I believe that most juvenile judges are involved in the juvenile justice system because they have a real commitment to the concept of justice and rehabilitation for all young people. However, I believe that the tools that many judges possess for implementing such a just and compassionate vision are limited. I believe that a joint degree in law and in psychology would help to provide me with the humanistic understanding and the broader skills that I could use as either a counsellor or a judge to help young people understand the negative consequences of antisocial and criminal behaviour and to provide them with clear, concrete alternatives to such behaviour. I am not naïve about the difficulties of such a task: After working with hundreds of children over the years I understand a great deal about the complexity of family dynamics and the difficulties of getting children onto the right path in life. However, I have always believed that when faced with a difficult task rather than turning away from it one should arm oneself with the necessary tools to complete it successfully. That is my goal in applying to this program.
