News — Judge

Tiffany Cartwright was an assistant attorney general and administrative law judge for the State of Michigan but she was laid off due to budget cuts in 2012. Cartwright returned to the bench in 2015 but released again in 2016. “I went from University of Michigan Law School, Assistant Attorney General and Administrative Law Judge to unemployed, no health insurance, no money, and a bridge card. I lost everything!,” Cartwright told The Bobby Pen.

For the next weeks and months, she went job-hunting but was unsuccessful. Many jobs felt uncomfortable hiring a former judge while others felt she was overqualified for the job she was applying for. As a result of her unemployment status, Cartwright decided to venture into entrepreneurship. She often created her own body scrubs to clear her daughter’s eczema and even gifted some to her neighbors and other family members. She turned her homemade remedy into her own line of body scrubs.

She founded Amarra Beauty Products and launched her G.L.A.M. body scrubs. The former judge took her product to Shark Tank, made it past auditions, and moved to the next round to pitch Amarra products to the Sharks. After pitching her product on Shark Tank, her business started recording success. She also took advantage of an initiative targeting Black businesses in the U.S. and successfully pitched her products at a 2018 Walmart Open Call.

She got a deal to get her product tested and that was how she landed a move to have her product on the shelves of Walmart. Her G.L.A.M. body scrubs sold out in stores. “When my buyer said yes, I literally cried. They had no idea what I went through just to get there,” Cartwright shared.

Aside from starting a business, Cartwright is also a certified minority and woman-owned small business. She is an author with three books to her credit. She is also a proud mother of two children.

Asked by the website Women Owned what she loved about being a business owner, she responded: “I love the freedom and flexibility afforded and the opportunity to work harder for yourself than any employer, as well as being in a position to bring real change.”

She also advised aspiring entrepreneurs to “never give up on your business, your dreams, your purpose or your vision.”

Terrance Shipp will be tried in a courtroom without the portraits of white former jurists in the state of Virginia, according to the insistence of Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge David Bernhard.

Shipp is to be tried on charges of eluding the police. But Judge Bernhard who has been forced to preside of the matter in a larger courtroom that would allow for social distancing regrets that his new place of work has the portraits of 47 former judges, 45 of whom are white.

The judge has so far ruled that Shipp will therefore be tried in a courtroom without the portraits. This is because Judge Bernard fears justice couldn’t be rendered in such a situation.

“While to some the issue of portraits might be a trivial matter, to those subject to the justice system it is far from the case,” Bernhard wrote in his ruling notes, according to a report by Huffington Post.

The judge added that the portraits in a courtroom where a Black man is to receive judgement “may serve as unintended but implicit symbols that suggest the courtroom may be a place historically administered by whites for whites.

State prosecutors reportedly had no objection to Bernhard’s ruling with Fairfax County’s Chief Public Defender Dawn Butorac welcoming the judges’ discretion.

Butorac called the ruling “a very, very, very small step in a long overdue journey to battle systemic racism”. Meanwhile, Shipp’s trial has been adjourned to January 4.

Judge Bernhard, who was born in El Salvador, has been praised for his stance on justice and the symbolism of fairness. His decision follows another in Louisa County, Virginia who ordered that a portrait of the Confederate general, Robert E. Lee.

Growing up in Greenville, South Carolina, Jasmine Twitty knew she wanted to serve her communities. While in elementary school, she was in girl scouts and church youth groups, where she learned the trailblazing work of influential figures including presidential candidate Shirley Chisholm.

“These are people in power, and they have the influence to shape society and the laws that govern our everyday lives. I want to do that!” she told herself. But she didn’t set her mind towards becoming a judge until after college.

Following years of work in bond court, she took measures towards pursuing judgeship. After a lot of hard work and determination, Twitty, in 2015, became the youngest judge to ever be appointed or elected in the United States when she was sworn in as an Associate Judge of the municipal court for the city of Easley, SC at the age of 25.

“The day I was sworn in felt surreal,” she said in an interview in 2016. “My job is to oversee the initial proceeding in a criminal case. As a judge, I must remain impartial, not get emotionally involved. I had to learn that early on, working in night court, seeing what things people are capable of.”

Indeed, being an African-American judge for the municipal court in Easley, South Carolina—a predominately white town— meant Twitty had a lot to deal with. But that was nothing new to a trailblazer like her, who had gained a wide range of experiences working long hours as a night clerk for a bond court.

Born on December 4, 1989, in Greenville, South Carolina, Twitty attended St. Anthony of Padua Catholic School and graduated from J. L. Mann High School in Easley in 2007. She described her childhood as “one of those super-smart little kids who might be called “mouthy.” Her parents, however, appreciated her vocabulary, she said, and with her mother being a dedicated social worker, she was raised to be of service to her communities.

After graduating from the College of Charleston in 2010, with her BA in Political Science, she knew she was ready to work in public service. Twitty then applied for a clerk position at the Greenville County Bond Court. “My job was to coordinate bond hearings and deal with paperwork. The hours were long, but I was excited. I was the youngest person there and asked 1001 questions a day,” she said.

Being a night court clerk for almost five years, Twitty learned more about judgeship, and soon, she realized she could go for it. Twitty wasn’t required to attend law school because, in South Carolina, summary court judges are appointed and don’t need a law degree. The city council is the governing body that appoints judges for the municipal court. Consulting her family and mentors, Twitty began steps towards pursuing this career. She completed a training program and passed a certification examination before entering the interviewing process.

In August 2015, she became America’s youngest judge. Four years later, she was appointed as a municipal judge and lead judicial officer for the City of Travelers Rest, SC.

Twitty, now 31, explained to Forbes this October how she improves her work-life balance. “My mental clarity comes from diet and exercise, and from truly unplugging when I’m off work. That can come from travel or food experiences, or even just silencing my phones when I’m at home. I’m also particular about the spaces I put myself in and the people I surround myself with.”

Twitty, as a Board Member of Upstate Network and co-founder of her local chapter of LeadHER, has been empowering women in career development. With several recognitions including being named South Carolina Top 20 Under 40, Honorary Georgia Citizen, and Talented Tenth Top 10 Young Professional, Twitty has advised women pursuing their dreams to be true to themselves. She urges them not to compromise anything for the sake of an opportunity, “because you’ll pay for it later.”