‘Our court system needs you’: Judges, attorneys encourage middle schoolers of color to consider the profession

Dozens of middle schoolers filed into the Spokane County Courthouse Friday morning with blank looks on their faces, unsure what to expect from the slate of Supreme Court Justices, judges and attorneys scheduled to speak to them.

Then Justice Mary Yu, clad in bright purple, got up and gave her pitch.

“Our court system needs you,” Yu said. “Why I’m here today is, I’m here to recruit.”

Yu, born to a Chinese father and Mexican mother – both of whom immigrated to the United States illegally – was the first woman of color to be elected to a statewide office in Washington, she said.

She asked the group if they knew how many women currently sat on the state Supreme Court. When she said seven of the nine justices were women, Sacajawea Middle School eight-graders Jaymilyn Borongan and Samara Eatmon’s faces erupted into smiles.

Jaymilyn said her smile was “because girl power.”

“Most people say that a man can work more than females, but really girls can do what men can, too,” Samara added.

The day-long Color of Justice event was meant to inspire young students of color to consider careers in the legal field, said Spokane County Superior Court Judge Jacqueline High-Edwards, who helped organize it.

The Washington Administrative Office of the Courts received a grant from the National Association of Women Judges to organize the event. High-Edwards said she hopes it becomes an annual tradition.

“Representation matters,” said Chauncy Jones, community engagement board liaison at Spokane Public Schools. “These are opening doors and planting seeds for students to be able to say, ‘Hey, I can do this.’”

Yu didn’t have anyone in the legal profession to look up to as a child.

“When I was sitting in your chairs, I had no vision for myself,” said Yu, who grew up on the south side of Chicago. “I never met a lawyer. I never met anybody that went to college.”

One teacher saw potential in Yu and encouraged her to go to college, even coming over to her house to help with applications.

After years as a prosecutor in King County, Yu applied to be a superior court judge.

“I wasn’t the superstar in school. I wasn’t the superstar anywhere,” Yu remembers thinking when applying for the position.

A few years later, Chief Justice Steven González encouraged Yu to apply to be on the Supreme Court.

Yu told him a gay Asian-Latina would never be elected to statewide office. González told her she was wrong and that Washington was ready for someone like her.

He was right.

Now, Yu shared the state’s need for more people like her and González to take up that mantle .

“We need you,” Yu said. “The people in the state of Washington need you.”

Avalilly Revais, 13, who came down from Cusick High School for the event, said she was inspired by Yu’s speech.

Avalilly loves to research things. She’s good at writing and memorizing, skills she now knows would make her a good lawyer, she said.

Ryan Markel, who teaches middle and high school history in Cusick, said the event makes the concepts students learn in the classroom feel more real.

“It’s first-hand. It’s real life,” Markel said. “It’s not learning out of a book.”

After Yu’s speech, students split off into groups with Superior Court judges to tour their courtrooms and learn the basics of who does what in court.

Juries decide some cases, while judges decide others, the students learned. They learned what a defense attorney is, a bailiff, a clerk and more.

The students learned about federal court from United States Attorney Vanessa Waldref, who like most presenters encouraged students to be curious, try things out and apply for internships.

“I really, really recommend trying out these different offices as an intern,” she said.

Miriam Sadat, a student at Salk Middle School, said she felt unsure about the event before it started, but after the morning sessions, she saw how much the legal profession could help people.

She wants to be a cardiologist or a lawyer, she said.

Fichisher Henry, 14, a student at Shaw Middle School, said the event opened his eyes to future careers.

Judge Jeremy Schmidt told students there’s a place in the law for all of them.

“The law has a place for everybody who wants to be a part of it,” he said.