Erica Hughes can’t stop smiling these days. She did a lot of smiling on the campaign trail when she was running for criminal court judge. A huge smile was on her face when the election results revealed she had won. The smile got bigger when she took the oath of office. And now that she is on the bench, Judge Hughes couldn’t make her smile go away even if she tried.

Judge Hughes’ reality is the vision she first dreamed for herself when she was just a child. “Before I even knew what it entailed I always knew that I wanted to be a judge growing up.”

Her journey to becoming a judge started down an engineering path versus a pre-law a path. Math and science came easy for her. After high school graduation, she headed down 290 to attend Prairie View A&M University majoring in chemical engineering. While on the hill, the panther on the rise earned more than a degree but also lessons that would last her a lifetime.

“Prairie View instilled in me the ability to be independent and to be a critical thinker. I have an engineering degree from Prairie View. And so it not only taught me theory from a mathological and science standpoint but it also taught me practical lessons that I use daily from my matriculation from there up until now.” Judge Hughes continued, “So it definitely taught me to think outside the box in the engineering department and then just organizations that I was in.” Judge Hughes also credits Prairie View’s diverse student population that allowed her to interact and work with many different ethnic groups as preparation to work within Harris County.

Before she made panther tracks away from PVAMU, Judge Hughes would have a few internships. Two concentrated in the field that she thought she wanted to pursue, patent and intellectual property law. Experience in those internships was just enough for her to know she was in the wrong field. Sharing her desire to do something different with her internship advisors allowed her to dabble in other areas thereby changing the trajectory of her professional career.

Now having a clear focus of where she wanted to take her career, she enrolled in the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University. She became a licensed attorney and practice in Harris County and other counties for 11 years. As she represented her clients and made observations of the judicial system it became more evident of how justice for all was really justice for some.

“People were being treated unfairly and people that were black and brown were being put in jail disproportionate numbers,” commented Judge Hughes about what she saw first-hand from her front row seat to justice. Offenders were not being judged by their crimes but by the color of their skin. Plus, their peers were not judging them. Judge Hughes spoke about how Harris County is the third largest county and one of the most diverse but if anyone came to the courtrooms all that could be seen was a high volume Angelo male and a few female judges. That view combined with the way people were treated let Judge Hughes now was the time to change the system. “I thought this was a good time to run because it was just kind of getting out of control here in Harris County.”

Run she did. Joining forces with other powerful, educated, black females, Judges Hughes was one of the famed 19 that made history for being part of the largest group of minority judges elected to one county at the same time. The magnitude of this caught her off guard a bit and it didn’t fully hit her until her first day on the bench. Describing how the sight of all these African American female judges in black robes reporting for duty was a welcomed view for some and not so much for others for the fear of what they might do was a little overwhelming. After all, some of them are over courts that have never had a black judge, let alone black and female.

“For me, it’s a dream come true. I recognize that I am my grandparents’ wildest dreams, and even my parents, that they have shown over time for this moment and so it comes to fruition,” Judge Hughes said smiling. “You look back over all the things you have been through, good things and bad things, and you say definitely it was for this season and it has prepared you for this season and this time and you realize the impact that you can make every day. So initially it is an overwhelming experience but also bring a feeling of joy of being in this position that you have always talked about or seen but you can actually touch it now and you can help people in a tangible way every day and change their lives so it’s a good feeling and brings joy for sure.”

Already she has gotten to work shaking up the system to bring real justice to all and treat people as innocent until proven guilty. As a county criminal court judge, she handles misdemeanor cases A&B. What she found was that many offenders were being put in jail for low-level offenses simply because they couldn’t afford bail. For Judges Hughes, this was unjust for someone, for example, being charged for a $200 check stealing crime to have a $5,000 bond that would be next to impossible for them to pay. For these individuals who were automatically booked in the system, she has drafted a personal recognizance bond order or PR bond for short for these type of offenders where they would not be required to pay a bond nor could a bond be set against them. The offender would qualify for a PR bond only if they were not a flight risk, a danger to society, participated in probation and showed up for court dates.

“So that’s the number one thing that I think is the biggest thing that I have done since day one that hasn’t gone into effect yet. But we do have a court date next month where it will be ruled on and the judge will make the order and then it will go into effect,” said Judge Hughes. “It has never been done in Harris County, Texas, or anywhere and so the trickle effect or the results of that will be felt immediately for sure.”

While she is making waves in the court, she will also make moves in the community. Judge Hughes and the Black Girl Magic group made a vow while campaigning to not just stay on the bench but to also get out in the community to give back. This past week she had the opportunity to speak with students at Law Elementary School with the Harlem Globetrotters who honored the group of 19. During the month of February, she and the judges will visit churches to teach Sunday School classes and make appearances at other community programs. And the group will be honored next month in Austin.

She has only been on the bench for a month but I had to ask what her plans were at the end of her four year term. Judge Hughes said she may run again to complete eight years on the bench but that was not set in stone. “I know that there is a need for African American females to have a seat at the table and I know I am qualified to do other things besides this. So I don’t know what the future holds but I definitely do know that it will hold me running for something,” said a confident Judge Hughes.

She dreamed it, believed it, worked for it, and now she is living it. She is the ruler of her court. She is Judge Erica Hughes. Congratulations, may your black girl magic never lose its sparkle!