Entrevistas

1. On the Impact of the Camp Experience

2. Coming into Japanese Culture and Heritage

3. “I had no idea about studying law…”

4. “How did I end up going to law school?”

5. Opening Up Shop in Little Tokyo

6. The Other Two JA women lawyers in Los Angeles—Chiyoko Sakamoto and Madge Watai

7. On Generational Differences in JABA’s Early Years

8. The Founding of JABA: Getting Judges Appointed

9. “If I hadn’t gone to that meeting…”

10. On Hon. Edward Kakita and JABA’s early efforts

11. JABA: On Engaging Students and Community

12. On the Importance of Role Models

13. On Getting the Call from J. Anthony Kline

14. On Being a New Judge and a New Mother

15. On Justice Todd’s Daughter, Mia Doi Todd

16. On Justice Todd’s Involvement with the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center

17. On Working in the Appellate Court

Todd,Kathryn Doi

(n. 1942) A primeira juíza americana de descendência oriental

The Founding of JABA: Getting Judges Appointed

The Chinese lawyers had already formed SCCLA (Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association). The Hispanic lawyers had already formed the Mexican American Bar Association. And the Black lawyers had already formed Langston, the Black bar association. […] And Ed thought that it was really important if we wanted to make a significant impact on getting judges appointed to the bench—JAs appointed—that we really had to form a bar association. And we were sort of following in the footsteps of those other minority bar associations. And there was Minority Bar Association from the very beginning, and that’s how we all got to know each other. Bob Roberson was president of the…of Langston, Ben Aranda was head of the Mexican American Bar Association, and I can’t remember who was president of the Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association, but we all knew each other and tried to help each other in terms of organization, in terms of trying to get ahead, and I really think one of the primary purposes of the Japanese American Bar Association—formation—was to encourage appointments to the bench.

Direito minorias

Data: July 10, 2012

Localização Geográfica: California, US

Entrevistado: Lawrence Lan

País: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum; Japanese American Bar Association

Entrevistados

A juíza Kathryn Doi Todd nasceu em 4 de janeiro de 1942, um mês antes do presidente Franklin D. Roosevelt assinar a Ordem Executiva 9066, devido a qual ela e sua família foram encarcerados no campo de concentração de Heart Mountain no estado de Wyoming, e no campo de concentração de Tule Lake no norte da Califórnia.

Após a Segunda Guerra Mundial, sua família retornou para Los Angeles, onde ela cresceu. Todd se formou na Los Angeles High School [Escola Secundária de Los Angeles] e mais tarde cursou a Universidade de Stanford, onde foi diplomada em História em 1963. Ela eventualmente cursou a Faculdade Loyola de Direito [em Los Angeles] onde se formou em 1970.

A carreira de direito de Todd teve início quando ela abriu sua própria prática de direito civil no bairro de Little Tokyo em Los Angeles, numa época onde havia apenas três advogadas nipo-americanas trabalhando na cidade. Em meados dos anos 70, Todd e alguns outros juristas nipo-americanos se uniram para fundar a Associação Nipo-Americana de Direito (JABA), cujo objetivo principal era aumentar o número de juízes nipo-americanos.

Em 1978, o governador [da Califórnia] Jerry Brown indicou Todd para o Tribunal Municipal do Condado de Los Angeles, lhe concedendo assim a distinção de ser a primeira juíza americana de descendência oriental. Três anos mais tarde, em 1981, Brown a promoveu para o Tribunal Superior do Condado de Los Angeles. Em 2000, o governador Gray Davis indicou Todd para a Segunda Divisão do Segundo Distrito do Tribunal de Apelação da Califórnia, onde ela atualmente serve como Juíza Associada. (Julho 2012)