Pathways to the Bench: U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Jeffery P. Hopkins

The following program was produced by the United States courts. I never thought because, I came from a poor family or the segregated south or that I was culturally and educationally disadvantaged, that those would be barriers to my success. I always believed that you can achieve anything in life you want. I was born in the segregated south of Southwest Georgia. It was a very difficult time in the south. I saw that in my uncle's slang and the brutality that he faced. A law enforcement officer, Sheriff Screws, arrested and beat to death my uncle. He was later convicted. The case went to the Supreme Court and eventually was overturned on constitutional grounds because the sheriff had testified at trial that he meant to kill him, he didn't mean to deprive him of civil rights. My uncle's case really motivated me to be a part of our justice system because I had seen that injustice and it had such an impact upon me as a child. When I was five years old we migrated to Ohio to escape the discrimination that was practiced on an open the basis. My dad wanted me to use my brain. He knew that education was the key. I went through the public school system and eventually went to boarding school in New England. I had never heard of boarding schools before. I didn't know they existed, but a teacher had seen my performance in school and knew it would be a wonderful opportunity for me. It was a struggle at first. At 14, number one being such a distance from home, and number two being in a very culturally challenging environment. I stepped outside my comfort zone. To go and find help I went over the Headmaster's house participating in sack races and other kinds of corny events but it built a bond for me. And I knew that he would be a friend that I could go to whenever I needed help. And in fact it came full circle because when I was applying for this job I actually asked the head of school to write a letter of support for me, and it was very helpful in my receiving the appointment to the bench. The difficulty with our society is not everyone has wonderful parents like I had. The way one overcomes that is to go out and find mentors because there are plethora of folks out there who if you show an interest if you show a desire and if you show that you're willing to work hard we'll help you we'll guide you and we'll give you the opportunity that you will need to succeed.

Channel: United States Courts

Views: 9,088

Keywords: federal judge, Judge, U.S Courts, Federal Judiciary, United States, Jeffrey P. Hopkins

Id: KS6zBt-tHoo

Length: 3min 10sec (190 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 30 2012