In the Spotlight

JUDGE KAREN GAUFF: Being True to Yourself

Karen Ackerson Gauff is a judge of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County in California. When asked, she said she doesn't see her career path as a traditional one, but as a purposeful one.

Her Childhood

Karen grew up in Los Angeles and was the youngest of seven children. Her mother Mabel suffered from mental illness and her parents divorced when she was 5 years old.

When 14 years old, Karen began cleaning the home of a fellow church member, Dorothy Curry. One of the Curry daughters was then attending UCLA Law School and asked Karen to also tutor her daughter. Not only did Karen become more connected to the family, she also was exposed to the area of the law Claudia Curry studied.

Since Mabel was a live-in housekeeper for famous and wealthy families, she was frequently not in the home. So, Karen would go to the Currys for a bite to eat and for safe haven. Sometimes, Karen stayed overnight at the Currys. Over time, the Currys felt like family to Karen. So, when Mabel moved to northern California to care for her sister, Claudia asked and received permission from Mabel to continue the same arrangement with Karen.

Her Law Journey

About a year later, Dorothy asked Karen if she wanted to go to college. The Currys looked into ways to help her do that. Karen asked her father who lived in Sacramento if he could help since he had been paying child support. But her father was unaware that Karen was no longer living with her mother and wondered what was happening with the support he was paying. When Karen contacted her mother, Mabel claimed she wasn't receiving child support. Presumably, to avoid getting in trouble because the child support wasn't being used for Karen's behalf, Mabel went to the police and claimed Karen had been kidnapped.

Karen's second exposure to law was when she went to court to defend the Currys. She asked the judge to place her in foster care. The judge honored her request and Karen was able to return to the Currys.

Karen attended University of California San Diego. During that time, she entered the Air Force Reserve. The Reserve enabled her to focus on who she wanted to become.

Her next foray into law occurred when she worked as a paralegal in the USAF Reserve's Judge Advocate General Office. Here she saw the discrepancy of pay, responsibility, and authority between the officers (who had law degrees) and the enlisted. This cemented her decision to get a law degree.

Karen earned her juris law doctorate from Whittier School of Law. With the preparation help from Claudia, Karen passed the bar her first attempt. “God blessed me and sent me on this path,” says Karen.

Karen worked at the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office and a private law firm before operating her own practice for eight years. She was then recruited for the Deputy Attorney, California Attorney General's Office and served for ten years until she was appointed Judge in the Los Angeles Superior Court in 2010.

“The day I was sworn in with my sister Claudia and son Brandon enrobing me is the most memorable experience of my career.”

Inspirations

Three women inspired Karen on her path in different ways.

“My sister Kim inspired me to want more out of life. And then my sister Claudia inspired me to become more.

Through Claudia, Federal Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong became Karen's mentor. Not changing who she is to become a judge makes Karen feel proud. She feels it is important to stay true to yourself. “I credit Judge Brown Armstrong for helping me recognize that my judgeship comes after my spirituality — First, me being a Christian woman. Then I am a mother. Then I am a wife. And then, I am a judge.”

Karen is proud of her six mentees she met while working in the Attorney General Office and as a judge, who in turn have also become judges.

Judge Gauff's Advice:

“You are here. You are alive. You are part of a purpose. Do not get side-tracked with the transient things of life. Stay focused on what is inside of you.

“Recognize who you are. Know that you are enough for your purpose and the road that was created for you to walk down. You don't have to change who you are, your core. The road will widen for you. Whatever job you are in, you were made for that place. You are a gift to those places.

“If you are unsure of your path, ask yourself, what three things have you always loved? For me, even as a second grader, 1) I was a talker; 2) I liked to provide others with direction; and 3) and I wanted to see people being treated fairly. Those are still the foundation of who I am.

“And then, what are the three things you hated as a second grader — know those too. 1) I hate blood after seeing someone die in front of me when I was 5 years old; 2) I don't like someone having control over my life that does not have my best interest; and 3) I hate inequity.

“Find a career where those six things are true: where the three things you love don't touch the three things you hate.

“Be True to Yourself.”

You can read more about Judge Gauff in her book Courting with Chance: Reconciling Memoirs

Ivory Freeman, CEO of Bessie Morris Foundation, met Judge Karen Gauff at Sister Self, a 32-year-old sisterhood group that meets monthly to support each other. Ivory founded Bessie Morris Foundation while a member. Judge Gauff is still a member of Sister Self.

March 2023