Rosemary Barkett

"I am fortunate to have come from a tri-cultural family, which has helped me to understand different experiences, different points of view."

"I hope that the world will get better incrementally. As a realist, I doubt that there will be a dramatic breakthrough, though I will certainly embrace it if there is any! I hope we will be able to understand how to communicate better, so that the values that I espouse will be understood by those who don’t seem to have the same values, or those who seem to have the same values, but somehow can’t see that those values are not being advanced."

"I think gender, racial, and ethnicity representation on courts and on boards is extremely important, because of its impact on inclusiveness and on the understanding that we are all part of the same world and need to have our group represented. Having said that, the more important thing for me in terms of diversity on courts is the diversity of viewpoints."

"I never thought I could be a judge; I didn’t know anybody; I was not politically aware probably as much as I should have been. But I applied anyway, thinking that I could take a year or two as a judge and see the law from that perspective and I could become such a great trial lawyer after that. I got appointed, and I didn’t want to leave the bench at all because I love being a judge. It was a terrific and has been a terrific experience."

"It is very limiting to have one life—but I can’t say I’m disappointed in having chosen the law. I love the law, I loved being a lawyer, I love being a judge. I’m not sure I can answer the question of whether or not my experiences as an immigrant or my childhood informed that decision. I don’t consider myself a brilliant person by any means. I’m smart enough, but I’m not the philosopher that I would like to be… But the law ended up being a great fit for me. I love the concept of an organized society where people can interact peacefully with one another."