Event Program
Event Program
Welcoming Remarks | 9:00am-9:15am
Emily Coward, Director, Duke Law Inclusive Juries Project
James E. Williams Jr., Board Chair, NC CRED
Judge Donovan Foughty, President, National Consortium on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts
Event MC: Judge Susan Maven, New Jersey Superior Court
Keynote Address (Recorded Session) | 9:15am-9:45am
Judge Gertner will share her reflections on addressing bias and structural inequality in and out of the courtroom. She will discuss the ethical responsibility of judges to consider the racial impact of their procedures, behavior, and decisions, drawing from her efforts both while serving as a federal judge and as an advocate. Her comments will include a description of her efforts to account for racialized police practices in her assessments of prior criminal records, along with her efforts to obtain relief from some of the sentences she imposed as a federal judge. She will speak about the significance of judges calling attention to racial bias and racial inequality in the courtroom and in the justice system more broadly.
Judge Nancy Gertner (Ret.), Senior Lecturer, Harvard Law School
Introduction by Senior Associate Justice Anita Earls, Supreme Court of North Carolina
Justices Panel: What Role Should Judges Play in Addressing Bias and Inequity? | 9:45am-10:45am
In this panel discussion, current and former state supreme court chief justices will reflect upon their efforts to address bias and structural inequality and consider both the importance and challenges inherent in engaging in this work. They will speak about the role of the chief justice as the leader of the judiciary and the opportunities for chief justices to pursue goals related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Panelists will discuss the impact that judges and judicial leaders can have on the stubborn racial disparities and racialized outcomes that remain endemic in American courtrooms and consider some of the unique challenges and opportunities facing North Carolina’s judicial and legal communities.
New Mexico Chief Justice Shannon Bacon
Justice Carla Wong McMillan, Georgia Supreme Court
Dean Patricia Timmons-Goodson, NCCU Law, Former North Carolina Supreme Court Associate
Moderated by McKinley Wooten, Assistant Secretary at North Carolina Department of Revenue
Morning Break | 10:45am-11:00am
Plenary: Blueprint for Racial Justice: Impact Report and Possibilities for North Carolina | 11:00am-12:00pm
Launched in 2021 in response to action from the Conference of Chief Justices and the Conference of State Court Administrators, the Blueprint for Racial Justice examines the systemic changes needed to make equal justice under the law an enduring reality for all. Working with National Center for State Court staff, the project is generating policies, webinars, bench cards and other resources designed to assist state court leaders with local racial justice, equity and inclusion efforts. In this session, Blueprint leaders will describe the impact of the Blueprint project thus far and reflect upon the possibilities for implementing the Blueprint initiatives in North Carolina.
Edwin T. Bell, Director of Racial Justice, Equity, and Inclusion, National Center for State Courts
Tom Ross, National Center for State Courts (NCSC) Board of Directors and former Director of NC Administrative Office of the Courts
Tonnya Kennedy Kohn, South Carolina State Court Administrator
Moderated by Judge Susan Maven, New Jersey Superior Court
Lunch | 12:00pm-12:45pm
Informational Discussion: North Carolina Developments and Innovations in the Judicial System | 12:45pm-1:45pm
This session will shine a spotlight on North Carolina initiatives aimed at increasing access to justice and addressing racialized experiences and outcomes in the criminal legal system. Panelists will share the nuts and bolts of their local initiatives and offer suggestions for launching similar programs in other parts of the state. The discussion will highlight the racial equity implications of innovations including restorative justice, juvenile justice, diversion programs, and explore strategies for securing funding and services for programs in rural counties, including recovery courts and reentry programs.
Caitlin Fenhagen, Orange County Criminal Justice Resource Director
Derrik Anderson, Executive Director, Race Matters for Juvenile Justice
District Court Judge Kendra Montgomery-Blinn
Chief District Court Judge Regina Parker
Moderated by Mecklenburg County Clerk of Superior Court and Judge of Probate Elisa Chinn-Gary
Afternoon Breakout Session | 1:45pm-2:45pm
Addressing Internal DEI Issues in the Judiciary: In this session, panelists will consider the steps necessary for ensuring a diverse, inclusive, and equitable culture in North Carolina courthouses. Speakers will discuss the extent to which judges, attorneys, and other court personnel in North Carolina reflect the diversity of North Carolina communities and explore what steps can be taken to ensure pipelines to leadership for attorneys and aspiring judges of color. How can the North Carolina judicial system build an inclusive culture and address both implicit and explicit biases? When court actors and community members complain of bias in the workplace or in the courtroom, what sort of policies and procedures can help ensure that our judicial system is prepared to respond and address such complaints?
Judge Gayl Branum Carr, National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) President
North Carolina Solicitor General Ryan Park
Alison Ashe-Card, Duke Law Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Moderated by Superior Court Judge Lou Trosch
Afternoon Breakout Session | 1:45pm-2:45pm
Racial Equity in Jury Formation: Thurgood Marshall called racial discrimination in jury selection “perhaps the greatest embarrassment in the administration of our criminal justice system.” All studies of jury selection patterns in North Carolina conclude that racialized exclusion from jury service remains a stubborn and painful reality in this state. Panelists will discuss the critical importance of diverse juries, recent developments in North Carolina’s Batson jurisprudence, the nationwide trend of Batson reform, and steps Superior Court judges can take to ensure diverse jury pools and prevent jury discrimination, as reflected in the Governor’s Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice’s jury reform recommendations and Suggested Jury Practices for District and Superior Court Judges.
Professor Nina Chernoff, CUNY Law
Professor Thomas Ward Frampton, University of Virginia School of Law
North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Robin Hudson (ret.)
Moderated by Emily Coward, Director, Duke Law Inclusive Juries Project
Afternoon Breakout Session | 1:45pm-2:45pm
Fines and Fees - Ensuring Meaningful Ability to Pay Hearings and Ending the Criminalization of Poverty: The Duke Law Wilson Center reports that More than 650,000 North Carolinians, approximately one in 12 adults, have unpaid criminal court debt. North Carolina’s law allowing courts to waive criminal financial obligations is not used as it should be, given the high percentage of indigent justice-involved individuals. Panelists will discuss how court fines and fees criminalize poverty and overly burden people of color, and discuss what judges can to do prevent and remedy the harm caused by excessive fines and fees.
Former District Court Judge Brooke Locklear Samson
Angie Weis Gammell, Policy Director, Wilson Center for Science and Justice
Annie Hudson-Price, Senior Counsel, Office for Access to Justice, US Dept. of Justice
Moderated by Chief District Court Judge Elizabeth Trosch
Afternoon Break | 2:45pm-3:00pm
Facilitated Debriefing of Breakout Sessions | 3:00pm-3:30pm
Unpack the insights from breakout sessions with facilitated debriefing, fostering a collective understanding and paving the way for actionable takeaways.
Facilitated by Retired Cumberland County Superior Court Judge Gregory Weeks
Restoring Faith in the Judiciary: Articulating a Vision of Judicial Ethics and Engagement (Recorded Session) | 3:30pm-4:20pm
Judge Wynn and Professor Coleman will discuss the importance of building and equitable and inclusive judicial culture in North Carolina and provide guidance to attendees on finding the necessary support for doing so.
Judge James Wynn, Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in conversation with Professor James E. Coleman, Jr., Duke University School of Law
Closing Remarks & Event Feedback | 4:20pm-4:30pm
James E. Williams Jr., Board Chair, NC CRED