Becoming A Judge Is Far From Easy

So as I really got to know judge and why he likes his job the amount he does he kind of persuaded me in a sense to get to know more about what it takes to get to where he’s at. Because from my standpoint that is all I want, I want to have a career or a job that I can wake up and enjoy going to everyday. Judge Harris had told me that he went to two separate colleges but I didn’t go in depth as to how many classes he took at each and how long it took him to get his degree; so I took it upon myself to look this up.

I feel as if this could actually help people who are looking for that occupation or career who don’t have a clue.

For the final meeting with the judge I wanted to know the steps he took in order for him to get to the place he is currently at. When speaking to him and asking questions this is the information he gave me:

The first step is to achieve a bachelor’s degree from a university. Some schools will prepare you better for the future of your degree in law such as ivy league schools but there is no major you have to have in order to apply to law school, which is the second step to the process. A lot of future law students major in history, sociology, majors that have to do with communication, and a lot of others. It is said that your grades that you obtain when getting your bachelors will determine whether or not your get accepted in to law school, so getting the best grades you can should be a top priority. Internships will also help a lot.

Once you get accepted into law school it is key that you give it your all this was made clearly to me by the judge when he was telling me all these things.

“A ton of people apply and go to law school and if you were to go and just preformed like an average joe and got average grades it would be a waste of your time.” This is what the judge stressed on me over and over again as I was asking these questions. When he told me this he used hand gestures a lot to emphasize how important this was. Judge Harris also told me that internships with lawyers were equally as important.

At this point Judge Harris was up and walking around the room pacing back and forth while he was telling me all of this information. It was quite a sight to see especially with how much passion he was speaking with, it just came natural to him.

“So after law school that’s it? You got it?” This was my next question.

Judge chuckled and replied, “No not quite. Once you get done the next step is the bar exam. This exam will determine whether or not you are prepared enough to practice jurisdiction in the area you reside. And this exam is not easy to say the least; it takes a lot of preparation. When I graduated college this was the first thing I did afterwards. I studied for months until I knew I was beyond ready for this.”

Judge Harris told me once he passed his exam that he basically lived in a courtroom from there on out. He began his work as a district attorney starting out gaining experience and bettering himself. His work was always outstanding so every time his name was brought up or heard it was nothing but good words. He got on good terms with numerous judges in his area and always surrounded himself with them so that they could mentor him and give him knowledge he needed to know.

“After about 15 years I clearly made a good name for myself, the only step I had remaining in order to reach my life long goal was to apply and win an election. And best believe I did it.” This was the closing statement by the Judge.

Meeting with this man was truly inspiring. I learned a lot from just hearing him talk and how passionate he is about what he does is amazing to me. I cannot wait until I find out what it is that makes me this passionate.

The Good And The Bad Aspects

As I got off of work at Ingles my phone began to ring. When I pulled it out of my pocket I saw that it was Judge Harris calling me to confirm that we were still meeting today like we had previously planned. We planned to meet at 4:30 in his office at the courthouse just like the past meetings.

Today was the meeting I was the most excited for yet. I am driving down Hwy 20 otherwise known as Grayson Highway towards Lawrenceville going quite fast switching lanes, passing cars just because I was that excited to get the questions I had answered. I found it kind of ironic driving how I was considering the fact I was going to meet with a judge.

I pulled in the courthouse parking lot and saw him waiting outside for me dressed up in a nice suit, as usual, with pinstripes and a top hat that matched his bowtie. We had talked about one of his cars last time we met and he mentioned he would show me the next time so when I got out we walked over to his Cadillac that was all blacked out with red leather seats inside. It was an awesome car and I was very envious of him at this moment.

We walked up to his office and I asked my first question I had: “So what aspects of your job do you like the most?”

Judge Harris said, “When kids come in the courtroom I can tell that they have had troubles and they cannot believe that they are in this predicament they are in right now. I can actually talk to these kids and help them as opposed to just punishing them I can help them get to where they need to be. This makes my heart warm. Another aspect that I would say I enjoy more than anything else is helped people turn their life around. That makes me feel the best.”

It must be an amazing feeling to be able to impact an individual’s life this way. I couldn’t even imagine doing this multiple times a day every single day. No wonder the man always seems so happy.

“The next question I have for you judge is the opposite of what I just asked, what are the aspects you dislike more than anything else being a judge?”

