Ep. 40: Lady Justice: an Interview with Lawyer Jacqueline Justice

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EQ:  Why are issues of justice are important for the average person to understand in 2019?

Guest: Jacqueline Justice

Highlights of this episode include:

  • What it’s like to work inside the Social Security Administration as a decision writer and how the system can be improved for people with disabilities (cultural competency training, better vocational training, and a functional healthcare system).

  • How Washington’s social safety nets are better (and worse) than other states and what we do well (Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, or DVR is one example).

  • The basics of Dependency Court, including racial disparities and disproportionalities - African American children are twice as likely to enter the system and most people who work in it are white women.

  • The ins and outs of the adult advocacy roles, including attorney, CASAs, and GALs (guardians ad litem).

  • What it’s like being a woman of color in a field (law) that is dominated by older white males, including the intersectionality of race and gender in the court.

  • The compounding effect of the homelessness crisis (and housing instability in general) on kids in crisis.

  • How the state lacks the ability to sustain comprehensive programs - we tend to focus on fixing individual pieces but not the whole situation or the whole family.

  • The benefit of local programs, like the Tacoma Housing Authority.

  • Jacqueline's Magic Wand Wishes: universal health care and good vocational training.

  • Maintaining a trauma-informed approach to the work of law in order to lead the profession in a compassionate way.

Guilty Favesies:

  • Annie: Game apps like Candy Crush Blossom Blast

  • Jackie: “How to Get Away with Murder” and other crime shows

  • Hope: the show “You”

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Jackie: the CASA program, The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

  • Hope: White Rage by Carol Anderson

  • Annie: Donate locally to support youth in crisis and the programs that help them such as Fostering Together