GirlBoss Feature

#GIRLBOSS

Brooke Schmidly: District Court Judge by Ashley Monninger

What does it mean to be a District Court Judge? Arguably it is someone who simply upholds the law, a defender of justice, a person appointed to restore order to chaotic situations, to

“right the wrongs” in the community. After my interview with Judge

Brooke Schmidly, I’m grateful to have a deeper understanding of what she does, and I sincerely hope that in reading this article you come to understand a little bit more about her too.

What this month’s #girlboss does NOT do is waltz into the courtroom, robes flowing, and simply “decide who’s right.” For the people who find themselves in the often vulnerable, unenviable position of being judged, she acts as neither enemy nor ally. Judge Schmidly has, what is to her, a very personal responsibility to ensure that each side of any given case not only acts fairly and respectfully, but that all voices are heard, and all legal rights are clearly understood. One thing I can say about JBS: the girl has priorities. As her story unfolds, I quickly learn that throughout her life she has managed to consistently set goals, map out a plan, take action, and achieve said goals. Her life path literally started taking shape in 6th grade, when she spent summers in Asheboro with her father, Stephen Schmidly. Once a criminal defense attorney, by that time Schmidly was practicing mainly complex civil and family law. Spending those summers watching her dad work, JBS knew that studying law was a personal goal. She says that she always admired how her dad was able to help others “do something that they could not do for themselves.” By observing her dad diligently representing exhausted, confused, sometimes even desperate, clients in court, JBS learned the importance of advocacy, and she was inspired by it. At age 16 her first “real job” was working as a summer intern at her father’s Asheboro law firm, what was then Moser, Ogburn, Heafner, Schmidly & Wells. From there it seems she never looked back.

At UNC Chapel Hill, during undergrad, a friend convinced her to join ROTC where she became interested in joining the Air Force. I ask her why and her first response is, “I thought the planes were cool.” As if realizing that this answer is maybe a little oversimplified, she leans back for a second, thinking, then says, “Well, I also had two grandfathers who were World War II veterans. My mom’s dad was a Colonel, and it was a huge part of his identity.” (Ok. I need to just stop here and say that JBS’s combining the legacy of THREE successful male role models with insanely challenging careers to form her own long-term work/life goals is rockstar level #girlboss-ness in my humble opinion. Just… wow.) After receiving her bachelor of arts degree at UNC-Chapel Hill, she delayed Active Duty in the USAF to attend law school at the University of Houston Law Center in the great state of Texas. As a second year law student, JBS interned at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio where she started her Air Force career as a Second Lieutenant (the lowest ranking officer). Here she says that she was “put through the paces” by her superiors, but it was so worth it. Being at Lackland gave her a strong sense of belonging and purpose. “There was some ribbing but it wasn’t hazing. We took care of each other. We were all on the same team, working together to achieve big goals.” After earning her juris doctor at UHLC in 2000, Ms. Brooke Schmidly, Attorney, returned to NC for a brief stint at the place where it all began, her dad’s firm. In January 2001, then First Lieutenant Brooke Schmidly was stationed at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. In her 2 1/2 years there, it seems JBS did a little bit of everything: she was a prosecutor in criminal trials and the environmental lawyer for the base. As a prosecutor, one of her first cases involved child pornography. Having to review the graphic, disturbing evidence of this crime felt like “being pushed into the deep end.” She says, “(What I saw) was horrible. I was completely unprepared.” Her internal mantra became, “I’m strong. This does not faze me,” but it did. As it tends to be with JBS, she found a silver lining and discovered that the horror was, in a way, helpful. She started to develop “professional distance,” a tool that can allow her to be fully present with someone who has gone through something awful but that can shield her from experiencing vicarious trauma. And now, by mentoring young aspiring attorneys,

JBS teaches them to start honing this skill early on, as “it is something that definitely develops over time.”

After Nebraska, JBS was stationed at Fort Meade, Maryland and later Andrews AF Base in Washington D.C where she was designated the Area Defense Attorney (she defended airmen being tried by courts-martial). Acting as a defense attorney, one of her most interesting experiences involved being flown to Florida to represent an airman accused of bringing back war trophies from Iraq. “The man had plastic tubs filled with what looked like bolts and screws, that when assembled, turned out to make about 30 AK-47s.” Of course there was much more to the man’s story, facts that JBS helped him to uncover and expose that ultimately reduced his sentence. She knew she was making a pretty big impact when in the airport, on her way back to DC, JBS happened to be sitting beside an FBI agent who glanced up at an airport tv where some local news was streaming coverage of the case. He glanced back at her and said, “that’s you!” Yeah, she was kind of a big deal. A real life JAG. Although JBS never really left the Air Force (she’s still a reservist) in 2007 she did make the difficult decision to leave active duty and come back home to NC to practice law with her dad again. She knew she wanted a family, and she couldn’t see a future where she would be able to balance her priorities: duty to AF and duty to home & family. I ask her what she considers to be the greatest accomplishment of her career so far? It’s no surprise that she says, “Career field management, (mentoring young JAGs) is so rewarding because it’s a legacy. I am able to help them balance civil legal careers, USAF responsibilities, and family obligations to set them up for successful careers… so that they can stay in the Air Force.” “Don’t put a question mark where God put a period.” Schmidly says that leaving active duty was “100% the best call.” She spent a wonderful six years working with her dad, and was able to be there for him in 2013 when he got sick, and later when he passed. She married a guy she’s known since high school. “It took him 15 years to settle down and me 15 years to loosen up!” she jokes. She has two delightful children: a daughter, Sierra (age 8), and a new baby, son Stephen (named after dad). She practiced a mix of criminal and civil law until she was appointed as District Court Judge by Gov Cooper in April 2019, a term which ends this December (and is on the ballot of this year’s election!) Working locally, JBS has had the opportunity to hear from many clients of her late father’s.

They say things like, “Your dad made me feel safe at a time when I felt unsafe.” It reinforces her role in this community, carrying out his legacy.

As for the Judge gig, Schmidly says it was actually not her goal until much later in her career, but it’s a tremendous opportunity. She says that injustice is triggering, and insists that “people are more than the worst thing they’ve ever done.” I agree. She says she read in a 2015 study that 52% of those surveyed felt that NC court outcomes were not fair. She tries to keep that number significantly lower in her court by implementing these practices: using nontechnical language that can be easily understood by ALL parties (not just those that speak legal-ese), making eye contact so that people feel seen, and being very clear at all times about what is happening in the trial process. From the bench, JBS asks herself these questions: “Were they heard? Did they understand? Was the process fair?” and, “Were they treated with respect?” I, for one, feel a bit smarter walking away from my meeting with The Honorable Judge Brooke Schmidly. She is the epitome of class: gracious, poised, polite, and infinitely patient with my absolute ignorance of a lot of what she’s talking about, and she seems genuinely happy to have spent the time with me. I’m honored. Learn more about JBS’s 2020 campaign on Facebook @ BrookeSchmidlyforJudge. Read her latest editorial in The Courier Tribune (https://www.courier-tribune.com/story/ opinion/columns/2020/04/19/finding-funny-and-goodduring-this-time/41772595/)

Ashley Monninger is earning her AAS degree in Funeral Service Education at Fayetteville Tech and is a part time employee at Pugh Funeral Home.