New Maricopa County presiding judge discusses role

Judge Pamela Gates, who grew up on a family farm in Anamosa, Iowa, has ascended from her small-town roots to become the Presiding Judge of the Judicial Branch of Arizona in Maricopa County, the fourth largest trial court in the Nation. Gates says she will prioritize transparency, efficiency and collaboration. Before serving on the Bench, Judge Gates was a partner with the law firm of Bryan Cave, where she worked from 1997 to 2009. As a private attorney she specialized in environmental litigation.

Judge Pamela Gates joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss her new role.

Growing up in a small town in Iowa, people there just didn’t become lawyers “I didn’t know anyone who was involved in the law. But when I was five years old, I was sitting around our dinner table and I told my family that I wanted to grow up to be a lawyer in my family erupted with laughter, and my grandmother said, that’s not what we Frazier’s do. And that’s definitely not what girls do,” Gates said.

However when she graduated from law school the person who was most proud was ironically her grandmother, “She said the moment that she thought that I couldn’t, probably solidified the the probability that I would,” Gates said.

Gates also knows that being a judge comes with a lot of responsibility. Not only to the law but to being fair towards the community as well, “I think it’s really important for us to remember how people get to the court, that they are oftentimes in acute trauma. For them, they probably didn’t sleep last night. They probably told their friends and family that they were coming to court, or maybe they were too embarrassed to tell anyone that they were coming to court. That that day is so meaningful to them and to us,” Gates said.