HER HONOR
My Life on the Bench...
What Works, What’s Broken,
and How to Change It
By LaDORIS HAZZARD CORDELL
Appendices/Endnotes | Legal Cartoons
Celadon Books
a division of Macmillan Publishers
Photo credit: Peter Prato
In Her Honor, Judge LaDoris Hazzard Cordell provides a rare and thought-provoking insider account of our legal system, sharing vivid stories of the cases that came through her courtroom and revealing the strengths, flaws, and much-needed changes within our courts.
Judge Cordell, the first African American woman to sit on the Superior Court of Northern California, knows firsthand how prejudice has permeated our legal system. And yet, she believes in the system. From ending school segregation to legalizing same-sex marriage, its progress relies on legal professionals and jurors who strive to make the imperfect system as fair as possible.
Listen to an excerpt of LaDoris Hazzard Cordell’s HER HONOR, read by the author.–MacmillanAudio
Her Honor is an entertaining and provocative look into the hearts and minds of judges. Cordell takes you into her chambers where she haggles with prosecutors and defense attorneys and into the courtroom during jury selection and sentencing hearings. She uses real cases to highlight how judges make difficult decisions, all the while facing outside pressures from the media, law enforcement, lobbyists, and the friends and families of the people involved.
Cordell’s candid account of her years on the bench shines light on all areas of the legal system, from juvenile delinquency and the shift from rehabilitation to punishment, along with the racial biases therein, to the thousands of plea bargains that allow our overburdened courts to stay afloat―as long as innocent people are willing to plead guilty. There are tales of marriages and divorces, adoptions, and contested wills―some humorous, others heartwarming, still others deeply troubling.
Her Honor is for anyone who’s had the good or bad fortune to stand before a judge or sit on a jury. It is for true-crime junkies and people who vote in judicial elections. Most importantly, this is a book for anyone who wants to know what our legal system, for better or worse, means to the everyday lives of all Americans.
Photo credit: Laurie Naiman
Praise of HER HONOR
“Would you sit in judgment of your neighbors? Order them caged, or freed? Decide who should raise their children? And what of being judged, for your race, your gender, your every act? With wisdom, grace, humor, and humanity, Judge LaDoris Hazzard Cordell challenges and guides you on every page to deeply ponder what it means to ‘Judge.’”
“LaDoris Cordell’s Her Honor is a testament to the need for representation. It makes a strong case for the need to have people of color properly represented in all aspects of the society we are attempting to live in together. It’s fitting that the first Black female judge that Northern California had ever seen would be the one to police the police.”
“In her memoir Her Honor, the principled and uncommon retired California Superior Court Judge LaDoris H. Cordell offers an unvarnished peek into the mind of a jurist as she adjudicated within a legal system that is politically, systemically, and historically flawed. Narrated with candor and humor, and rich with tales from the bench and inside her chambers, Cordell unpacks her efforts to do both what is right and what is just, and to critique and improve upon a system even as she revered it. Revealing, engrossing, funny, and ultimately instructive, the memoir concludes with ten recommendations for judicial reform that all jurisdictions would do well to take up. A must-read about the ability of one person to stand up for justice both within the system and outside of it.”
“Her Honor is exceptional—an instant classic that will undoubtedly enter the canon of the greats of non fiction. As funny and charming as Bill Bryson, but as powerful and eye-opening as Bryan Stevenson, Her Honor, part memoir, part primer on America's court system is a joy, a revelation, and an education. Judge Cordell is a tough, humane, and wildly comedic guide through the judiciary, warts and all. The book succeeds on every possible level. I devoured it and loved every minute, laughing out loud at times, wiping away tears at others, and even mourning as I neared its triumphant ending. Thanks to this extraordinary book, I’ve become a more informed citizen. Judge Cordell is exactly what America needs right now.”
“Beautifully written and riveting from start to finish, this remarkable memoir by one of our nation’s most pathbreaking jurists seamlessly interweaves vivid and often gut-wrenching courtroom scenes with fascinating legal history and candid personal reflection to provide a unique glimpse inside the process of judicial decision-making. A brave, profound and affecting book that combines wisdom, candor, wit and humanity in equal measure, Her Honor is a sterling embodiment of the meaning of judicial independence that should be required reading for law students and anyone interested in our system of justice.”
“Her Honor is essential and urgent reading. With openness, honesty, and courage, Judge Cordell offers a rare and illuminating look at what it is really like to be a judge. She shares the moments of warmth and humor, the unexpected victories, the redemptions—and the moments of fear, frustration, regret, and uncertainty. She asks us to stand by her side on the good days and the bad days, to confront the tragic choices and deep inequities, so that we may know the truth about our legal system and heed the call to make it better.”
“LaDoris Cordell was the first Black woman judge in Northern California. In this remarkable book – part memoir, part insistence on reform, she tells it exactly how it is. Alternately searing and heartwarming, this is a book that will at one moment will make you shudder at the profoundly sad stories that find their way into our legal system, and tear up at others. This is one great read, and not to be missed.”
“LaDoris Cordell uses her experiences as a judge to provide unique, important insights into our legal system and how to reform it. This beautifully written book shows us what it’s like to wear judicial robes and to make judgments that determine the course of other people’s lives.”
“With candor and insight, Judge LaDoris Cordell puts a human face on the judges who make life-changing decisions on a daily basis. She takes readers inside the courtroom, presenting stories of the people whose lives have been altered, for better or worse, by our laws and the professionals who enact them. This is an inspiring and hopeful book, filled with good ideas for how to make the legal system work for all.”
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BOOK REVIEW
Her Honor: My Life on the Bench... What Works, What’s Broken, and How to Change It. LaDoris Hazzard Cordell. Celadon Books, a division of MacMillan Publishers. $28 (336p) ISBN 978-1-250-26960-7
[...] She also discusses ethical issues surrounding the sentencing of minors as adults, the history of laws banning or limiting transracial adoptions, and the complexities of involuntary civil commitment statutes.
In the book’s most moving section... more
Reviewed on : 08/06/2021
Release date: 10/26/2021
Genre: Nonfiction
TRIAL NEWS
BOOK REVIEW
Her Honor
by Rachel Luke
LaDoris Hazzard Cordell. Her Honor: My Life on the Bench…What Works, What’s Broken, and How to Change it. Celadon Books, a division of MacMillan Publishers (10/26/21); 309 pages; Hardcover $28.00.
[...] Judge Cordell does not shy away from the difficult decisions she made as a superior court judge, even those she regrets. It is clear that she treated every person in her courtroom with respect and dignity.
One noteworthy case was the 1992 juvenile court trial... more
Reviewed: December 2022
ESSENCE
The 19 Best New Winter Reads
By Keyaira Boone
Her Honor: My Life on the Bench…
What Works, What’s Broken,
and How to Change It
Author: LaDoris Hazzard Cordell
Hear a critique of our country’s justice system straight from the bench.
Reviewed: December 2021
