Judges Reflect at Martin Luther King Jr. Event
Open gallery
Judge Ulanda Watkins ’96 (Clackamas County), Judge Ray Crutchley ’99 (Deschutes County), and Judge Patricia McGuire ’95 (Multnomah County) served on a virtual panel in honor of the school’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Lecture. Watkins and McGuire were the third and fourth African American women appointed to judgeships in Oregon. Crutchley was the first African American appointed to a judgeship east of the Cascades. Each judge shared a bit about their life, how Lewis & Clark prepared them for their careers, and the path that led to a judicial appointment.
Although he grew up in Jamaica and New York, Crutchley said, “I realized the investment the folks at Lewis & Clark and others had made to get me here, so I wanted to honor that and stay in Oregon. There were only nine of us [Black students] at the law school when I attended. There was a decision made to create an affirmative action program at the law school and resources and support were provided for it. I owed it to those folks behind me to continue in my path and accept the appointment as judge, to hold the door open for others.”
Each year, Lewis & Clark Law School hosts an endowed lecture honoring the memory of Martin Luther King Jr., made possible by a generous grant from Jacqueline Alexander JD ’07 and Leodis Matthews BS ’71, JD ’73.
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