{"id":1028,"date":"2015-05-07T15:32:00","date_gmt":"2015-05-07T15:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lamp1.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/?p=1028"},"modified":"2019-06-12T10:23:16","modified_gmt":"2019-06-12T15:23:16","slug":"alumni-profile-hon-danielle-douglas-96","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/2015\/05\/07\/alumni-profile-hon-danielle-douglas-96\/","title":{"rendered":"Alumni Profile: Hon. Danielle Douglas ’96"},"content":{"rendered":"

Danielle Douglas \u201996 took a career aptitude test in high school and got \u201clawyer\u201d or \u201cjudge.\u201d She didn\u2019t think those careers were achievable, so she decided to study to become a paralegal.<\/p>\n

But her professors at Missouri Western had other plans. They encouraged her to pursue not only a bachelor\u2019s degree, but to go on to law school, and last year, Douglas was appointed judge of the Superior Court of California, County of Contra Costa. Today, she tries mostly criminal cases for a county with a population of more than 1 million.<\/p>\n

Originally from Redwood City, California, Douglas came to Missouri Western with her husband, who was recruited to play football, and their two-year-old daughter. Although it was the first time she had left California, she said college was a good experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was smaller and more nurturing,\u201d she says of Missouri Western. \u201cI would have been lost in the shuffle at a larger school.\u201d<\/p>\n

Douglas had attended a community college in California, so she started taking legal studies courses at Missouri Western to continue toward her goal of becoming a paralegal. But she says her professors gave her the confidence to set higher career goals.<\/p>\n

Every professor was hands-on and made sure students succeeded, Douglas said. She came in with a GPA of 2.5 and raised it to a 3.8 by the time she graduated. \u201cThe professors actually pulled me aside and said, \u2018We\u2019re not going to let you get away with this. We know you can do better.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

One of those professors was Jill Miller \u201973, professor emerita of criminal justice. \u201cShe had a reputation as being a tough instructor, and I appreciated that,\u201d Douglas said.<\/p>\n

Miller was a good role model, Douglas said, along with Joanne Katz, professor of legal studies, who taught the first class Douglas took at Missouri Western.<\/p>\n

She says Katz became a mentor for her and was the first person to encourage her to consider law school. \u201cI always wanted to do well in her classes so I could show her she wasn\u2019t wrong about me.\u201d<\/p>\n

After graduating from Missouri Western with a criminal justice\/legal studies degree, Douglas kept in touch with Katz throughout law school at the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law, and throughout her career as deputy district attorney for the Contra Costa County District Attorney\u2019s Office and assistant district attorney for the San Francisco District Attorney\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n

\"Danielle<\/a>

Hon. Danielle Douglas ’96 and Joanne Katz, professor of legal studies<\/p><\/div>\n

Last fall, Douglas invited Katz to be one of the speakers at her judicial investiture ceremony in January 2015.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was one of the main reasons I applied to law school,\u201d Douglas says of Katz. \u201cI always wanted to, but I didn\u2019t have the confidence. But knowing her made me think I could do it. She had a profound effect on my life and career.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this reflects what Missouri Western does best,\u201d Katz said. \u201cYou cannot underestimate the power of relationships between professors and students.\u201d<\/p>\n

Douglas said, as a judge, she enjoys the \u201cmental gymnastics\u201d of dealing with complex issues. \u00a0She also said her criminal justice courses prepared her well. \u201cHaving that criminal justice knowledge made me a better prosecutor and judge.\u201d<\/p>\n

The mother of three daughters said being a judge is sometimes like being a parent. \u201cYou should always do the right thing and you can\u2019t rule on emotions. It is my job to ensure that there is justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Douglas explained that a courtroom is an opportunity for litigants to have their say, and her job is \u201ca balance between keeping in control of the courtroom and letting people have their say.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is the American dream,\u201d Katz said. \u201cIf you are bright enough, if you work hard enough, you really can accomplish anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am where I am today because of Missouri Western,\u201d Douglas said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Danielle Douglas \u201996 took a career aptitude test in high school and got \u201clawyer\u201d or \u201cjudge.\u201d She didn\u2019t think those careers were achievable, so she decided to study to become a paralegal. But her professors at Missouri Western had other plans. They encouraged her to pursue not only a bachelor\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[23],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1028"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1028"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1028\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4269,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1028\/revisions\/4269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}