She was a leader in Long Beach’s black community as a historian and educator. Tucker was married nearly 47 years to Indira Hale Tucker, who died Apof natural causes at 68. The NAACP Long Beach chapter in 2013 honored Tucker among 21 trailblazers as part of its Shoulders We Stand On event, which recognized the contributions African-Americans have made in the city. In 2002, Tucker was inducted into the National Bar Association Hall of Fame. He earned the 1997 Jurist of the Year Award from the Juvenile Courts Bar Association. Tucker was awarded by numerous groups for his public service. “If they had been before him six years ago, he’d remember them and he’d say things like ‘Are you married now? Do you have kids?’” she said. Topsy-Elvord said Tucker was strict, but also had a sense of humor, and remembered everybody. “He saved a lot of lives, and a lot of people were able to finish high school.” “We loved him for that,” said Topsy-Elvord, who lived near Tucker and his wife in Bixby Knolls. He introduced low-cost drug-testing programs for parents under the court’s jurisdiction and established a playground for children awaiting court action.ĭoris Topsy-Elvord, the first black female vice mayor in Long Beach, who worked as a deputy probation officer, recalled that Tucker wouldn’t let kids off probation until they improved their grades, had graduated from high school or received their GED certificate. Tucker is credited for cutting truancy rates among kids who passed through his court. He worked as the supervising juvenile court judge in Long Beach and Downey, and at one time presided over the entire Los Angeles County Juvenile Court system. Known as a compassionate juvenile court judge whose 30 years of service were marked by rehabilitating young delinquents throughout southeast Los Angeles County, Tucker retired in 2004 to great fanfare from city officials, fellow judges, defense lawyers and leaders in education. Tucker’s three-decade judicial career also included time as a Superior Court commissioner. Tucker, who told the Press-Telegram in 2013 that one of his opponents launched a racist campaign against him, won election and was never challenged again, as his colleagues elected him to the presiding judge post three more times.
0 kommentar(er)
