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The Double Sided Performance of Law Anna Lee Schrader/ Photo Credit: Leonard Freed (1972)

How is the law performed for people of color and what are ways in which public tribunals or courtroom media contribute to meet the demands for justice and to help reform the performance of law?

Abstract

Through my research, in this paper I analyze how the law is hyper performative in the presence of People of Color meaning that it is one that is merciless and unjust, in contrast to the white experience of the law's performance, which is helpful and heroic. I analyze how it is a rigged system put in place to threaten the existence and well-being of innocent Black lives and incorporated into my paper, an unpublished interview with the Political Prisoner, Shaka Shakur and his first hand experience of this performance of law. I then transition into the reality show Judges, Judge Joe Brown and Judge Greg Mathis and their first hand experience with this unjust performance of law and how they utilize their experiences as Black men to contribute to the reformation of this performance by alternative sentencings, diverting from typical courtroom behavior, and recalling their own negative experiences with law to help relate to the People of Color in their courtrooms.

Left:  The Runaway By Norman Rockwell (1958). A classic depiction of the white experience with the performance of law. The law performs as heroic and brings justice for the white masses. It functions truly to "serve and protect" the white people.

Statistic proving the performance of law in the presence of Black POC is not here to "protect and serve", but to assault and murder. Black POC make up 13% of the US population and make up 39% of police murders as opposed to white people making up 63% of the US population and only 46% of police murders. This data proves that Black POC are four times as more likely to be killed by cops, than a white person. Source: FBI Supplementary Homicide Report

A protest against police brutality and for civil rights (1963). This abusive performance of law is not a newly found phenomenon, but a reoccurring oppressive system that Black POC have been fighting against since the start of America. Photo Credit: Marion S. Trikosko

A protest against police brutality and for the justice of Amadou Diallo, a Black man who was shot and murdered by four white police officers. 41 shots were fired, and Amadou was hit by 19 bullets. Amadou was studying to be a computer engineer in New York City and planned to start a business with his family. Photo Credit: Frank Fournier (1999)

A double sided performance of law. White supremacists are free and able to protest and exercise their rights on the steps of Michigan's Capital, armed with militant weaponry. Witnesses stated they were aggressive, and hostile, chanting phrases like "white power" and "lockdown is slavery". Zero arrests were made. Photo Credit: Jeff Kowalsky (2020).

A double sided performance of law. A peaceful Black Lives Matter protest consisted of chanting and singing in St. Paul, is disrupted by violent police assaults and arrests. It's reported that over 100 arrests were made this night in St. Paul. Photo Credit: Mark Wallheisner (2020).

Essay:

The law is a structure embedded into our society that is experienced daily; walking down the street, a car is getting a parking ticket, turn on your tv and Judge Judy is ruling guilty to the accused. This system is one that is meant to serve the people, protect the innocent, and bring justice to the guilty. The people are told that there is no bias, and the system does not need any reformation. The people are told that this system is fair and just, and it is worthy to trust.

There are hundreds if not, thousands of reports from Black POC claiming this system is tainted with a racial bias. Cops dehumanized and abuse them, judges do not believe them, and a black person is getting nearly a life sentence in prison for the possession of marijuana while white business owners are opening their own dispensaries. Black POC voices have been raised, while the system blatantly ignores their cries and claims the system is fair. The law has been putting on a dedicated, and heroic performance since the start of slavery and yet it is a double-sided performance. The heroic performance is for the masses, the rich, the white. It is a performance that does in fact do its job within protecting the innocent and bringing justice. White neighborhoods feel safe in the presence of cops, and fully trust that they will do what is good for the community. Then there is a villainous side, for the minority groups. This side is hyper performative of law, where they are constantly at the mercy of those who enforce it. The law has become weaponized to where the literal existence of a POC could be found guilty of just about anything within the context of this performance. This performance does not protect the innocent because it sees all as guilty. This performance gaslights, as if they are performing the heroic side to POC, claiming they are living under the same laws and rules as whites. Yet the relationship with law is different in the face of POC. For example, a white woman runs across the street to catch up with her friends, and she goes about her day. A Black woman runs across the street and gets ticketed for jaywalking. The officer could have reason to be suspicious (given her skin color, this is the villainous performance), and search her to find pepper spray in her bag. The officer could report that she had a weapon with her and take her to jail. In perspective, these are the two sides to the performance of law. The contrast is clear in that, the white woman would utilize her experience to justify that the law is fair, but it is a blind defense. The presence of dark skin is a witness to the switch from hero to villain and they are aware of the truth.

