ARC Review: Her Honor by LaDoris Hazzard Cordell

Title: Her Honor: My Life on the Bench...What Works, What's Broken, and How to Change It
Author: LaDoris Hazzard Cordell
Source/Format: Celadon Books; Paperback ARC
Publisher/ Release date: Celadon Book; Oct 26, 2021


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Synopsis From Goodreads:
In Her Honor, Judge LaDoris Hazzard Cordell provides a rare and thought-provoking insider account of our legal system, sharing vivid stories of the cases that came through her courtroom and revealing the strengths, flaws, and much-needed changes within our courts.
Judge Cordell, the first African American woman to sit on the Superior Court of Northern California, knows firsthand how prejudice has permeated our legal system. And yet, she believes in the system. From ending school segregation to legalizing same-sex marriage, its progress relies on legal professionals and jurors who strive to make the imperfect system as fair as possible.
Read the rest on Goodreads.

What I Thought:
I wasn’t ready for the rollercoaster when I started Her Honor by LaDoris Hazzard Cordell, a retired California Superior Court Judge.

Her Honor Details the various cases that Cordell has presided over, and issues as well as people she’s faced in and out of court. And in some ways, how it shaped her perspective. Something I enjoyed is how she took the time to explain the history of many terms and procedures. All of which were typically sandwiched between the cases that it related back to in each chapter. Since this was the majority of the book, the introduction, served its purpose well. It mainly went into how she became a judge, what was enticing about it, and some of her background. This let the rest of the book get on and do its thing. As the synopsis states, it does “shine a light on all areas of the legal system…” Especially the countless difficult decisions that she and other judges had to make concerning heavy topics and/or complex situations.

Overall I enjoyed Her Honor, and I recommend checking it out if your looking for a nonfiction court book that's very informative.


I received this book from Celadon Books for this review.

Thanks for reading!