Miscellaneous

Remembering Ester

By Anne Skove, Esq.

What would happen if the widow of a former Black Panther was selected as a juror in a civil trial? What if it was Rodney King's case against the city of L.A.?

Who would make your juror list? Would you pick a mediator? Would you select a female minority? An Asian-American? The daughter of migrant workers? A mother? Someone who worked closely with the courts?

Ester Soriano was all of the above. She served as foreperson in the King civil trial. Her fellow jurors described her efforts as uniting, which comes as no surprise. She managed to keep her head while everyone around her was losing theirs, and enabled the panel to reach a compromise in a way that few would have guessed.

The jury awarded King $3.8 million in compensatory damages, and $0 in punitive damages.

Ester knew everybody, and everybody knew Ester. We first met Ester on a bus on the way to an ADR conference. She never forgot us, we never forgot her. She was not quiet, she was un-shy, and was always happy to share her many opinions about the courts and their ADR programs. She was always working to make the system better, and so it was.

Ester passed away last April. She left the world a better place.

See Ester Soriano, Mediator, Filiipino Activist, Foreperson in Rodney King Civil Trial, Dies at 61, AP/Mediate.com (April 19, 2008). Thanks to the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution for including a report of Ester's passing in its announcements section.

Full post as published by court-o-rama.org on August 20, 2008 (boomark / email).