An email sent to our campaign subscribers on the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday
Friend -
If he were still living, Martin Luther King Jr. would be 95-years-old today.
Many quotes are attributed to him, but my favorite is from a speech King delivered to the National Urban League in 1960 when he said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
King was saying racial discrimination is everyone’s problem, not just for those who directly experienced discrimination.
I believe those words ring true today for our legal system as well. We would all like to believe that no man is above the law and that the law is applied evenly to everyone. But when people see clear examples of someone treated differently in our courts, it rattles public faith in our legal system. Our courts are there to protect not just crime victims - but all of us.
Justice is foundational to healthy communities. The county courthouse is where people most often look to find justice. And it’s a judge’s role to deliver justice by ruling fairly according to the law without fear or favor.
As a judge for more than a decade, I take that role seriously. And Martin Luther King’s birthday is a good reminder of a solemn responsibility - to the law, to our community, and to the value of justice for all.
Most Sincerely, Judge Ericka James
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