Rachel Martin ‘23
Staff Editor
On Thursday, September 24, UVA Law’s chapter of the American Constitution Society (ACS) and Virginia Law Women (VLW) virtually hosted Judge Bernadette D’Souza, President of the National Association of Women Judges (NAWJ) and Family Court Judge of the Orleans Parish Civil District Court. Morgan Maloney ’22, the Director of Programming for ACS, arranged the event. “I think it is so important for all law students, but especially students from underrepresented communities, to think about careers in the judiciary while still in law school,” Maloney said. “I hope that the event inspired some students who had not formerly considered a career as a judge to begin to think about that as a potential career path.”
ACS President Wes Williams ’22 introduced Judge D’Souza. Judge D’Souza graduated from Tulane University School of Law in 1992. Before becoming a judge, she worked in public interest law for eighteen years representing indigent clients in domestic violence and other family law cases at places such as New Orleans Legal Assistance (NOLA) and Southeast Louisiana Legal Services. Judge D’Souza also taught family law and domestic violence as an adjunct professor at Tulane. She has served on numerous community and national boards and committees, been invited to speak at numerous events both at home and abroad, and been the recipient of numerous awards. She is also the proud mother of three children.
Pictured: Judge Bernadette D’Souza, President of the National Association of Women Judges and Family Court Judge of the Orleans Parish Civil District Court. Photo Courtesy of orleansdc.com.
After the introduction, Judge D’Souza’s first words were, “Students will wonder, ‘Where does she have the time to do what she’s doing?’ It’s when you find the passion that you find the time.” Judge D’Souza explained that after graduating, she could have joined any law firm, but she was “so taken with the work being done at NOLA that [she] wanted to dedicate [her] career” to public interest work.
Judge D’Souza gave high praise to her students at Tulane, crediting them with the idea to start a domestic violence clinic and applying for the grant to fund it.
“It is the students that can make a difference with some of the social issues that we are confronted with in our country,” Judge D’Souza said. Judge D’Souza encourages students to become involved in clinics, policy advocacy, and other community service projects while in law school. “Just because you’re not a lawyer does not mean you cannot advocate for people in your community.”
Judge D’Souza first started thinking about becoming a judge when she realized the problems caused by not having a dedicated judicial seat for family law matters in her local civil district court. Because none of the judges wanted to handle the domestic violence cases, they were assigned to the newest judges, who would then rotate out as soon as there was another vacancy. As a result, a single case or ongoing issue would often be handled by multiple judges who never really became familiar with the background. To rectify this, Judge D’Souza managed to convince her Senator to introduce a bill creating two dedicated family law seats in Orleans Parish, which subsequently passed. In 2012, Judge D’Souza became the first person elected to the position.
“It was humbling to receive the support of the New Orleans community,” Judge D’Souza said. She linked the overwhelming support she received with the work she had done for the community over many years, and she recommended that anyone interested in a state or local judgeship similarly work to serve their communities, because it is the people that elect the judge—or in the case of most non-federal appointed judges, vote to retain them.
The most difficult thing about being a judge, Judge D’Souza observed, is the inability to advocate for one side, as judges must remain neutral. “Besides having the knowledge, experience, [and] expertise . . . to hear these cases, it is so critical that a judge has the proper demeanor and judicial temperament to judge from the bench.”
However, Judge D’Souza still finds ways to ensure equal access to justice. One of the main ways she does this is by working to help connect people to community resources. Sixty-five to seventy percent of the people coming before her lack legal representation, so she set up a self-help desk in the court, and she arranges for lawyers from pro bono projects to help people do things such as fill out petitions. In addition to legal matters, she also works to connect people with resources for housing, employment, and food, on top of addressing other issues that often coincide with family law cases.
Another way that Judge D’Souza helps those facing domestic violence is through confiscating weapons from perpetrators and issuing various protective and relief orders. Judge D’Souza recounted an incident from her days as a practicing attorney when one of her clients was gunned down on the courthouse steps moments after winning her case. As a judge, she helps prevent similar incidents from occurring by having her deputy retrieve all of the weapons from a household as soon as there is a finding of domestic violence occurring in the home. Judge D’Souza praised the many recent advances in Louisiana law allowing this and other protections. She advised that it is often up to clients’ lawyers, however, to educate judges and make sure these laws are used to their fullest effect. For example, in Louisiana, judges can now order financial support as part of a protection order, but the issue must be brought before the court in a petition in order for relief of this type to be granted.
Judge D’Souza gave a lot of advice for people of color, mothers, and other women entering practice or looking to join the judiciary. As an immigrant from India, the only woman in her graduating class, and the mother of three children, Judge D’Souza faced many challenges throughout her legal career. However, her passion for equal justice drove her forward, and she strongly recommended that others interested in public interest work pursue it. “In doing this work you are able to confront [inequalities] head on and obtain justice in coming before the court . . . . Once you develop that confidence and know that you can get justice, you just work at it.” Judge D’Souza also highly recommended taking advantage of the many mentorship and networking opportunities available through organizations such as NAWJ. The best time to start is now as a law student. Finally, Judge D’Souza emphasized the importance of balance. “I think it is so important to have a balanced life. It is difficult because when you have children, you want to be able to know who they are as they are growing up. Make time for the family. There are certain times of the day when you just have to force yourself to make time.”
Judge D’Souza ended on the following note: “If any of you want to do a summer internship, you are welcome to come down to New Orleans.”
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rdm9yn@virginia.edu