cover story
wife, being a mother, working, running HNM: What have been some of your Judge Marilyn Milian: “Part of the
a household and everything else; you biggest obstacles? reason why I became a judge was
have to decide what it is that gets sacri- because I spent so many years as a liti-
ficed and family is the one thing that Judge Marilyn Milian: “I am such a gator in the courtroom and I felt like
can’t get sacrificed, La familia primero! blessed individual; I mean what obsta- sometimes the wrong thing would hap-
Even when I went away to law school to cles? I’ve been blessed with parents pen. I had some good judges, but I
Georgetown in Washington, there was who were totally supportive, who had would say, ‘How can they come to that
never any question that I had to come the financial means to help me achieve conclusion? How can they make those
home, it was just done, you didn’t leave what I wanted to achieve, I married the decisions? How can they think that is a
home. I married an American, a nice greatest guy in the world and have three just result?’At some point in the path of
white boy from Buffalo who is becom- wonderful kids. I have experienced your career you say, ‘you know, I can do
ing more of a cubanaso than any other racism and bigotry, but individual big- this, and I can probably do this a little
cubanaso in Miami. He wears otry not institutional bigotry. I’m not better. What I loved about being a judge
guayaberas, he smokes cigars, he’s saying that it’s not there; I’m just saying in Miami is that I got to do the right
totally conservative, and he’s plotting that I was born in an era where other thing. In every single case I could do the
with me how we’re going to make sure women before me had really broken the right thing, as a lawyer you have to rely
our kids come back from wherever they ground. I got this job because the show on somebody else’s decision. What I
go to college. He wants to raise our fam- decided that there had never been a Lati- love about this job is that I have an
ily in the same city because he loves it, no on an English language court show opportunity not just to educate but in
es bien aplatanado, he speaks perfect and they wanted me to break the mold. part how to go about your daily favors
Spanish, I got him that way! You know, It is very hard for me to look at any of not getting into legal trouble. I get to
I picked him, I met him in a bar, I said, the tiny bumps that have happened in say, ‘Ok this is what you do when you
‘wait a minute, I want him, I want that my life and call them obstacles.” are leaving an apartment and this is why
American who can wash dishes but can you do it this way. I get to educate and
communicate with my parents’, he’s HNM: What is your favorite part entertain, and this is what I love about
great!” about being a judge? the job I am doing now.”
HNM: What makes being a Hispanic
so significant?
Judge Marilyn Milian: “There are
certain amounts of traditions that I want
to impart to my children, and let’s face
it, at some point people melt. But I think
that Hispanics are very heat resistant
and even the Hispanics who don’t speak
Spanish are very proud to be Hispanic. I
want to instill that same value in my
children, but I know that it won’t be the
same for them as it was for me, because
they are the second generation. Being
Hispanic plays a large role on how I
identify myself you can’t help but have
it play a role on how you execute your-
self in your job. Like many times on the
show, I’ll throw out Hispanic sayings
that my mother and grandmother used
to say. Being Hispanic, I can’t help but
have it play a role on how I relate to my
husband and how I raise my children.”
64 Celebrating over 15 Years of Embracing Diversity WWW.HNMAGAZINE.COM
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