NEW ORLEANS — A picture of Judge Tammy Stewart and a robe were put outside her courtroom Tuesday afternoon at Orleans Parish Juvenile Court.
“We have lost a great jurist, we have lost a great judge, but even more than that, we’ve lost a wonderful person,” said Section A Judge Clint Smith.
To Stewart’s fellow judges, like Section E Judge Desiree Cook-Calvin, the news of the 53-year-old’s death Monday morning was, and still is, hard to accept.
“She’s a senior judge at this time on our bench, she ‘was.’ It’s still kind of hard for me because I’m still saying ‘is,’” said Cook-Calvin.
Even with her death, Judge Stewart’s work for a better community is still very much a part of the juvenile court system.
“From the time you walk in this front door until the time you leave, she has impacted everything that is good,” said Smith.
Judge Smith says that ‘good,’ comes from the passion Judge Stewart brought to the courtroom. She even helped create Juvenile Justice Awareness Day.
“She never lost sight of what is our purpose, what are we doing what we’re doing. It’s not just to make decisions in this courtroom, but how it affects our community,” said Smith.
Stewart, who held the Section B judgeship, spent 14 years making those decisions. With a political science degree from Southern University at New Orleans and a law degree from Ohio State, Stewart became a judge in 2009.
“Judge Stewart was a fantastic coworker, a fantastic judge,” said Section C Judge Candice Bates-Anderson.
Judge Bates-Anderson now takes over as senior judge. She says Judge Stewart was like a big sister to her.
“She always found a way to open her door, open her courtroom to hear everybody’s side of the story,” said Bates-Anderson. “That’s something I learned from her and took from her when I first became a part of this bench.”
A bench now missing, who these judges say was a leader committed to purpose.
“Judge Stewart had a regal presence about her, very much so represented this city well, represented this court well, she’s definitely going to be missed by us all,” said Cook-Calvin.
Recent changes to state law have reduced the number of judges so the vacancy on the court will not be filled. Stewart’s small staff had to be let go and her cases are being reassigned.
Stewart’s cause of death was not released.
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