Articles

HONORABLE JUDGE LAURA D. BLACKBURNE

By Michael Goldsmith

After more than 30 years of public and community service and being an advisor to four mayors and two governors, the Honorable Laura D. Blackburne ran for elected office. On November 7, 1995, she was elected Judge of the Civil Court of the City of New York. In January 1996, Judge Blackburne took her seat on the bench in the Criminal Court of Queens County.

The future Judge was born in North Carolina and raised in Columbus, Ohio. She was a graduate of Ohio State University, majoring in Dance, Physical Education and Health Education. Judge Blackburne is perhaps one of the more athletic judges to ascend to the bench in Queens County. Anyone challenging her to a duel beware. She was the Ohio State University Women's Intramural Fencing Champion.

Judge Blackburne has spent her entire career in public service. She began her public service in l959 as a teacher. "At that time, the New York City School system was more segregated than Mississippi," recalled the Judge, so the young teacher first found employment on the other side of the Hudson, in New Jersey. From 1961 to 1963, she taught in Washington, D.C., and finally found a teaching job in New York City in 1964.

Judge Blackburne, after teaching in New York for a year, sought other civil service opportunities. Judge Blackburne held various positions with the New York City Housing Authority until 1970, when former Mayor John Lindsay invited her to join his administration. In the Lindsay administration she was a member of the Mayor's Education Task Force, served as Director of the Narcotics Control Commission and was an Assistant to the Mayor.

The last half of the l970's first found Judge Blackburne at the Children's Television Workshop, as the Coordinator of Community Health Projects, and then at St. John's University School of Law from which she graduated in l979. "I graduated from law school the same time as my oldest daughter graduated high school," said the Judge. "I could only stay at her graduation ceremony and luncheon for about two hours, because I was studying for the bar exam." Following her admission to the Bar of the State of New York, Judge Blackburne served as President and Chief Executive of the Institute for Mediation and Conflict Resolution for a decade.

At the Institute for Mediation and Conflict Resolution she led her staff in providing conflict resolution services to public, private and community groups, as well as trained over 15,000 individuals in negotiation and mediation techniques throughout the Unite States and abroad. Additionally, she became familiar with issues which usually arose in litigation by providing alternative resolution to minor civil and criminal cases.

Judge Blackburne had some very interesting cases while serving at the Institute for Mediation. In one case she had to mediate between two groups who were preparing a documentary entitled, "Before Stonewall," which was about the riot that was a watershed event in the Gay Rights movement. After the grants were made and the financing of the project was secured, the groups began bickering over production roles and screen credits. The divisions were so deep that the entire project was threatened and production came to a halt. Finally after six months, an accord was reached, and the project proceeded.

A similar situation arose shortly thereafter. After a community group was awarded a grant to set up a community center, bitter arguments ensued as to how to run the center threatening to kill the project. "I learned quite a bit from the "Stonewall" experience, enabling me to effectively mediate this dispute," said the Judge. "Sometimes people, when nearing their objective, get scared that they might fail, and get into fights to stop the project. To resolve the situation, you have to bring people along so that they can believe that they can actually achieve their goal."

One of her most "devastating" mediations occurred when Judge Blackburne was called in to mediate on behalf of the Philadelphia homeowners whose homes were destroyed when the local police dropped a bomb on the house occupied by members of the radical group known as MOVE.

A number of agencies were trying to assist the forty newly homeless families. "The people were shell shocked," recalled the Judge, "They were in a high state of anger." The problem, according to the Judge, was that "the agencies did not treat these people like proud middle class homeowners. They were being treated as indigent. For example, these people did not want second hand clothes, and they were very upset about the loss of sentimental items that could never be replaced."

The future Judge worked with the families to help them express their loss. "Explaining their loss was as important as providing them with the basic necessities," said Judge Blackburne.

When l990 arrived, Judge Blackburne moved on to the largest housing program in the Nation, as the Chair of the New York City Housing Authority. Her jurisdiction was larger than the second biggest city in the State of New York, covering 20 billion dollars in real estate and other assets; 600,000 residents; 16,000 staff represented by more than a dozen labor unions and a police force of 2300; and budge of 20 billion dollars, to which she brought 200 million new dollars.

Judge Blackburne's proudest accomplishment at the Housing Authority was bringing bicycle police to New York City. "It proved to be an effective mechanism to bring the police closer to the community." Since then, officers on their bikes are a regular feature of the NYPD.

Her ascension to the bench offered Judge Blackburne new challenges. "Queens has an extremely diverse population," said the judge. "A broader understanding of the culture of the people who appear before you makes a difference on how to respond."

