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Every Monday night, Judge Lora Livingston leaves behind the world of Rule 202 hearings at the Travis County Courthouse for the wonder of picking up the confounding 7-10 split.
If you aren't familiar with the 7-10 split, it can't be found in the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. But it can be found at the Austin bowling alley where Livingston has gone for the past 20 years. There she does some of her best work, attempting to knock down 10 pins with a heavy ball.
"We bowl on Monday nights. And one of the reasons I like it is it's a transition back into the workweek," Livingston says. "By Friday, I'm exhausted. And by bowling on Monday, it eases me back into work."
She straggles into the bowling alley (at a top secret location) to meet her league mates who go by the team name "One By One." The team's name is a reference to the singular manner in which they show up at the lanes — as quickly as they can after leaving behind their professional jobs, she says. Her teammates include a lawyer, two engineers and a nurse.
"I'm the team anchor," says Livingston, which means she bowls last. And with a 235 score as a personal best, Livingston is a strong bowler.
"I'm the cleanup bowler," Livingston says with a chuckle. "My teammates are going to love that."
Livingston says most people are familiar with the neighborhood where she grew up. It is well documented in director John Singleton's "Boyz n the Hood," the groundbreaking 1991 film about gangs and inner-city life in South Central Los Angeles.
"Boyz n the Hood is sort of my neighborhood," Livingston says of her family's former home in what is known as the Crenshaw District.
"It's definitely shaped me. You can't grow up in South Central L.A. and not be shaped by it," says Livingston. "I went to school with gangs, there's no question about that. . . . I grew up with those guys," Livingston says.
After graduating from Dorsey High School, Livingston attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where she earned a political science degree in 1979. She stayed there and graduated from UCLA School of Law in 1982. A fellowship brought her to Austin that same year, where she worked as a lawyer for what was then known as Legal Aid of Central Texas, now Texas RioGrande Legal Aid. She stayed there for six years and left to practice with Austin solo Joel Bennett. Then she started her own civil litigation firm, Livingston & Parr, which handled mostly family law cases. She stayed there until 1995 when she left to become an associate judge. Livingston was elected to the 261st District Court in 1998 where she has been ever since.
Judge Lora Livingston
261st District Court
Travis County
Age: 51
Elected to the Bench: 1998
Texas Lawyer senior reporter John Council e-mailed Livingston some questions to ponder. Her answers below are edited for length and style.
Texas Lawyer: What in the world made you wake up one day and think, "I want to be a judge?"
Judge Lora Livingston: I never had an "aha!" moment like that. It was more of a career evolution than a lifelong dream. A judge approached me about becoming an associate judge. It was the idea that I could help solve an entire problem, rather than just advancing one side, that most attracted me to the bench.
TL: What was the transition from advocate to jurist like for you?
Livingston: The transition was really difficult. I am passionate about justice, and it is in my nature to be an advocate. Having said that, I was able to make the transition because my passion for being fair and listening to both sides eventually outweighed my passion for advocacy.
TL: One of the most common complaints lawyers have about judges is they have forgotten what it's like to be an attorney. Have you?
Livingston: Not at all. Whenever I impose a deadline or set a hearing or schedule a trial I remember what it was like being on the other side of the bench, and I try to be sensitive to the attorneys' time constraints, caseload and circumstances in their personal lives.
TL: That said, what do lawyers do in your courtroom that drives you absolutely insane, beyond the normal not being prepared for a hearing or showing up late?
Livingston: Repetition. I would elaborate, but that would be redundant.
TL: Are there any peculiarities about the way you run your courtroom that lawyers should know before darkening your door?
Livingston: I don't do anything I think is peculiar, but I recognize that it's the perception of others that counts most. So, I would recommend that lawyers become familiar with practice in my court. Read the local rules, check out the profiles in the bench book and ask other attorneys about practicing in my court. Because Travis County has a central docket [the judges all share in presiding over pretrial hearings on various civil cases], the judges try to be relatively uniform in their procedures. However, each judge is unique, and every lawyer should know their audience before their presentation begins.
TL: What aspect of your job makes you uncomfortable?
Livingston: I'm uncomfortable when the law doesn't provide a just result. It is difficult for me when I have to do what the law requires, which is not necessarily what is right under the circumstances.
TL: If there is one thing a lawyer should know about how you run a trial, what would that be?
Livingston: The most important thing a lawyer should know is not to waste either the jury's time or my time. Fact-finders want to hear your client's story, your legal justification and your requested remedy in a truthful, yet succinct presentation. I try to be very efficient in conducting trials.
TL: Of all the cases you've heard so far, which one are you the most proud of?
Livingston: I am most proud of my December 2000 ruling in Austin American-Statesman, et al. v. Texas Senate and Rodney Ellis . Several news organizations filed suit, claiming that a secret vote to select an acting lieutenant governor to replace Rick Perry, when he became governor after then-President-Elect George W. Bush resigned, would violate the Open Meetings Act. I ruled that the lieutenant governor is an official elected by the people, not just an officer of the [state] Senate, and that the vote must be public. Then-Texas attorney general, now [U.S.] Sen. John Cornyn argued the case on behalf of the [state] Senate.
TL: Tell us about a moment where you thought: "Nobody taught me this in judge school."
Livingston: Being on the bench has taught me that our system of justice isn't ideally set up to solve conflicts and disputes in all circumstances, especially family law matters. Sometimes it is more helpful and, ultimately, more successful to employ less adversarial or nontraditional techniques or solutions.
TL: Finally, is this job what you thought it would be before you donned a robe for the first time?
Livingston: No. What I thought I would be doing before I first donned a robe represents only a fraction of what I actually do. Being a judge actually encompasses so much more and is, in turn, so much more rewarding, than I ever expected.
"Approach the Bench" is a weekly column in Texas Lawyer.
