Hage 4 Portland/H bseiver
Thursday, A p ril 13, |97 •
PORTLAML
NOW fights
OHSEfíl M
world of w om en
A judge looks at justice____
By Nancy Showalter
This week 1 had the g r e a t
pleasure of interviewing Judge
Mercedes F. Diez, presently
in D is tric t Court, Department
#1 and a candidate of C irc u it
Court -Department of Domes
tic Relations in theFourthJu-
dicial D is tric t. Judge Diez is
well known as a judge seeking
justice througn a sensitive
understanding of the law and
its application to those who
come before her.
Her sensitive ability and
understanding neither begin
nor end in a court room.
The following are excerpts
from that interview.
Showalter; Whatcanbedone
to get more blacks on juries?
Diez: That’ s a thing 1 have
been very concerned about. I
think we’ re doing remarkably
w ell. In these last four months
I haven’ t had ajurycomedown
to my court room that didn’ t
have one o r two blacks on it,
which is just phenomenal. I ’ve
been wanting to ask how this
could have been done recently
and not in the past, because as
an attorney I never saw a black
in this courthouse - maybe
once in a blue moon. The only-
system we use now is the voter
registration l i s t , so t h is
means, ipso facto, we d is c ri
minate against people who
don’ t register to vote. The
corollary of that is if a person
doesn’ t have enough interest in
government to elect his of
fic ia ls - why should he serve
on a jury? The only way to get
more blacks on any jury would
be to just go and take a true
census reading of names and
addresses of everybody who
lives in MultnomahCounty and
throw their names into a hat. I
think that’ s an incredibly d if
fic u lt task.
A lot of people would say
the fact that they don’ t want to
JUDGE MERCEDES DIEZ
th e ir degree they have a choice
of going to work at JDH if they
wish o r at several jobs in the
big funded projects, and I can
not belittle the fact that they
obviously take the jobs that
pay more money, because
they need to make more mon
ey-
I he communication between
a b la c k youngster or a poor
white and a counselor is al
ways much better given to
somebody of th e ir own race,
unless they're a very rare
white person, able to under
stand and listen to what that kid
is saying.
S: Do you see any way to
raise funds or lower qualifica
tions so that more people w ill
be interested?
D: Raising tunds means to
get taxpayers to agree to pay-
more in ta xes. If we can’ t get
money fo r schools we certain
ly won’ t fo r corrections. A ll
concerned people who give a
damn about justice are always
voting yes on increasing taxes
which we need.
The other alternative would
be to lower standards. I have
never been a person whocares
about accredited degrees. I
don't see why that should be
a c rite ria . I f a woman or
re g iste r to vote is no reason to
keep them off a ju ry , but I just
don’ t buy that. We have to use
some standard.
S: The juvenile courts have
no black counselors. Is this
because of a quota system?
Does it hinder counseling in
black fam ilies and what can be
done about his situation?
D: I was not aware that
there was not a single black
counselor over at JDH at this
tune. In the past we have had
quite a number, not at any giv
en tune quite a number, but
over the years.
1 am pos
itive there is no quota system.
You are supposed to have a
college degree in order to do
this kind of work. The minute
any black men and women get
Poison information
available
Immediate access to infor
mation on some 3,000 chemi
cal compounds and some 1100
high - usage medical journals
is now available to the Poison
Control Center at the Univer
sity of OregonMedical School,
according to D r. E m ily Tufts,
d ire c to r of the Center, which
serves physicians throughout
the State.
The s e r v ic e is available
through Seattle's C hildren’ s
Orthopedic Hospital and Med
ical Center which has been
connected by telephone lines to
the computer in the Division of
Hazardous Substances and
Poison Control of the Bureau
of Product Safety in Washing
ton, D.C. V ia this hook-up, the
Seattle hospital can receive
information in two seconds on
a te le v is io n -lik e s c r e e n .
Should the Oregon Center need
information not readily avail
able in its file s a call is made
to the Seattle Poison Center
which in turn requests the ma
te ria l from the central com
puter.
The Seattle Center is a pro
totype fo r a future nationwide
retrieval system operated by
community hospitals in coop
eration with the Food and Drug
A dm inistration. It features
access to th e 3,000 com
pounds, including ingredients,
suggested treatment and ex
perience, and other vital in
form ation. The system also
gives access to Medline in the
National L ib ra ry of Medicine.
