The views of leading African American jurists from around the country on the way our judicial system works. Included is an interview with Abigail R. Rogers, South Carolina's first female African American judge.

Presents the views of leading African American judges on the way our judicial system works. From these in-depth interviews with judges of all backgrounds emerges an extraordinary range of outspoken views & often surprising insights on justice & racial prejudice in America. From pioneers such as Leon Higginbotham & Constance Baker Motley (the first black female Fed. judge) to such outspoken mavericks as Bruce Wright of New York City, the testimony of these judges provides penetrating analysis of the role of the jurist, of the daily malfunctioning of the courts, & of the future of the judicial system itself. ¿A fascinating insight into the problems facing us as a nation & an important contribution to understanding how race & justice intertwine. ¿

The author, a New York State Supreme Court Justice and a black man, argues that our legal system is fundamentally unfair towards African Americans--and documents his assertion with many cases drawn from his long experience as a lawyer and judge. A timely and relevant subject in the aftermath of the Rodney King trials and the LA riots.

"Her Honor is an eye-opening memoir from Judge LaDoris Hazzard Cordell, now retired, combining her fascinating personal story with a necessary primer on the complex, increasingly troubled, American judicial system..."--

A civil rights lawyer who became the first African American female federal judge, describes her career, including working with Thurgood Marshall's NAACP legal team.

In Blacks and the Law, Geraldine R. Segal carefully and completely details the history and current status of black lawyers, judges, law professors, and law students in the United States. Extensive research into all available materials for Philadelphia, supplemented by interviews and questionnaires, results in an unrivaled study of the situation in one city. Her findings are then placed in a national setting by using comparative data from fifteen other American cities. The wealth of data presented here shows the persistence of high degrees of racial exclusion and underrepresentation practiced by the legal profession over many years. Countervailing these findings are success stories of enormously motivated and determined blacks who have overcome great obstacles to attain high positions as lawyers and judges. Within the legal establishment, increasing numbers of whites have dedicated themselves to lowering barriers to black participation. Blacks and the Law brings to light the racial prejudices of the white American legal community as well as its efforts to overcome such biases. It also shows the massive effort black people have made to achieve significant but limited progress toward integration of the legal profession and indicates the amount of work still ahead. This study is therefore of vital interest to all members of the legal profession, students of race relations, social mobility, and the professions, Philadelphians, and others who follow the struggle for racial equality.