Tuesday, April 1, 2014

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.


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