National Jurist - September 2007 - (Page 14)

A passion for troubled kids Renorda Herring has already left a lasting impression, even though she just graduated from law school Pucci said. “We all loved her. We miss her.” The first class had 12 people in it. Pucci figures the program — still running three years after Herring left for law school — now sees about 60 people a month. Juvenile services include various classsays. “Our other name is ‘counselor.’ We need to counsel them and make them understand — you don’t want to be here next year.” Herring says she does not believe in adult programs and rehabilitation. “But with children we can still teach them and say no, this is blue, not green, and they can still say, ‘OK, I’m going to switch,’” she said. Herring points to a combination of inclination, family background, and habit for reasons a kid commits a crime. Diversionary programs, she says, can address two of the three. “Gangs can teach them how to shoot, how to kill, how to be mean,” Herring said. “That means we can teach them positive things. Instead of gang leaders teaching them that, why can’t it be me?” R enorda Herring has a passion for helping kids — troubled kids. The Atlanta native graduated from North Carolina Central School of Law this past spring, and in both locations she has left a lasting impression on the community and the kids that she has helped. “I’m a bit of an advocate on that; I can talk all day about that,” she says By Paul Hughes about helping kids in trouble with the law. “It should be mandatory that you come with a passion for juvenile court.” Herring’s fire started burning well before law school. As an undergrad at Savannah State, she organized a Phi Alpha Delta pre-law service club — feeding the homeless, cleaning up after parades, mock-trials at elementary schools, and tutoring. Over one summer, she interned at the Atlanta City Solicitor (like a district attorney, for low-level cases). Then one day a speaker in a political science class asked if anyone was willing to help at juvenile court — through a juvenile diversion program. Herring volunteered, and enjoyed the experience so much that she asked if she could use the program as a model when she went back to Atlanta. She added some research on conflict resolution, and went to pitch the idea to her boss at the City Solicitor’s office. “We were looking to do something different for the people who came through the solicitor’s offices,” says Tracey Pucci, an investigator for Atlanta City Solicitor Raines F. Carter. Pucci and Carter liked the idea and told Herring to put it down on paper. Herring then put the program together, and ran it while she was there. “The students and clients loved her,” “It’s my passion. Yes, I want to go to court, litigate, that’s exciting; but my passion is my program.” — Renorda Herring By one’s early 20s, she says, we can begin to expect adult choices from people. “By then, if you haven’t realized what you want to do and that what you do matters, that’s not for us anymore,” she said. “But when you’re 15 or 16, you don’t understand that.” She doesn’t save them all. But she takes as an example the some she saves. “One kid [in Atlanta] got in trouble for intent to sell, didn’t have a GED, didn’t have anything,” Renorda said. “I told him, ‘if you get a GED, your life will be better,’ and he believed me.” When he got the GED, he came back to see Herring while she was teaching another class. Continued on page 16 es, community service, drug and alcohol awareness, and other interventions. Assistant solicitors recommend people for the program, judges agree, the individual completes the assignments, and cases are dropped — ideally with no returns. Feel good law Herring believes one reason kids go bad is because it feels good — it feels good to have money, be popular, and get what they think they want. “Everyone in the world loves to feel good, so I try to teach them there are other things that might feel a little good,” she 14 THE NATIONAL JURIST September 2007

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of National Jurist - September 2007

National Jurist - September 2007 Contents Free Speech Disturbing the Peace For the Record Judge Approves $49 million BAR/BRI Settlement Law School Causes Emotional Stress, Study Finds New Textbook Breaks the Mold Southern Illinois Settles Lawsuit with Christian Legal Society Ave Maria Law Professors Protest School’s Move The Firm Report Student Hoax Shuts Down Hastings Law NCCU Grad Expands Her Program for Troubled Kids Hawaii Grad Finds Excitement in Saving Whales Diversity Hampering Whittier Accreditation? The Paper Chase Chronicles The Supreme Court: An Insider’s View Detroit Mercy’s Innovative Changes Pay Off Career Hotline The J.D. Files

National Jurist - September 2007

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