Black Panther Members protesting against social injustice. Photo Credit: David Fenton (1970)

Political Prisoner, Shaka Shakur details his account of the history of mistreatment of POC within the context of law. “You can trace this all the way back to the first establishment of prison and the post-civil war era. The struggle for Integration/Civil Rights, The Black Power Movement, For Religious Freedom and Worship, todays Black Lives Matter Movement, etc. When I first entered the system in the 80's, there was the residual left over from the 60's & 70's political movements.” Shaka Shakur witnessed the lasting effects of a corrupt system within the walls of prison. While the law itself performs as perfect and helpful, the history cannot deny the truth. Any attempt of reformation from Black POC is met with the villainous side of the law. It has become a trap for Black POC, to keep them in chains for their entire life. Shaka Shakur states, “People are locked up that need help and instead of getting treatment they're criminalized and sent to prison. As the govt,/state slash funding for this or that, cut programs, remove jobs, trades and access to grants for college enrollment... as the overall objective and material conditions become even more oppressive/repressive, people self-medicate in an attempt to escape and numb that pain.” Ultimately, the law has become weaponized against POC. The performance of this system takes part in gaslighting those that cry out, while taking away any chance a black POC could get at finding success within America. People like Shaka Shakur are to witness this villainous performance but are made to be silent. The long history of this oppression is witnessed within the walls of the prison and yet the law would make Shakur out to be a liar for speaking on what he has witnessed. If a black person gets locked up, their status as a felon will follow them for the rest of their life, holding them back from numerous opportunities The law performs as one to serve and protect the people. Shaka Shakur states, “In fact during the 80's we watched the prisoncrats intentionally flood the prisons with psychotropic psych meds, addicting over half of the populations. This was used as a control mechanism and human experimentation. We were lab rats.” The idea of justice in a racially biased system, is the law locking up Black POC without considering their humanization. There has been no place made, for Black POC to express their dissatisfaction with the law that is meant to “serve and protect” them. Because of this lack of space, Black POC have been forced to create their own space and have done so in many creative ways to fight against this performance of the law and to have their voices heard.

One of these ways can be found within reality tv show judges. While these Judges may be on reality tv, they do in fact practice law in real life. Judge Joe Brown was an appointed Judge of the Shelby County State Criminal Courts in the early 90’s, and before that was a prosecutor in Memphis. He became a well-know Black POC Judge due to the unique sentencings he would rule for guilty parties. “Brown began attracting media attention early on in his judicial career because of his creative sentencing, such as allowing burglary victims to go into the burglars’ homes and take whatever they wanted.” Judge Brown managed to obtain a privileged position within the infrastructure of the law and with that, was able to use his privilege to change the performance of law. It might not be total reformation, yet the performance is one that is not ignoring the cries of Black POC but taking them into account. Brown states, “I'm doing a different kind of thing. I'm using the court for social engineering, to prevent crime by going after the root causes.” Initially, Judge Brown is now performing the law, the way the law claimed to always perform. It is a performance that cares for each individual, humanizes them, and looks out for their well-being. The context of this performance is what makes it different from the regular performance of law. Judge Brown is utilizing the law within the understanding that black skin is not incriminating, a harsh sentence will not always bring justice, and that there is a root cause to be addressed when it is a Black POC that committed the crime. Judge Brown dives deeper into explaining these root causes, “96.7 percent of the people that are locked up are African-Americans, and I have a very direct interest in that. . . . I'm playing village chieftain. Village chieftain is supposed to protect the village, help those who need help, correct those who need correction and weed out those that you can't do anything with.” He goes on to address the fact that after these black prisoners are released, Black and POC felons are then denied numerous rights of citizenship that are afforded to nonfelons. Judge Brown does well within his analogy as Village Chief. He has used his privilege as a Judge to perform the law to help those who need it, and to correct those who need correction. He also seeks to counsel rather than to alienate those within the courtroom, creating an opportunity for growth and understanding. He addresses a young black drug dealer in his courtroom, “You just messed your thing up. That's why you ain't got any economy in your community, in my community. Check reality. The slave masters understood a very important thing. They said if you do what you should do to make these folks slaves, you don’t have to worry about it anymore.” This kind of behavior in the courtroom works against the dehumanization within the performance of law. This drug dealer was not ostracized for his crimes or belittled because of his skin color. Judge Brown talked to him as a human being and reasoned with him while teaching him a lesson. This performance of law is a part of reformation because it does not play on either side of being weaponized against POC or being protective of the white, upper class.

