Judiciary
Judge Says Kicking White Lawyers Out of Courtroom Was ‘Mistake’
Posted Apr 2, 2008, 02:04 pm CDT
By Molly McDonough
An Atlanta judge who told white lawyers to leave his courtroom so he could lecture African-American defendants last week now says he regrets the move.
"In retrospect, it was a mistake," Judge Marvin Arrington told CNN. "Because my sheriff said to me, 'Judge, that message should be given to everybody'—'Don't violate the law, make something out of yourself, go to school, find a role model, somebody that will help you advance your life.' "
Arrington, who is African-American, says he was tired of seeing black defendants in his courtroom and decided to have a heart-to-heart with a group of them without white lawyers present.
"I came out and saw the defendants, and it was about 99.9 percent Afro-Americans," Arrington told CNN affiliate WSB-TV of Atlanta, "and at some point in time, I excused some lawyers—most of them white—and said to the young people in here, 'What in the world are you doing with your lives?' "
The judge told the network that he thought his message would have more impact if delivered to a black-only audience.
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