Yesterday’s edition of the Albuquerque Journal contained this story, by Andy Stiny, about First Judicial District Court Judge Sheri Raphaelson.
On her way to hear the criminal docket in Tierra Amarilla, Judge Raphaelson saw an overturned pickup truck and stopped to help its injured occupant, Isaac Martinez, who was a defendant set to appear in her courtroom that morning. She rendered aid and comforted Mr. Martinez until medical attention arrived.
Several other defendants, who were also scheduled to appear before Judge Raphaelson that morning, stopped to assist. One told the judge, “I knew I was supposed to be in court but I thought someone’s life was more important than court.”
In addition to rescuing people, Judge Raphaelson is a midwife who spent her Christmas vacation in Haiti to deliver babies there. She has also published a memoir of sorts, called A Complicated Heart: How Working as a Judge, Lawyer, and Midwife Taught Me What Really Matters.
Given this record, I also assume, or at least, would not be surprised to hear, that Judge Raphaelson spends her weekends visiting and helping the poor and sick!
In addition, Judge Raphaelson has earned some well-deserved national attention for her actions, at Above the Law, the ABA Journal, and the Washington Post.
