All Things Judicial Features an Interview with Retired Superior Court Judge J.C. Cole and Former District Court Judge Janice Cole

The latest episode of All Things Judicial features an interview with two former Perquimans County judges: Emergency Superior Court Judge J.C. Cole and former District Court Judge Janice Cole who also served as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina. They have a unique and interesting story as husband and wife who met while working in federal law enforcement in New York City, and as African Americans who worked as attorneys in Eastern North Carolina then held consecutive judgeships in the same judicial district. In the interview, Judge J.C. Cole shares his judicial philosophy of being strict but compassionate from the bench, and prioritizing empathy for humanity over judicial authority.   

"When I talk to people, I am J.C. Cole who just happens to be a judge and not Judge Cole," said J.C. Cole on the podcast. "You just have to be a human being first and not a person who seems so far and above everyone else." 

Judge Janice Cole met her husband while she worked as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of New York, a job she earned through her experience as one of the first women working as a patrol officer for the N.Y.P.D. In the interview, she shares about breaking the many barriers as an African American woman during her career as a patrol officer, assistant U.S. attorney, private attorney, district court judge, and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina.   

"I felt with my ability I could overcome (sexism and racism)," said Janice Cole on the podcast. "When people see that you can produce, when they see you in the courtroom, when they see your ability and style ... they want somebody that they think is going to be able to help them win. Once I could show those skills then I think that broke down the barriers."