VIDEO - CNN | SPECIAL REPORT, April 26, 2024
Hush Money Prosecution Building A Story: “The groundwork is being laid, the pace is a good one, and there haven’t been any reports of the jury not paying attention,” said Judge Cordell.
VIDEO - MSNBC | ALL IN with Chris Hayes, April 23, 2024
Trump’s Criminal Contempt Hearing: the defense argument was absurd – there is no distinction between posting and reposting on social media, said Judge Cordell.
VIDEO - CNN | NEWSNIGHT with ABBY PHILLIP, April 23, 2024
Judge Merchan Blasts Trump’s Lawyer: “If anyone violates a court order, and does it blatantly, and has been warned, and has been fined in other instances, there's only one thing left to do...,” said Judge Cordell.
VIDEO - CNN | THE SOURCE with KAITLAN COLLINS, April 22, 2024
"Unfair" Hush Money Jury: Donald Trump claims that 95% of the jury are Democrats, and it is a very unfair situation; "...he's sending a message to his MAGA base that this is bad, so I think he has a big problem," said Judge Cordell.
VIDEO - CNN | NEWSROOM with FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, April 21, 2024
Opening Statements In Trump's First Criminal Trial: "If Donald Trump fails to contain himself during the opening statements... he will be facing a contempt charge, in addition to the 10 contempt violations he will be facing," said Judge Cordell.
VIDEO -CNN | THE SOURCE with SARA SIDNER, April 16, 2024
Judge Merchan Scolds Trump: If Mr. Trump acts out in the courtroom, he can be escorted to a "timeout room" to watch and listen to the proceedings on a monitor, said Judge Cordell.
VIDEO | CNN NEWSROOM with FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, April 6, 2024
Cannon Refuses To Dismiss Trump Case: Judge Cordell explains if the defense is allowed to misappropriate the Presidential Records Act, the jury must acquit Donald Trump. Therefore, Jack Smith must take action before trial.
VIDEO- COMMONWEALTH CLUB OF CALIFORNIA: Excessive Punishment | How the Justice System Creates Mass Incarceration, April 3, 2024
How can we reimagine the justice system to support restoration instead of retribution?
Our panelists believe the American criminal justice system cannot reduce its dependence on mass incarceration until we confront our impulse to punish in ways that are excessive, often wildly disproportionate to the harm caused. Instead, our panel will explore the transformative power of second chances, including those who have benefited from them—and those who advocate to ensure our system provides them.
VIDEO - CNN | WITH HOST OMAR JIMENEZ, March 31, 2024
“Judge Merchan should immediately expand the gag order,” said Cordell. If Trump breaks an expanded gag order, “there should be only one response: ‘Bring your toothbrush, Donald Trump, because you’re going to sit in a jail cell for a while.'"
VIDEO - MSNBC | ALL IN with CHRIS HAYES, March 29, 2024
Trump Lashes Out At Daughter of Judge Merchan: "No one - judges, family members, witnesses, jurors, staff members - should ever be intimidated in court proceedings; that's not how our courts are run, and enough is enough! So I am very hopeful that Judge Merchan will expand this gag order to include himself and his family members," said Judge Cordell.
VIDEO - CNN | THE SOURCE with KAITLAN COLLINS, March 26, 2024
Trump Hit With Gag Order In Hush Money Case: "If a judge issues an order that says you must do something, or not do something, it is of no moment if there are no immediate consequences," said Judge Cordell.
VIDEO, COMMONWEALTH CLUB OF CALIFORNIA, Dylan Penningroth in conversation with LaDoris Cordell, Before the Movement: The Hidden History of Black Civil Rights, February 22, 2024
In his book Before the Movement: The Hidden History of Black Civil Rights, UC Berkeley historian Dr. Dylan Penningroth drew on long-forgotten sources found in the basements of county courthouses across the nation to uncover the ways that African Americans, far from being ignorant about the law until the mid-20th century, have thought about it, talked about it and used it as far back as the era of slavery. They dealt constantly with the laws of property, contract, inheritance, marriage and divorce, of associations (such as churches and businesses and activist groups) and more. By exercising these “rights of everyday use,” Penningroth demonstrates, they made Black rights seem unremarkable. And in innumerable subtle ways, they helped shape the law itself―the laws all of us live under today.
VIDEO - ABC 7 BAY AREA | I-TEAM EXCLUSIVE: SF woman shares story of domestic violence to help others escape abuse, February 21, 2024
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Judge Cordell questions the behavior and competency of a San Francisco Deputy Public Defender in an especially brutal case of domestic violence. The survivor wants to encourage other victims to seek justice for this vastly underreported crime.