Judge Blackburne's experience as a mediator helps her in her new role as Judge. "You are still dealing with people. You still have to understand the people before you - why they are there, and what they hope to come out with."

Another important facet of Judge Blackburne's philosophy is that "I make sure that I don't forget that every individual that comes before me is experiencing the most important moment in his or her life. Even if it is number 100 on my calendar, it is still number one on that person's calendar. A judge must bring a fresh perspective to each case and do it in a couple of minutes."

Judge Blackburne enjoys the professional atmosphere at the Queens Criminal Court. "Fortunately," said the Judge, "the Judiciary in Queens is very collegial. The Criminal Court Judges here are willing to share their broad spectrum of experience with a new Judge. The Judges have weekly meetings to share their expertise on the law and other issues."

Judge Blackburne is very much aware of the social problems that produce much of the Criminal Courts clientele. She told a parable about an isolated community in an underdeveloped country. "Some local women doing their wash in the river came across a baby in a basket. They took the baby home, and the baby was raised by the village. A couple of weeks later, another basket was found with another baby. This baby too was adopted by the community. This went on so that after a few months, the village now had over 30 new babies to raise. The people convened the village counsel. At the meeting, an elder stood up and said, "We need to go upstream and find out why babies are floating in the river."

Judge Blackburne believes that social problems produce criminals. "We must go upstream to see what is happening," said the Judge.

Always feeling the need to contribute her talents beyond the demands of her paid positions, Judge Blackburne has been involved in the world or academics, corporate life, and public, legal and community service.

She has taught or lectured at Long Island University; City University of New York Center for Legal Education and Urban Policy; Harvard University, Institute of Politics; University of Massachusetts Law Center, The New School for Social Research and her alma mater St. John's University School of Law. She also served on the Board of Directors of Mutual of America, a Fortune 500 Insurance Company for six years.

Her public service includes Board membership to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority; Job Training Partnership Council of New york State; New York City Criminal Civilian Complaint Task Force; U.S. Peace Academy; Governor's Transit Advisory Panel; Governor's Task Force on Rape. She was also Coordinator of the U.S. Peace Academy, Northeast Region; Co-Chair of the Mayor's Committee on Church Avenue Boycott; and Chair of the Triboro Bridge & Tunnel Authority Committee.

In 1997, Judge Blackburne coordinated two important programs with the "invaluable assistance" of her Court Attorney, Linda L. Roots. In October she served as moderator for "Domestic Violence Day in the Criminal Courts," which reviewed the impact on and the role of the parties involved in domestic violence. The following month, the Judge served as the coordinator of "Blacks and Jews in Conversation," a program designed to promote racial and ethnic understanding among the City's young people through the use of mock trials.

Judge Blackburne has used her training as an attorney to become a member of the Character and Fitness Committee for Admission to the Bar of the Second Judicial Department of New York State; The Departmental Disciplinary Committee, First Judicial Department; Metropolitan Black Bar Association; Board of Visitors, City University of New York, Law School, and Pro Bono Counsel to the New York State NAACP.

Judge Blackburne has rendered community service to the NAACP; Links, Inc.; Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority; Black Leadership Commission on AIDS; Catholic Council; EHB Regular Democratic Club; St. Catherine of Sienna R. C. Church; and Coalition of l00 Black Women.

Judge Blackburne is a member of the Bar of the State of New York, the United State District Courts for the Eastern and Southern District, as well as being admitted pro hac vice to the United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit. Before attending law school, the Judge continued her post graduate education by taking graduate courses at New York University and courses at Cornell University Center for Labor Relations.

She has been honored with a Doctor of Laws degree from both St. John's University and Niagara University. In addition to those prestigious honors, Judge Blackburne has been honored with a 38 year marriage to Elmer H. Blackburne, the distinguished District Leader 29th Assembly District, Part B, and they have been blessed with three lovely and loving, as well as distinguished daughters, Anna Blackburne Rigsby, Hearing Commissioner of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, Rose E. Blackburne, M.D., Obstetrician and Gynecologist at Kaiser-Permenente, Washington, D.C., Faith T. Blackburne, President of F. T. B. & Associates Conference, Meeting & Special Events Consultants, Baltimore, Maryland; as well as an outstanding son-in-law, Major Robert R. Rigsby, Deputy Corporation Counsel, Enforcement Division of the Office of Corporation Counsel of the District of Columbia.

Judge Blackburne's hobbies include dancing. "I love many kinds of dancing," said the Judge. "Ballroom, Latin, Caribbean, and even Waltzing." Judge Blackburne also enjoys reading cold war spy novels, mysteries, and courtroom dramas. She also likes to travel, having gone to Europe, China, Russia, South America, the Middle East, South Africa, Mexico and the Caribbean.