PSU Magazine Summer 1989

0 :r z c "' "' r > z <:l PSU 18 Children • In Court PSU Alumna judges the juvenile offender. Ju venile Court Referee Katharine English By Neal Brady ' 'When I told my children I got a job as a juvenile court referee, they asked if they could come watch the soccer games," Katharine English said. "I loved it. When I retire I want a referee's whistle and one of those black and white bibs." For now, English, '71 BS, is content to don a black robe. Presiding over court– rooms at the Donald E. Long Juvenile Center in Northeast Portland , English is the senior juvenile court referee for Multnomah County. 'Tm basicalJy a cheap judge. I do everything they do, and get paid $20,000 less," she explained. More specifically, English presides over the trials of children who have committed acts that would be considered crimes if they were adults. Typical juvenile crimes are car theft , drug and alcohol abuse, stealing and assault. English al so deter– mines custody fo r children who are "beyond the control" of their parents, as well as hearing cases of parental abuse and neglect. Outside of the courtroom, she engages in weekly supervision of chronic probation violators. In a system that often appears cold and faceless, she is a caring, upbeat, and very human presence. She smiles a lot at children, looks deeply into their eyes to make a point, and the phrase "Way to go kiddo" is one of her favorites. English gives the impression that she knows how it feels to be a confused 12-years-old sitting in a room full of strange adults. She is also passionate about her work . English bounds through rooms and hallways in a perpetual hurry, chatting with caseworkers, issuing arrest warrants, needling defense lawyers, or reassuring parents who have come to the juvenile center for the first time. She listens to parents and caseworkers as if hearing these disturbing stories for the first time.