This computer has stored in
formation on the high-usage
medical journals.
T h e computerized Poison
Center in Seattle is the na
tion’ s sixth and the only one
west of Kansas C ity. Others
are located in Boston,Detroit,
Kansas C ity, New Orleans and
Washington D.C.
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1
Fuchsia
growers
meet
Il you m a intain ,1 balance o f
S «Mí o r m ore
no m atter h o w many ih e ik v you w rite
It you m aintain yo u r a c io u n l balance .11
m ore than $200 b u t le w than $ Ilk)
It vou m aintain you r a n nurd balance at
m ore than $100, Hut le w than $200
It y o u r account goes b e lo w $100 you r
monthly service
(b a r g e w ill tie a II.ft
$0<>0
$-|<><>
$900
$300
Ask about postage-free Bank By M a il service
The Bank of California
National Associ,mon
407 S.W. Broadway
Electricity
is helping keep
our water clean...
Portland, Oregon 97205
Mt vai u r o 11
Phone 225 363«
...and more electricity
will be needed so our
children have a place
to fish in the 1980’s.
Black ind happy.
Black and gay.
n
cooking are some of tte inter
ests and activities oi Jacque
line V . Scott, a resident of the
Woodlawn
area of Model
C itie s .
She is a graduate of Voca
tional Village highschool. She
a ls o attended Jefferson High
School. Currently,Jacqueline
is employed by the Model C it
ies agency as a clerk typist fo r
the C itizens’ Participation
Department, since June 1971.
Jacqueline says about her
poetry, " | w rite just when I
feel it.”
She has attended Portland
Community College Cascade
Center recently.
i
i
i
i
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
Happy, Gay, Smart.
Thoughtful and W ise.
T ru ly ,
This man no one could
E ver despise.
I
RECLAIMED FURNITURE
Black arsi in g ry.
Black and tough.
T a ll and Slender,
Looking so Continental,
AI ways Understanding
and.
Always so Gentle.
i
SLAMSTRESF
Black and gentle.
Black arid rough.
MY BLACK MAN
♦
Cusio.ii Tailoring Iimpertes
BL ACK IN I HL GHI I'D
W ritin g poetry, sewing arvf
i
a man has a beautiful type of
repo ire with young people, I
see no reason why they can’ t
be matrons in our ja ils . I don’ t
see why i pers m has to have
1 B-A. or a B.S. to te a coun
selor out at the JDH so long as
lie o r she works under the su
pervision ot people already in
the field awl works well with
the youngsters.
S: There are rum ors of d if
ferentia I treatment ot black
youths b\ the Juvenile Court,
especially those involving ra
cial
incidents o r involving
white ksJs. Do you think that
is true?
D: Because I ’ m a judge m
the D is tric t Court and have no
ju risd ictio n outs hie, I cannot
answer your question trom a
professional point of view. As
a mother awl as a black moth
e r, I ’ m sure it’ s true. I know
this because of iny own back
ground anil my own upbringing
awl knowing how things can be
weighted. It just depends on
how you listen to what’ s being
said, and you look at the way a
person is saying it at the tim e.
There’ s a very certain kind of
way that shows bias. It all
bods down to racism at all
times. It’ s a fact. Many offi
cials and people who are con
cerned with justice ate not
overtly racist in the courts,
but they simply do not under
stand the difference in lan
guage, for instance.
S: How Jo you go a b o u t
changing inovert racism or the
way people understand lan
guage?
D: There is a peculiar and
very specific job that is af
forded the ju d icia ry, that no
body else has awl that’ s to see
that justice isdone. Attorneys
Anyone interested in g ro w
have to be advocates ol their ing fuchsias, please come to
clients position. I he judge, the Oregon Fuchsia Society
always is the a rb ite r and he’ s Meeting, A p ril 17, 1972 a t8:00
im partial, but as I see it,
p.m. I he meeting w ill be held
a judge's duty goes a little bit
fu rth e r. It the attorney is not it the Multnomah Central L i
brary, 801 s.W. 10th A v e ,
asking adequate juescions of
Portland. I he subject of the
the ju ro rs it is the judge’ s duty
program w ill be: Spraying In
to e lic it that lniorm atlon from
sects on fuchsias and other
the ju ro rs .
plants. V isito rs are welcome.