Art Credit: Mark Lroy "Don't Shoot"

Judge Joe Brown’s dedication to the people gave reason for white supremacists (whom the law performs well for), to critique and attempt to micromanage his career. Andrew Sonner from the American Bar Association states, “Everyone wants alternative sentencing, but when a judge actually attempts it, they are criticized by lawyers, the media and the public for being soft on crime or being a publicity-seeking rebel.”. Also, Memphis Judge Neal Small states that he thought “Brown's sentencing was ineffective, and that if the jails were overcrowded Tennessee should build more jails”. These critics are coming from a place of having only seen one side of the law’s performance. They have not been incriminated for their skin color or feared for their life in the face of law enforcement. They have not and cannot understand the irreparable damage that POC face within the villainous performance of law. They are no longer a witness or the audience to this one sided performance, but now a spect- “actor”. They are taking part in upholding this systems performance, taking on a role to silence the Black man trying to address the unmet demands of his community.

Another Black POC Judge that has utilized his position within law to help his community is Judge Greg Mathis. Judge Mathis did not lead a normal life leading up to his current occupation. He is one of the few Judges with a criminal record. “As a teenager in the mid-1970s, Greg Mathis was a leader in Errol Flynn's notorious Detroit street gang, a high school dropout, and at 17 years old did time as a juvenile tried as an adult in Michigan's Wayne County Jail.” Judge Mathis has a criminal record of being arrested four times, convicted once, and given up probation. He detailed his “wake-up call” happening when he was behind bars at an adult jail. “Mathis connected his personal narrative to the “many brothers” who also get “wake-up” calls but differentiated himself by the way he answered it. He spoke to that moment of “wake-up” as a time of possibility necessary to change somebody's life course.” After Judge Mathis experienced this wake-up call, he then enrolled in Eastern Michigan University and then successfully graduated in the fall of 1983. Following his graduation, he then moved to Detroit and started working for the City Council President, Clyde Cleveland. While working for the Council President, he started taking classes at University of Detroit Law School. Once he graduated, it took him multiple attempts to pass the State Bar exam because the State Bar Authorities were not sure of his eligibility due to his arrest record, and then prohibited him from becoming a lawyer. Judge Mathis spoke on the situation, “And so I was very confused by that, until I just one day understood that, quite frankly, this society isn't too particular about letting everybody through the door, particularly those of us who have had a background that is less than flattering…”. He took the State Bar to court and won, and in 1995 he become the youngest judge in the state’s history. This success is what earned him his platform and ability to have his own show. His experience with the performance of law, in relation to Judge Brown, is the same villainous side. There are plenty of white judges that have much less than a clean record. Consider Judge Kavanaugh of the Supreme Court, the highest court in America even he has multiple sexual assault allegations. The law performs for Black POC as the enemy. If Judge Mathis did not bring his case to the courts and fight, he could have easily gone back to a life of crime. Also given how unique this story is, who is to say there have not been thousands of other jobs denied to Black POC due to a criminal record. Mathis performs the law in his courtroom with a criminal record giving him an upper hand at meeting the needs of his Black community, which is possibly the reason the State Bar was hesitant to let him pass. To have a man at his level, being able to relate to those trapped by the villainous side of law would work against the institution, by pointing out its own hypocrisy with forcing this performance to recognize the villainous side due to reasoning the rejection of Judge Mathis. The State Bar plays a part in the performance of the law, but again it is villainous to a Black POC. The villainous performance of law is one that is strict to code and does not slide or give anybody a free pass. While Judge Kavanaugh’s support goes as high as the POTUS, Judge Mathis had to take the State Bar to court. He was not ignorant to this side of law and wanted to play part of this reformation by being compassionate and helping the very livelihood of his community. He spoke in depth on his perspective of the experience for Black POC in America, “…their forefathers and ancestors were kings and queens and founders of civilization, because first they must believe in themselves before they can believe they fit in and before they believe they're capable of success.” Mathis stated that young black men and women feel unwanted by “white America”, which makes them “retreat to a culture of self-destruction and . . . crime and violence”. This is the analysis as to why the villainous performance of law does in fact trap Black POC in crime. The system did not allow any reformation, and so the foundations of this performance is built upon slavery. Judge Mathis, being a Black man with a criminal record is part of the reformation because of his humanization towards Black POC in his courtroom.

