[ad_1]<\/p>\n
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM)<\/strong> \u2013 When U.S. Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson sits for her confirmation hearings, the Black women of Dallas County\u2019s judiciary will be watching.<\/p>\n \u201cI may have some popcorn,\u201d jokes Judge Rocky Jones.<\/p>\n READ MORE: <\/strong>North Texas Violinist From Ukraine Inspired To Perform With McKinney Philharmonic Orchestra Saturday<\/a><\/p>\n The judge over Dallas County\u2019s 203rd District Court plans to be glued to her television.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s history, and I want to be a part of that history,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Judge Tammy Kemp, who presides over Dallas County\u2019s 204th District Court, will be rooting for Judge Jackson, as well.<\/p>\n \u201cI am 100% in her corner,\u201d said Kemp.<\/p>\n In Dallas County\u2019s Frank Crowley Courts Building, finding a Black woman presiding over court is no rarity.<\/p>\n Voters have elected to them to nearly half the criminal district courts, seating them on 8 of the 17 benches.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is remarkable if you think just a short time ago, not even ten years ago, it did not look that way,\u201d said Judge Jones.<\/p>\n A review of judges on Dallas County\u2019s criminal district courts ten years ago found just one Black female judge.<\/p>\n \u201cIt has been a drastic difference and a drastic change,\u201d said Jones.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it gives some defendants a level of ease and comfort and confidence in the criminal justice system,\u201d said Kemp. \u201cI think it gives them a sense of fairness because they understand that the system is more inclusive and diverse.\u201d<\/p>\n Judge Kemp became a familiar face overseeing while overseeing the trial of former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger.<\/p>\n Judge Jones was more recently seen hearing the high profile trial of Billy Chemirmir, alleged to be one of the state\u2019s most prolific serial killers.<\/p>\n When they were launching their careers, though, there were far fewer role models of color in the legal profession, let alone Black women.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve wanted to be a lawyer and a judge since the third grade,\u201d said Judge Jones.<\/p>\n The idea came from her mother, a teacher and single parent, who offered it in response to her daughter\u2019s concern over a lack of math skills.<\/p>\n \u201cI guess you\u2019re going to have to be a lawyer or a judge,\u201d Jones recalls being told.<\/p>\n Jones said she asked her teacher for books on lawyers and judges.<\/p>\n \u201cShe gave me a book on Thurgood Marshall and a book on Barbara Jordan,\u201d she said, referencing Marshall, the U.S. Supreme Court\u2019s first Black justice, and Jordan, the first Black Congresswoman from the South.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom that point on, I knew what I wanted to be,\u201d said Jones.<\/p>\n READ MORE: <\/strong>Dallas Man Arrested For Murder In Death Of His Mother’s Husband<\/a><\/p>\n When Judge Kemp first became a prosecutor in Dallas, she remembers three Black justices, the late Dr Larry Baraka, current district attorney John Creuzot, and the former district attorney Faith Johnson.<\/p>\n \u201cI had the benefit of knowing that African Americans were here,\u201d she said. \u201cBut it didn\u2019t make my job easier.\u201d<\/p>\n Even now, the judges say they deal with misconceptions about minorities on the bench.<\/p>\n \u201cThat somehow they\u2019re going to be less likely to enforce the law or to understand the law,\u201d said Kemp.<\/p>\n Research by political scientists, Christina Boyd, Lori Ringhand, and Paul Collins<\/a> found in Supreme Court confirmation hearings, women and minority judges were interrupted more and questioned more about their judicial philosophies.<\/p>\n That comes as no surprise to Kemp or Jones.<\/p>\n \u201cI have had a comment or two that maybe I do not have authority over them because of my color. And I can\u2019t say it wasn\u2019t shocking,\u201d said Judge Jones.<\/p>\n \u201cWithout a doubt, I know that I get questioned more. I get more pushback. I get more people who want to say, \u2018Oh she\u2019s mean\u2019 or \u2018She has an attitude\u2019,\u201d said Judge Kemp, who keeps her law books close. \u201cWhen I get pushback, I just direct them to the law.\u201d<\/p>\n Judge Jackson, the women predict, will face pushback too.<\/p>\n \u201cI do anticipate that it will be an uphill battle. Not that it should be,\u201d said Jones.<\/p>\n There have been five women on the Supreme Court, including the first Hispanic justice, Sonia Sotomayor.<\/p>\n There have been just two Black justices, both men.<\/p>\n Jackson is the first Black woman to even be nominated to join their ranks.<\/p>\n \u201cHer presence is something that will give me a level of comfort because I think diversity on the court is extremely important,\u201d said Kemp.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not just the color of her skin or her gender, either, but the experience and knowledge those traits entail.<\/p>\n \u201cYou need to have those justices who have different experiences in life, who\u2019ve had different upbringings,\u201d said Jones.<\/p>\n \u201cThe background she has as a public defender in the criminal system will give her a particular insight that\u2019s missing from most of the other justices on the court,\u201d said Kemp. \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to more balance, more diversity, a wider understanding of the inner workings of the criminal justice process, and the system. That I\u2019m looking forward to.\u201d<\/p>\n Her presence on the court, they feel, could make its wealth of experience all the richer.<\/p>\n \u201cPresident Biden made this commitment, and I\u2019m pleased that he is honoring his commitment,\u201d said Kemp.<\/p>\n MORE NEWS: <\/strong>North Texas Transportation Company Looks At Passing Higher Gas Costs On To Customers<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m just excited I will see that in my lifetime,\u201d said Jones.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n