Judge Harris sat there for a moment, rubbed his hand over his head in thought, and said, “Well I know it kind of seemed otherwise when I showed you everything on the computer, but the all the paperwork really gets to me at times. Its not that I absolutely hate it, I just do not like it as much as everything else. And the number one thing that kills me about being a Judge is locking kids up. No matter what the circumstance I just think about it and what the kid is about to go through. I hate sending people to jail. I feel for them as well as their family. But no matter what you have to serve justice.”

I really enjoyed getting to know Judge Harris and more about the job he does. I have always been curious about the Judge posistion. 

Judge Harris Is An Extremely Compassionate Worker.

Day two meeting with the man himself, Judge Harris:

I once again follow my mom into the office in where Judge resides. We begin with small talk about how each of our days have gone and he motioned for me to come over to his computer to take a look at what it is he was focused on upon my arrival

“You see all this man?” The Judge asks.

“Woah, that’s a lot of stuff…” This is all that would come out of my mouth as I was astonished at all the information I saw on the computer.

There were lists upon lists of cases and court dates he had coming up. I couldn’t help but notice the excitement and the grinning of the judge from ear to ear once he saw my jaw drop.

He said, “ Dustin this is what I live for, I eat, sleep, and dream all about this stuff all the time! There is never a dull moment and I feel all the time as if I am the luckiest man on the world for having this job because I couldn’t ever picture it getting old to me.”

I couldn’t help but think to myself, man, I hope when I get settled down in the real world working that I am this passionate and love what I do the way he does because he makes life seem so easy. He said to me this was the only way. If you’re not doing what you love, you are wasting your time and it will not last long at all because you will get sick and tired very quick.

I asked him, “How long did it take you to find out this is what you were truly passionate about and that you could see yourself doing this for the rest of your life?”

“I first found that I was really interested in law in high school when I took political systems and economics. In these classes I found it to be relatively easy for me to learn the material and I always excelled on the exams that were placed in front of me. My passion for law grew exceptionally when my injury held me back from pursuing football when I got to college. Since football was out the window I came to the more realistic conclusion that law and being a lawyer was much more realistic as a career I could pursue for the rest of my life. And I love it, so I found that I couldn’t really ask for more.”

The fact of him being as passionate as he is I think is really what interests me about him. When you see someone doing something they love and how efficient they are at doing that thing, it’s quite a sight to see. Both of these times I have met with him I have yet to see anything but a smile on his face. I am sure that there are different aspects about his job that he likes more than anything and I also think on the other hand that there are aspects he isn’t too fond of. I want to figure these out.

Introduction to the Occupation

Racing in my truck after school, trying to get to my destination on time so I wasn’t late for the appointment I had made a week previous, I finally arrived at my destination.  I wanted to interview my mother’s boss because I knew he makes a lot of money and he was passionate about what he does.  

My mother awaited me at the front door of the courthouse. I pulled open the door for her and then took off my belt and anything thing else that would cause the sensors on the walk through to go off. I crept up the stairs with my mother following her as she used her id to scan open every door we went through. It felt like I was in a very private place with all the walls the same color with narrow hallways. As she used her id one more time to walk us through the door to her office, I walked through the door and there he was waiting on me, Judge Rodney S Harris.

By the looks I could already tell Judge Harris was my type of guy. He wore a really nice suit that was not common in the least and the colors corresponded perfectly. It was dark grey with a maroon sort of color undershirt that was topped with a very flashy tie. And the shoes looked like they would cost more than my outfit alone. It was pretty nice and I admit I was pretty jealous I did not have one like that. From the moment we introduced ourselves I could tell he was a nice guy and was very interested in what I had to say.

           

As we began Judge Harris showed me around his office and supplies that he used everyday in order for him to be successful at what he does. He had all of his diplomas from law schools framed on the walls around his office and centered on the desk was a big football statue. Right off the bat I saw that we had something in common because I really enjoyed football myself.

We began to talk and he told me that he earned a full ride to college with a football scholarship but his football career was cut short from an injury that wouldn’t ever allow him to play the same again. He inspired me in the way that he said that did nothing but motivate himself to become something great since his first dream was stripped from him. This conversation led into the story of what inspired him to study law and become a lawyer.

           

“What kind of grades did you make in law school?” I asked

           

He replied with, “I always took school very seriously because I knew that if I wanted to make anything of myself, especially after my injury, that school would be the foundation of what I wanted to achieve. In that sense almost all of the time I would make straight A’s. Occasionally here and there B’s popped up and they would sicken me.”

           

The way this man thought and went about things fascinated me and I was so intrigued to see the role he played and the actions he did every single day.