Powerful Women in the Criminal Justice Field
There are several people to admire in the world, including women of the criminal justice and political arena. With so many encouraging and uplifting women in the world, how do you know who to follow and look up to? In today’s world, there is a demand for women in the criminal justice field as women continue to be underrepresented in this career area.
Below is a list of some amazing women who are great role models for those just beginning their criminal justice career journey or beginning their justice studies degree. Let us know what powerful women in the criminal justice field you respect and why on our Facebook page. Also, be sure to connect on Twitter and Facebook with these tough-minded, powerful women of the criminal justice field for their latest updates on what’s happening in the criminal justice field around them.
Kamala Harris
As of January 3, 2011, Kamala Harris was sworn in as the 32nd Attorney General of California. Harris’ main goal and focus is to reform the prison system and fight gang crime. In addition, she is committed to protecting the state’s natural resources. Harris began her criminal justice career by obtaining her undergraduate degree and her Juris Doctor (J.D.) in 1989.
Gloria Allred
Gloria Allred is an American lawyer who focuses on high-profile, controversial cases usually involving the protection of women’s rights. Allred began her education by earning her bachelor’s degree in English. She then took a job teaching while consecutively studying and working on her graduate degree in law. She has since represented several celebrities. Her most famous client is the family of Nicole Brown Simpson, in the O.J. Simpson trial.
Julie Bower
As a police detective and single mom of three boys living in Boca Raton, Fla., Julie Bower helps solve sex crimes and is head of the missing persons unit at the Broward Sheriff’s Office. Bower began her career as a law enforcement officer and worked her way up the criminal justice funnel. She can also be seen on TLC’s Police Women of Broward County.
Sonia Sotomayor
Sonia Sotomayor began her justice studies career by earning her undergraduate degree and then her J.D. Sotomayor first served as an Assistant District Attorney in the New York County District Attorney’s Office. Along with her first career move, she worked on international commercial matters as an associate and then as a partner. She was nominated by former President George H.W. Bush in 1991 for the U.S. District Court and served in that role from 1992-1998. From 1998-2009, she served as a judge for the United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit. In May 2009, President Barack Obama nominated her as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court and in August 2009 she assumed the position.
Sandra Hutchens
Sandra Hutchens is the Sheriff-Coroner of Orange County, Calif. Hutchens was appointed to the role of Sheriff in 2008. In the beginning of her career, she was hired as a secretary for the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. Hutchens has been in law enforcement for the past 30 years and her career has included conducting counterterrorism training in Israel, FBI National Academy training and more.
Sources:
About Sheriff Sandra Hutchens. Retreived from http://www.sheriffhutchens.com/about/ on August 28, 2012.
Supreme Court of the United States. (2011, dec 11). Retrieved from http://www.supremecourt.gov/about/biographies.aspx on August 27, 2012.
Disclaimer:
The above profiles and links are included for inspirational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of Rasmussen College by the individuals or sources referenced.
