Pals, jurists welcome U.S. magistrate judge
The Eastern District of Arkansas’ newest U.S. magistrate judge, Patricia Harris, was officially sworn in Friday in a formal ceremony in which friends and former co-workers acknowledged her legal abilities but focused on her personal attributes.
In the words of Edwin Lowther Jr. of the Wright, Lindsey & Jennings law firm where she was once a partner, the woman who goes by the name Tricia is more than an accomplished attorney. She’s also an equestrian, a singer, an artist and an adventurist who once trekked through the Himalayan Mountains in Nepal with a Sherpa.
Lowther recalled that it was a “gloomy Sunday morning” in 2006 when Harris walked into his office at the downtown Little Rock law firm and broke the news that Bud Cummins, then the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District, had offered her a job as an assistant U.S. attorney, and she had accepted.
Lowther said he eventually forgave Harris, an exceptional lawyer and friend, but jokingly said he has never forgiven Cummins for introducing the former civil attorney to the world of criminal prosecution.
Retired U.S. District Judge James Moody Sr., who also previously worked at the Wright firm and who was a mentor to Harris, recalled realizing she was “a lady with grit” when he first met her and assigned her to handle a difficult case against vicious attorneys on the other side. He said the case was difficult at first, but he quickly rec- ognized that “she had more than enough legal fortitude to handle any kind of legal challenge.”
While “formidable,” Moody said, Harris is never mean and has always been “popular with her fellow attorneys, and even well-liked by opposing counsel.”
Harris, 51, is married to writer Jim Harris, and the couple has a son, Scott, whose Boy Scout troop performed a flag ceremony at the investiture. The father and son, along with Harris’ mother, Patricia Newton of Warren, were at her side while Chief U.S. District Judge Brian Miller administered the oath of office in the courthouse’s ceremonial courtroom, which overflowed with guests.
After Harris put on her black robe, Miller invited Harris to take her place alongside 14 other federal judges from the state’s Eastern and Western districts who were seated at the front of the courtroom.
Jane Duke, a close friend of Harris’, told the crowd it was Harris who welcomed her into the Wright firm in 1997, using her grace, charm, wit and humor to make Duke feel welcome as she was leaving a federal clerkship. Duke said she learned valuable lessons about the law and professionalism from working alongside Harris. After Duke left the firm to become an assistant U.S. attorney, and eventually became the acting U.S. attorney, she suddenly found herself being Harris’ boss.
Duke said Harris’ love of public service began when her stepfather, Bob Newton, who died a couple of years ago, steered her toward participating in the Arkansas Governor’s School one summer. That led to an internship with then-U.S. Sen. David Pryor, and then to law school, where “she finished at the top of her class.”
Harris told the crowd that she had never known her birth father, Peter Sievers, who died of leukemia when she was 7 and living in Wisconsin. Her mother, Patricia Sievers, later married Newton, which Harris said resulted in her having two fathers.
She said she was reminded of the lyric “How did I get here” from the song “Once in a Lifetime” by “one of my favorite groups, The Talking Heads.”
She replaces U.S. Magistrate Judge H. David Young, who retired March 31 after nearly 30 years on the bench.
Magistrate judges, who handle mostly preliminary matters, serve eight-year renewable terms and work alongside U.S. district judges, who are appointed for life.