests and the very sad day when Dr.  King was assassinated. Through my mother, I learned that law can transform  society, and through my father, I learned commitment to public service and community. 

What was your law school experience like?

Though I attended Duke University for my undergraduate education, I  always knew that I wanted to attend the historic Howard University School of  Law in the District of Columbia, where I was born. My father had attended  Howard University as an undergraduate. He was so proud of his time as a  student at Howard University, which was at the forefront of the civil rights movement. I was also motivated to attend Howard because of its legacy and its inspiring alumni, like former Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall,  and Charles Hamilton Houston, former Dean of Howard Law School and first chief counsel to the NAACP. Howard Law instilled in me a sense of urgency to use my legal training to work for justice and equality for all people. I experienced a strong sense of community with my classmates and my professors, and we shared a commitment and devotion to public service. It is such a unique place, and I look back at my time there with great fondness. I remain very active at Howard Law School and have hired many interns and law clerks from there. My time at Duke and my time at Howard provided contrasting experiences, and I learned and grew from both.  

Did you know about appellate work in law school? If not, when and how did it first get on your radar and why were you drawn to it?

While at Howard, I served as the lead articles editor of the Howard Law  Journal and co-captain of the Charles Hamilton Houston Moot Court Team.  Charles Hamilton Houston is a particular hero of mine, as he was one of the chief architects of the legal strategy used to overturn many Jim Crow segregation laws around the country. He saw potential in the use of law as an instrument for social change. Although I began my career as a litigator and a  trial judge, I was drawn to appellate work as a judge because appellate law in particular has tremendous potential to impact legal precedent. 

Tell us about one of your appellate/Supreme Court cases that you found particularly meaningful.

Overall, I am proud to be a judge because of the role of the judiciary in ensuring access to justice. I take very seriously my oath to uphold the tenets of equal justice for all—regardless of race, sex, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or any other factor. I undertake comprehensive preparations to make sure I am reviewing each case as a whole and assessing each case individually. Because the D.C. Court of Appeals is the court of last resort in the District of Columbia, we must ensure that the parties receive their fair day  in court.

As for a particular meaningful case, in Jones v. United States, 262 A.3d  1114, 1124 (D.C. 2021), we considered whether the appellant was denied her  Sixth Amendment right to counsel when her attorney failed to call an expert witness related to the unreliability of eyewitness testimony. We analyzed the growing scientific and judicial consensus that eyewitness accounts may be fallible and that expert testimony is needed to explain the facts that may affect identification. Because the government’s case hinged on eyewitness testimony, and because the omission prejudiced the appellant, we remanded for a new trial. The importance of the right to effective counsel, particularly during a criminal trial, cannot be understated.  

How often do you encounter women, particularly women of color, in the appellate field? Why do you think that representation is important?

This is an issue that is very important to me; indeed, I authored a journal article on black women judges. Black Women Judges: The Historical  Journey of Black Women to the Nation’s Highest Courts, 53 Howard. L. J.  645 (2010). Additionally, I have been president of the National Association of Women Judges, a member of the International Association of Women  Judges, and served as chair of the Judicial Council of the Washington Bar  Association, an organization of African-American judges and lawyers. Through each of these organizations, I have been working on several initiatives to increase diversity and access to justice.   

Diversity within the judiciary and among appellate practitioners is critical to equal access to justice. The judiciary and lawyers should reflect the population they serve. There is also good evidence that diversity in the judiciary promotes public confidence and belief that a party will receive fair treatment.   

Undoubtedly, progress has been made in increasing the representation of women in this field, but more work still needs to be done. While the majority of law students are female, in 2023, there are still far fewer female appellate judges than male appellate judges, and most states still have no black women judges at the appellate level. Currently, I am one of twenty women who are the chief justices of their state’s highest courts. That is an amazing accomplishment. However, there are only four African-American chief justices of the state court systems. Overall, I strongly believe that we need to do more work to support women and people of color in the legal profession.   

What advice would you give to a law student of color who aspires to be where you are now?

I encourage you to work hard and strive for excellence, so that you can give your best to the people you serve. Also, it is important to have values and principles and live by them. I have three guiding principles – Faith, Family, and Fortitude—that have guided me my entire life. Do not let obstacles limit you; instead, use challenges to make yourself stronger.   

I also encourage forming authentic relationships to provide a  community and support network to help you grow in the profession. I encourage sustained membership in civic and bar organizations to work towards common goals. For example, the National Association of Women  Judges has a Color of Justice program, which encourages people of diverse backgrounds to pursue law careers. In the same vein, I also highly encourage you to seek out mentors and, in turn, mentor others who come after you. The National Association of Women Judges also has the MentorJet program,  which connects mentors and law students.  

I also encourage the pursuit of internships and clerkships. No matter what type of law you practice later, an internship or clerkship provides fundamental legal research and writing skills, as well as advocacy and critical thinking skills, and helps to foster mentoring relationships.   

What’s one thing law schools and/or the appellate bar can do to ensure our highest courts are representative of all our communities?

The good news is that courts are starting to work on increasing diversity and representation. In 2021, the Blueprint for Racial Justice in State Courts was launched as part of an endeavor between the National Conference of Chief Justices, the Conference of State Court Administrators, and the National  Center for State Courts. As part of this initiative, I chair the working group on Improving Diversity of the Bench, Bar, and Workforce. It is important to intentionally target diversity in the judiciary as a goal. The judiciary itself can foster a more diverse group by its appointment powers in class actions, special masters, mediators, and arbitrators, as well as bar committee members.   

Judges can benefit from being intentional in hiring diverse pools of law clerks. To make sure that diverse candidates have a fair shot, United States  District Court Judge Vince Chhabria has suggested implementing the  “Rooney Rule” for hiring, in which a judge will commit to interviewing diverse candidates before filling clerkship positions. Intentional, concrete practices like this are a fantastic idea to increasing the diversity in the legal profession.   

Additionally, the National Center for State Courts will be launching a  pilot program called Court Opportunity Recruitment for All (CORA). CORA  aims to create one spot to look for clerkships, internships, and externships with state courts across the country. CORA will make finding state court internship and clerkship positions easier on applicants and enable hiring courts to target candidates with diverse backgrounds. It is important to emphasize that these efforts to increase diversity do not mean that we lower standards. Rather, it means that we expand the pool of qualified applicants from which interns, clerks, and judges are selected.   

Law schools train our next generation of lawyers, so law schools also have a critical role to play. Recruitment of students with diverse backgrounds is vital to achieving a diverse student body. This recruitment should start early. For example, recruitment efforts aimed at undergraduates at historically black colleges and universities, including instruction and training on how to prepare for law school, is important. Giving those students financial and mentorship support while in law school is vital to ensuring their success in building a strong legal foundation and getting their first legal jobs.   

Additionally, appellate bar associations can create initiatives and mentorship opportunities for diverse students, so that these students can begin achieving success early on. These associations can work on increasing the number of diverse practitioners in the appellate field, as well as providing support throughout their careers. Associations can also offer internships and career opportunities for law students and newly graduated lawyers. Overall, we have many methods to increase diversity and opportunity in the legal profession, and we must use all of them.