North Dakota Participation in the National Consortium on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts
By Julia Ernst
Photos courtesy of Aime Alonzo
Last month , the National Consortium on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts ( NCREFC ) held its 35th annual meeting in Seattle , Wash . As the current NCREFC president , North Dakota Judge Donovan Foughty spearheaded the conference , which he brought to Grand Forks , N . D ., the previous year . Judge Foughty formerly co-chaired the North Dakota Commission to Study Racial and Ethnic Bias in the Courts , which submitted its final report and recommendations in 2012 . He is the past chair of the Minority Justice Implementation Committee , created to oversee implementation of the recommendations .
In his opening remarks , Judge Foughty highlighted ( edited for brevity ):
The theme of this year ’ s conferences is “ Justice : Promises to Keep .”
In The Federalist , Alexander Hamilton wrote that “ Justice is the end [ goal ] of government . It is the end of a civil society .”
Over the history of this great nation , great wrongs have been committed against racial and ethnic groups under the color of law . That being said , from the original formation of this nation there has also been the promise , or maybe more appropriately the possibility , that justice will be the end – the goal – of government .
In responding to the murder of George Floyd , the Washington Supreme Court wrote , “ The injustice still plaguing our country has its roots in the individual and collective actions of many , and it cannot be addressed without the individual and collective actions of us all .”
Justice Debra Stephens and Judge Veronica Galván of Washington authored an exceptional essay entitled “ Why Judges Should Not Mistake the Norm for the Neutral .” They challenge
Carolyn Probst , Julia Ernst , NCREFC President Donovan Foughty , Kim Hegvik , and Becky Nelson at the 35th annual meeting of the NCREFC .
judges to reconsider the old judicial admonition : “ When in doubt , don ’ t do it ,” and suggest reconsidering that adage in the face of an unavoidable reality : “ Doing nothing to address systemic injustice is doing something .”
I first read in college the extraordinary American literary essay addressing racial injustice , “ Letter from the Birmingham Jail ,” 1 penned in 1963 by Martin Luther King , Jr . I would not have thought about it recently had it not been brought to my attention by Consortium Board Member James Williams from North Carolina . That is one of the great things about the Consortium – it brings together so many different perspectives .
After re-reading MLK ’ s letter , I read what he was responding to – a missive in the Birmingham News entitled : “ White clergymen urge local Negroes to withdraw from demonstrations .” What struck me is that judges could have written it , including the line : “ When rights are consistently denied , a cause should be pressed in the courts and negotiations among local leaders , and not in the street .” The authors argued that peaceful protests might incite hatred and violence and suggested that peaceful protesters are somehow responsible for the inaction , the injustice , and possibly the violence of others . MLK disagreed .
This brings me back to the question , what is the role of a judge in pursuing justice ? My answer would be that pursuing justice is an individual and collective responsibility of us all who serve in the judiciary . My hope is that attendees of this conference find it to be a rewarding experience , and they return home to do justice .
A variety of speakers covered topics related to racial and ethnic fairness in courts .
In addition to Judge Foughty , North Dakota was well-represented in Seattle , including Judge Cynthia Feland , Judge Lindsey Nieuwsma ,
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