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

Growing up, my primary community was my family: my mother, father and two sisters. My mother is a Caribbean immigrant (from the Bahamas) and my father’s family migrated to New York City from North Carolina. My nuclear family was enmeshed in my maternal extended family: my mother is one of ten children! Growing up, uncles, aunts, and cousins were in and out of our house all the time. It was LOUD and funny. Race, politics and social justice dominated dining room table conversations. Education was emphasized and prioritized. 

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

I was encouraged to pursue a career that would make a positive impact on the world around me. That said, I did not grow up with lawyers in my family so it was a movie (The Verdict) that inspired me to consider a career in law. After I expressed an interest in being an attorney, my parents introduced me to Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. I decided to go to law school to follow in their footsteps. 

What was your law school experience like?

I went to the University of Pennsylvania Law School in the first (or second?) year after it implemented a public service requirement for all students. As a result, my class had a strong cadre of public service oriented students, which was fantastic. I also had the privilege of taking classes taught by extraordinary legal practitioners and scholars – including but not limited to Hon. A. Leon Higginbotham, Lani Guinier, Regina Austin, Susan Sturm and David Rudovsky – who inspired and supported my interest in a public interest career. Still, I felt that the path of least resistance was a career in Big Law and pursuing a career in public interest required me to swim upstream. Additionally, there were precious few people of color pursuing careers in public interest practice. So – to quote a brilliant young lawyer with whom I’ve worked – I often felt “too Black for the public interest folks and too public interest for the Black folks.”

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

Again, I did not grow up with lawyers in my family so I definitely did not have a meaningful understanding of appellate work when I was in law school. My first job was as a trial public defender in New York City. The practice was fast-paced and hectic and a lot of fun. But there came a moment when I realized that I would be a lot more comfortable if I had more time to think and research and write before standing up to present an argument. I pivoted to capital post-conviction work which is a hybrid practice that involves a lot of investigation, review of extensive records, researching and writing state and federal court briefs, litigating complex evidentiary hearings, and presenting appellate arguments. I enjoyed the mix of work this practice provided. With respect to appellate work in particular, I have always enjoyed both the craft of writing and oral advocacy.

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

In 2016, I argued, and won, the Buck v. Davis in the United States Supreme Court. The case challenged the death sentence imposed on Duane Buck after an “expert” testified at sentencing that Mr. Buck was more likely to commit criminal acts of violence in the future because he is Black. I was shocked that no one in the trial courtroom objected, or otherwise expressed concern about, this patently false and unconstitutional testimony. I was alarmed that – aside from the Supreme Court – every state and federal court before whom we litigated the case was prepared to allow Mr. Buck to be executed notwithstanding this explicitly racist evidence. And I clearly understood that if the Supreme Court countenanced this execution, it would not only open the door to similar – and worse – evidence, it would exacerbate the (already significant) racial bias and disproportionality in the criminal legal system. At the end of the day, it was important that I, as a Black woman, presented the oral argument to the Supreme Court because I served as a living refutation of the race-as-dangerousness opinion at the heart of the case. 

How often do you encounter Black people in the appellate field? Why do you think that representation is important?

Not often enough! Diversity in appellate litigation is important for a bevy of reasons including the fact that research consistently shows that decision-making by heterogeneous groups is more thorough and accurate than decision-making by homogenous groups. That means our appellate courts should seek to ensure that their decisions are informed by advocates from a broad range of backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. Failure to do so results in errors like the one by the Louisiana Supreme Court which held that an individual who – invoking slang that is common in Black communities – said, “Give me a lawyer, dog,” did not invoke his right to counsel because he asked for a dog who was a lawyer.

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

First, strong research and writing skills are imperative. The absence of such experience is disqualifying at almost every organization for whom I have worked.  

Second, put your head down and do the work necessary to succeed in the place you are now. It was my commitment to and success at each of my jobs that opened the door to the next great opportunity. Don’t spend your time preoccupied by the quest for the next thing.

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

Appellate courts and the appellate bar should broaden their efforts to recruit interns and law clerks, including by recognizing that grades do not always correlate to research and writing ability. So many of history’s great writers are not products of the most elite schools!