'Pipeline to diversity': How Central's law program is helping change the judicial system
In a room full of students of color on a recent morning just before the start of summer, Central High alumna Jessica Green told the school's Law and Government Magnet students how the trajectory of her life changed thanks to the very program they are working through.
"I would not be who I am, I would not have had the opportunity to go to the places I have gone and done the things I have done without this Central program," said Green, a Jefferson Circuit Court Judge who is one of the few Black judges in Kentucky.
She was one of several alumnae present for a Hall of Fame unveiling and to view the trailer of an upcoming documentary highlighting the program's success.
Central's law magnet was the first of its kind in Jefferson County Public Schools and has expanded since its start in 1986 to include strong partnerships with the University of Louisville's Brandeis Law School and the Louisville Bar Association.
Led by Joe Gutmann, a former county prosecutor for 20 years, the program has seen nearly two dozen graduates in his time become lawyers or enter law school.
The documentary, 'A Pathway Forward,' isn't just about celebrating the success of getting so many students from a predominantly Black, impoverished school into impactful careers, but also about showing other schools how they can replicate the program, Gutmann said.
Joe Gutmann 22 Nov 2001, Thu The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky) Newspapers.com
Gutmann left the judicial system and turned to teaching because he believes education is the key to solving our community's crime problem. He also believes programs like Central's are the key to changing the demographics of our judicial system.
Currently, only 5% of lawyers throughout the country are Black, and as of May 2022, no Kentucky Supreme Court justices are Black, according to a report from the Brennan Center for Justice.
Documentarian Jesse Nesser, alongside Louisville native Tommy Johns, spent the past school year following Gutmann's sophomore class while they went through the Street Law course, learning about the nuances of contract, divorce, environmental and criminal law.
"I’ve seen a lot of classrooms and there's just something special about these kids," Nesser said. "I walked out thinking, even if they didn’t have to be here, they’d choose to be here."
Nesser had learned of the program from Laura Rothstein, a former U of L law professor who led the partnership between the schools, which has brought college law students into Central classrooms to teach for about 15 years.
The program, she said, "is an important pipeline to diversity in the legal profession." The documentary, which is expected to be released in the fall, comes at a time when achieving diversity within higher education institutions is even more challenging, she added.
"Now, when you can't use affirmative action in admissions, we have to make sure there are pipelines and doors opened at an early age," Rothstein said.
More than preparing the next generation of lawyers and judges, though, Rothstein noted the experience of teaching has benefited her law students and that Central's students have gained writing and advocacy skills, as well as confidence.
That is the most important part of the work for Gutmann, too.
Ahead of the Hall of Fames' unveiling, Gutmann pulled out of photo of his 2015 graduating class. In that small group of students, he listed off the successes of each: an accountant, five lawyers and a high school principal in one of the nation's largest districts.
"Statistically, this isn't supposed to happen," Gutmann said. "You don't see five lawyers from one class at a Title 1 school. Education becomes an equalizer."
To view the documentary trailer, click below.
Contact Krista Johnson at kjohnson3@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville law program spotlighted in documentary 'A Pathway Forward'