Brett Kavanaugh's Court Hearing. Photo Credit: ABC News (2018)

To help refine and frame my connections within law and its performance, Joshua Chambers-Leston describes it best, “…law is performative (it makes something hap­pen in the world), but only to the extent that it is realized and structured through embodied acts of performance (legal habitus, courtroom rituals, law enforcement, etc.)”. The law hyper performs within the presence of POC, meaning that it goes to the fullest extent of being embodied. The performance of law within reality tv show for Black POC judges is not a normalized performance of law because it is not heroic or villainous, but reformative to addressing the unmet demands of POC in America. A Black POC is witness to both sides of this performance of the law. The white people who fight against reformation are spect- “actors” to the heroic side of the performance but are ignorant to other parts of this performance. The POC experience with law is the true performance of the law because it is being fully embodied.

Bibliography

Kozinn, Sarah. “Becoming the People’s Judges: Staging Reality Courtroom TV Law.” Justice Performed: Courtroom TV Shows and the Theaters of Popular Law. London: Bloomsbury Methuen Drama, 2015. 19-67. Drama Online. Web. 02 Nov. 2020.

Shakur, Shaka. Unpublished interview. Nov 2, 2020

Spring, Greg. “Mathis's Courting Young Demo,” December 21, 1998 , Electronic Media,p.29.

The Detroit News, “ Television: Bad Kid Makes Good: Detroit Judge Greg Mathis Takes‘Inspirational Justice’ to TV,” September 11, 1999

Travis, Smiley. NPR Broadcast Transcript of “Judge Greg Mathis Discusses How He Overcame Adversity to Become the Youngest Judge in Michigan's History and his TV Show,‘Judge Mathis ’,” Highbeam Business, November 19, 2002.

Wayne, Friedman. “The Selling of ‘Judge Joe Brown,’” January 22, 1998 , The HollywoodReporter.

Reflection

Writing this paper at first, was an intimidating task. I was given my research question and started doing in depth analysis of texts that were on topic with my research question. I found myself going back and refining my original research question, after having been more informed from the research. The refining of the question, and rereading of certain texts helped me feel more prepared for this assignment.

The unpublished interview with Shaka Shakur and the Kozin reading were the most helpful in educating me on perspectives and experiences that I, as a white person would not have. Shaka Shakur relating his experience firsthand, were very powerful and helpful for educating me and supporting my research question. Having access to these texts months before starting the assignment were also very helpful for tackling this assignment.

Having a peer reviewer look over my paper was also very helpful. After spending the whole week, night after night, rereading my own paper, I felt that I was overthinking my own paper and unable to get a clear train of thought to really refine what I was saying. My peer reviewer provided excellent notes in each paragraph and even helping me with smaller details that I had missed. I noticed a significant difference in my paper after editing it around my peer reviewers’ notes.

After finishing this assignment, I felt more confident about tackling my future assignments here at Cal. This being my first semester, writing a research paper at this length and making a website was intimidating and I was not sure how I would be able to do it. Thankfully I progressed and utilized all of the tools given to me through this class and learned a lot of resourceful things that will help me have a successful future here at Cal.