Chief Municipal Judge Gets Excellence Award
Los Angeles Municipal Court Presiding Judge Veronica McBeth was recognized for her work Monday with the William H. Rehnquist Award for Judicial Excellence at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington.
The award, sponsored by the National Center for State Courts, is given to one judge a year in recognition of judicial integrity and leadership.
McBeth, 51, is credited with pushing an emerging statewide movement to redefine the role of judges.
In 1986, five years after she had arrived on the bench, McBeth began First Impressions, a volunteer program in which lawyers and judges teach fourth- and fifth-graders about the justice system.
More recently, after a series of neighborhood meetings, McBeth initiated the Southeast Enhancement Project, a program in which residents of Southeast Los Angeles help judges design community service sentences for nonviolent offenders.
McBeth graduated from UCLA School of Law in 1975.
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