VIDEO- LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS SAN FRANCISCO: How To Elect Fair and Independent Courts: March 2024 Elections, recorded February 1, 2024
An informative discussion on why independent judiciaries matter and how voters can thoughtfully evaluate judicial candidates. Understanding our courts is vital to preserving justice. The acclaimed panel includes Judge LaDoris Hazzard Cordell (ret.); Justice Teri Jackson; Judge Lillian Sing (ret.), and Judge Erica Yew.
VIDEO - NBC BAY AREA | Supreme Court to take up San Francisco homelessness case, January 12, 2024
A big part of San Francisco’s safety concerns stem from homelessness and the fight to clean up encampments, which has turned into a political and legal tug of war. On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case that city and state leaders say is hurting their attempts to tackle our crisis. NBC Bay Area’s Raj Mathai spoke to retired Superior Court Judge LaDoris Cordell for some insight.
VIDEO - CNN | THE SOURCE with BRIANNA KEILER , December 26, 2023
FBI Investigates Threats To Colorado Justices: Donald Trump "has made fear the new normal for judges in America... when it's no longer fear of god - but fear of mob - when judges fear trumps the oath to the constitution, our judiciary and our democracy is almost on its deathbed," said Judge Cordell
VIDEO - CNN | THE SOURCE with guest host BRIANNA KEILAR, December 22, 2023
Court Fails To Expedite Trump Immunity Ruling: "I am flabbergasted that the Court did not find this case to be of such exceptional importance to allow an expedited review. Especially since 2019 the Supreme Court has agreed to expedite hearings 19 times," said Judge Cordell.
VIDEO - MSNBC | Former judge: ‘Clarence Thomas will recuse himself when Ginni flies’, December 19, 2023
"Clarence Thomas has no business hearing this case. Why? Because his wife was a major player in the whole insurrection. And he should, if he had principles, recuse himself," says Judge LaDoris Cordell on the Supreme Court likely taking up Colorado banning Trump from the ballot.
VIDEO - CNN | LAURA COATES LIVE, December 07, 2023
Texas judge sides with a woman who sued to get an emergency abortion for her high-risk pregnancy: Attorney General Ken Paxton "should be disciplined immediately for standing in the way of implementing the judge's order," said Judge Cordell.
AUDIO - KQED FORUM | Why Do We Elect State Court Judges? December 7, 2023
While we expect judges to be neutral, can they be when they have to run for office and take campaign donations?
VIDEO - NBC BAY AREA | The late Sandra Day O'Connor launched her career in the Bay Area, December 1, 2023
VIDEO - ABC 7 News | Remembering Sandra Day O'Connor, December 1, 2023
VIDEO - CNN | THE SOURCE with KAITLAN COLLINS, November 6, 2023
Trump Goes After Judge & AG In Court: New York Judge Engoron "remarkably contained himself sufficiently enough to get through the day, but also to end up at a point where there's not going to be a mistrial or reversal because of bias," said Judge Cordell.
VIDEO - CNN | THE SOURCE with KAITLAN COLLINS, November 3, 2023
The New York judge overseeing the Trump fraud trial expands the gag order to include attorneys. Judge Cordell wonders if the defense team is trying to provoke the judge into making an error that could be reversed on appeal.
AUDIO - LEGAL FACE-OFF | WGNRADIO.COM, September 27, 2023
Judge Cordell's segment begins at timecode 22:00: The Honorable LaDoris Hazzard Cordell joins Legal Face-Off to discuss her book “Her Honor,” which provides an inside look at our legal system.
VIDEO - CNN | THE SOURCE with KAITLAN COLLINS, September 12, 2023
MEDIAITE - Ex-Judge Ridicules Trump To CNN’s Kaitlan Collins For ‘Yelling Like Hell’ To Get Chutkan Thrown Off Case With ‘No Facts’
VIDEO - MSNBC | ALL IN with CHRIS HAYES, September 8, 2023
Judge Cordell's segment begins at timecode 3:17: “To have an anonymous jury in the case in Fulton County, it's not only appropriate, it should be required. We know what's going to happen; what's going to happen is what happened to the grand jurors whose personal information got out [...] it is highly likely [the Fulton County jury will be sequestered],” said Cordell.