S: Should political activity
be allowed in high schools?
D: Yes. I don’ t see how we
are going to have responsible
1 8 - y e a r-o ld young menand
women knowing whattodowith
this vote if schools are ada
mant about it not being there as
part of the cu rricu lu m . I see
absolutely no reason whv they
can t meet in the school after
the school day is ver.
Albina poet
n
child
removal
Ifie National Organization
lo r Women — NOW — is try
ing to stop C alifornia’ s at
tempt to take away the third
illegitim ate child of unwed
mothers.
The State Welfare Board
recommended last month that
an unman led mother who has
three o r more children lx*
considered
’ ’ m orally
de
praved" awl tie forced to give
up those children fo r adoption.
The proposals by the Reagan-
apixnnted board are s till being
studied
by the California
Xssembly’ s Department of
social Welare anil s till must
le voted on to become law.
I lie women’ s organization
isn’ t waiting that long. At a
press conference Tuesday,
they said what they thought
ibout it As M arilyn Patel
egal counsel toi NOW - said,
"W e ’ re really opposed to the
state legislating m o ra lity .”
NOW and othe women’ s
liberation groups are also
worried about the fact that it
the state can take away the
thud child because you're
"m o ra lly depraved,” th a t
means the state can takeaway
ill three children.
Most states now maintain
that it is up to the state to
-rove that an unwed mother is
unfit to take care ot her child
ren. C alifornia law s till says
that the unwed mother must
prove her right to keep her
child.
,
luonne
ou t u re
Black and sad.
My Black mind fat away
Black and inowiy.
Black arsi blue.
Black and mnely.
And thinking of you.
Black an.I smart.
Black and wise.
Black and grinning,
W ith my big Black eyes.
Black ami sly.
Black and slick.
Black and ..'unning,
Black ami sick.
Black and strong.
Black and alert.
Black ami weak.
Black ami treated like llr t .
Black ami cold.
Black and poor.
Black and rich.
Wanting more.
People need clean wafer
They need a lot of it
So do fish
And one of Oregon s ever-growing uses of
electricity is to clean up Oregon s beautiful
rivers and streams It fakes a heap of power to
run the ever-increasing number of sewage treat
ment plants which are helping m this clean-up
job Likewise industry is installing a record
amount of pollution control equipment as
everyone works towards maintaining a healthy
balance of environment and jobs
Clean water is a must
A typical example is the Oak Lodge Sanitary
District plant shown above It needed 141 696
kilowatt hours of electricity in January to do its
job But what a job it does It purifies approx
imately two million gallons of raw sewage per
day 7 wo million gallons a day' It serves some
20,000 businesses and residents
returns
the water to the Willamette river approximately
90% free of impurities
Yes electricity is doing a vital job in helping
this area clean-up That s why PGE is building
to make sure the increased need for electricity
will be provided for in the years to come
Nuclear generation is a clean answer to our
power needs
We want your children and grandchildren to
have clean water to fish in come the 80 s
and before
P O R T L A N D G E N E R A L E L E C T R IC C O M P A N Y
Providing clean energy lo r a bo ile r hie
Wy
Black and jobless.
Black ami dumb.
Black and hungi y,
No one to depeml on.
Intelligent, Young,
Considerate and Strong
With,
A ll these things my
Man can never go wrong.
My Black skin I love.
So Black It w ill stay.
By Jacqueline V. Scott
By J icquel me V. Scott
But, from this Black Ghetto,
I would like to steal away.
• For the good life
electricity helps provide good medical car» qood schools
safe, well-lighted neighborhoods home comfort and labor-saving conveniences
VV hy Oregon needs more
electric power...not less...
to meet future needs
• Fora healthy economy
an ample supply ot electricity IS the basis ot a
prosperous Oregon with lobs tor us today
and tor our children tomorrow
• For preserving and enhancing the environment
clean electricity is
the vital energy absolutely needed Io rid our air, water and land of pollution
Phone or v is it a POE ottice tor your tree brochure
on Why Oregon needs more power