New Year -- Tall Orders
Last Monday I had the privilege of introducing Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye to the student body of the Deer Valley Law Academy and assembled guests including local dignitaries, politicians, lawyers, community activists and other community members. For those not aware of this great program, the Academy introduces Antioch's Deer Valley High School students to the potential of a career in law. The students learn about the court system, criminal and civil law and procedure, the Constitution, how to do legal research and much more. The DVLA is new, in just its second year of existence. DVLA can use mentors, volunteers and more. And there are deserving students that would love to spend the summer doing your filing in exchange for getting a taste of law and lawyers. Check it out, talk about empowering young minds.
Oh, there was the small matter of introducing the Chief Justice. It was nice to have the opportunity to speak to some of the milestones and highlights of her career and to point out to the students that her path from high-school student to lawyer was not exactly traditional. But the best thing was listening to Justice Cantil-Sakauye address the crowd. The Chief Justice has charisma and energy, not just smarts.
She's going to need it. After all, she takes the helm from Ronald George at a time when the courts, like the rest of state and local government, are awash in red ink and facing severe shortages of funding, staffing, and the means to provide justice. As she told the crowd at DVLA, she's making the rounds and getting up to speed quickly by, among other things, beating a path to Chief Justice George's office as the time winds down for his Court.
My theme for the introduction was that in tough economic times the stakes are raised, so the students need to bring more to the table. Well, I guess that's a good sign for the courts too. Because the new chief justice has it all in spades. In a new year made up of tall orders and daunting challenges, it looks like a great leader will be at the helm.