VIDEO - MSNBC | MEHDI HASAN SHOW, September 3, 2023
Justice Investigated For 'Racial Diversity' Comment: "I fear now, as in Georgia, North Carolina, Wisconsin, that history repeats; we are seeing blatant efforts by the GOP to remove our lawfully elected judges; state representatives, and prosecutors - who are almost exclusively African American," said Judge Cordell. "What we are witnessing today is Reconstruction Redux."
Background - North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls' comment: “If you look at who is hired to serve as clerks to the justices … we have plenty of female clerks, but on racial diversity, we’re lacking,” pointing out that there was only one Black clerk and one Latina clerk employed in the court’s latest term.
VIDEO - MSNBC | All In With Chris Hayes, August 29, 2023
Ex-judge: Trump election trial judge should have ‘The Talk’ with lawyers.
LaDoris Cordell, retired California Superior Court judge: “When you’re a female judge—and also a judge of color, this combination is such that we have to make sure we are in control of the proceedings. I encourage the judge if she has to do so, and maybe she’s already done it, to have ‘The Talk’ early on.”
VIDEO - CNN | THE SOURCE with KAITLAN COLLINS, August 28, 2023
Trump lawyers compared the case to an infamous 1931 rape case: "It was stunningly stupid because, one, the comparison is ridiculous, but second, if you want to alienate a judge in a case, this was exactly what to do," said Cordell over
VIDEO - MSNBC | BREAKING NEWS, August 14, 2023
Judge Cordell explains Donald Trump has a constant need to talk; a condition known as Logorrhea: "He is going to continue to violate orders [against witness intimidation] ... I really predict that if he continues, and if say he has this condition [Logorrhea], he's gonna end up not only just in contempt, but he's gonna be in jail."
VIDEO - CNN | THE SOURCE with KAITLAN COLLINS, August 7, 2023
“You know, he’s a ‘Chatty Charlie’ and he’s going to just talk and talk, and he really doesn’t care about rules that say you can speak or cannot speak,” Cordell said.
VIDEO – Judges and Lawyers: Better Together - A Discussion About Preserving Judicial Independence, July 13, 2023
Judicial insights you won't want to miss! Presented by the American Board of Trial Advocates, Sacramento Chapter.
VIDEO – Commonwealth Club of California, July 11, 2023: Michael Waldman: How the Supreme Court Divided America
Mr. Waldman explains why the court’s 2021–2022 term was the most consequential in decades. The president of NYU’s Brennan Center for Justice, Waldman analyzes key rulings and looks at what the Court’s current trajectory could mean for democracy. Also, the recent revelations that Justice Clarence Thomas accepted payments and luxury gifts from a GOP megadonor, and why he believes the court needs term limits and an ethics code.
VIDEO - An MSNBC Special Presentation, March 19, 2023
THE RECALL: REFRAMED documentary is followed by an MSNBC segment that explores problems in the justice system.
Watch the full film on YouTube: THE RECALL: REFRAMED examines the 2018 recall of California Judge Aaron Persky, who lost his judgeship after handing down a sentence deemed too lenient by many in the infamous sexual assault case involving Stanford swimmer Brock Turner. The recall came at the height of the #MeToo movement, and some hailed it as a victory against rape culture, white privilege, and a system stacked against survivors of sexual violence. But there’s more to the story. The film offers competing perspectives and asks the difficult question: Who actually bears the burden when we demand harsher punishment for a privileged white defendant?
AUDIO - LISTEN TO THE PODLIGHT PODCAST, April 8, 2023
Judge Cordell's interview begins at timecode 26:15:
Apple | SoundCloud | Spotify | Stitcher | Pandora
The drug smuggler inside San Jose’s police union. The shocking allegations of drug smuggling by a top administrator at San Jose’s police union have rocked Silicon Valley and the nation. Co-host Joseph Geha digs into the situation with William Armaline, director of the SJSU Human Rights Institute, and LaDoris Cordell, a retired judge, and former San Jose independent police auditor. The police union declined to participate.
Photo by Joseph Geha: Joanne Segovia walks away from the federal courthouse in San Jose on March 31, 2023 with her attorney, Will Edelman.
VIDEO - KGO 7 | ABC BAY AREA, March 31, 2023
Drug smuggling allegations against police union exec hurts PD's trust, says former police auditor.
VIDEO - KPIX 5 | CBS SF BAY AREA, January 19, 2023
Chief Armstrong's leave latest twist in troubled OPD history.
AUDIO - The Legal Gist with Giselle Valdez, January 3, 2023
Her Honor: Judge Cordell, The First African American Judge in Northern California. Are you interested in becoming a judge? Be ready to be inspired by Judge LaDoris Cordell's journey!
