PSU Magazine Summer 1989

"There's always something going on here and it's always very, very interesting. It's wonderful , not in the sense that it's fun , but we real ly get a rich view of a good part of America. It's really the underclass that comes through this court: the uneducated , the oppressed , people that are just destitute, poverty-stricken, and from dysfunctional families," she said . English possesses a great deal of em– pathy for the underprivileged litigants. She describes her own childhood as difficult and painful. " I came from an extremely dysfunctional family," said English. "My mother was an excommunicated Mormon living in a very religious town , Salt Lake City. We were very poor, but my mother raised six children by herself without any welfare or subsidies whatsoever. She did it by persevering, being crazy, alcoholic and abusive. All the children have addictive personalities; all of us are intense sur– vivors." "Children are clearly being influenced by the violence they see on television, films and in magazines. " Growing up in Salt Lake City, English never thought she would one day preside over a courtroom. " It never occurred to me that I could be anything. It was amaz– ing I made it out of grammar school, miraculous I got through high school, and unbelievable that I went on to college. I was raised Mormon and my highest aspiration was to have multiple broods of children," she said. English, 45, does have two sons, ages 18 and 15. The eldest recently graduated from Jefferson High School, eleventh in his class. " He's a very smart, very radical child. Not radical enough for me, though. I wanted a punk with green hair. He only has one pierced ear and he cuts his hair short ," she laughingly said . English divorced when the children were young, and has raised them with her "domestic partner" of 12 years. English credits her high school drama teacher and the women's movement with inspiring her to pursue a career. "My high school drama teacher told me I could be somebody." With that encouragement , she majored in English at PSU and received the Nina Mae Kellogg award for outstand– ing scholarship. After teaching high school fo r three years, she returned to PSU to pursue a master's degree in education. In the last term of her senior year she enrolled in a course titled "Women and the Law." "The course really fired and charged me up. The information it exposed me to was so fascinating, so powerful. I began to see how horribly oppressed women were in our Anglo- Saxon legal system." The course inspired English to enroll the following fall in the Northwestern School of Law at Lewis and Clark where she eventually earned a law degree. E nglish's background has proved an invaluable asset in her work as a juvenile referee. " I know how it is to be so poor you haven't eaten. I know what it's like to love your mother and see her having an alcoholic fit. My background has helped me have a lot of compassion for the children who pass through this court . It has also given me the imag ination to think of creative alter– natives fo r these children," she maintains. One example of English's innovative ap– proach to the law is her willingness to ex– periment with mediation. Recently she selected a handful of cases that were set to go to trial and attempted to work out com– promises during a pre- trial judicial con– ference. " Instead of settling for a fu ll- blown, two- day trial , I'll make both sides come in fo r an hour or two and I'll say 'What's your evidence?' and they tell me. And then I say 'Here's what I would decide and here's what every judge in this state would dec ide. Now let's hammer it out .' It's been working great. We've settled almost all the cases we've tried it on." One of English's recent , successful mediations involved a mother whose baby was born addicted to cocaine. The Oregon Children's Services Division (CSD) wanted to take the baby away, but the mother's lawyer argued that her cocaine use was not interfering with her ability to parent. As ev idence, the defense lawyer pointed to the defendant's adequate care fo r her other two children. English called the two sides in for a judicial conference. During the conference English discovered that the defendant's own mother had died three months prior to her baby's birth and contributed to her relapse into cocaine use. " I said let's postpone the trial fo r six months and we'll do a contract. The contract will be contingent on the mother receiving drug treatment and allowing CSD to visit. We'll look again in six months. If the mother is back on track, she can have full custody of the child . If not, then we' ll go to trial." English believes mediation has great potential use in juvenile court . It works, she contends, " because we're all ultimately on the same side - the parents, child , CSD, the state, and the judge. We all want to see the family healthy and together." Since becoming a referee in 1985, English has observed an increase in the amount of serious juvenile crime. "There is no question in my mind that there's more serious crime now. My first year out here I don't remember there being a juvenile homicide and last year there were several. This year there are already a few. There are more assaults, more robberies, and more parents prosecuting their own children," she remarked . She partially blames the med ia for con– tributing to the recent surge in serious crime. "Children are clearly being in– fluenced by the violence they see on telev ision, films and in magazines. The ac– cess they have to excessive violence is shocking. You put this media exposure together with poverty, hopelessness, and dysfunctional families and you have a time bomb waiting to go off." A recent case in her courtroom pro– vides a stark illustration of the link be– tween med ia violence and juvenile crime. The 14-year-old defendant and his best friend were at home watching the movie "Colors," an R- rated film that has been criticized fo r glori fy ing youth gang violence. After the movie, the defendant took out his father's gun to play " hide the gun" with his friend , believing he had emptied the bullets from the cylinder. Dur– ing the game the defendant put the gun to his best friend's head and shot him dead . " I think about these children watching the movie 'Colors.' At that same age my friends and I were watching 'Pinocchio,' " said English. PSU 19