Young Jamaican takes her place in Florida court

Twelve years after been brought before a judge as a juvenile, a young Jamaican, Marie Rattigan, is yet again standing in a courtroom in the United States of America, this time seeking to balance the scales of justice in matters concerning minors.

The 25-year-old said that the life-changing experience she had in 2008 has allowed her to pivot into her new role as the first intern with Tiffany Baker-Carper, the youngest African American to be elected judge of the Second Judicial Court in Florida. Born in the USA to Jamaican parents, tennis player Donovan Rattigan and Michelle Ribalta. When she was 13, Rattigan was arrested and charged with resisting arrest without violence. She believes that encounter could have resulted in her being a statistic in the criminal justice system.

"There was an incident that happened on the school bus when I was going to school in Miramar. My cousin was slapped in the face by a girl. My cousin was at the back of the bus and I was at the front. The bus driver pulled over and he asked me if I wanted him to call the police and I said, 'Honestly, it's up to you. You can if you want to, but I have to call my mom and let her know where I am'. I wanted to call my mom and let her know where I was and on my way exiting the bus, the police officer was coming on to the bus and asked me where I was going and I told him I asked the driver permission to come off the bus and talk to my mom," Rattigan told THE STAR.

The moments after quickly escalated, and left her petrified.

"I was on the phone telling my mom the exact location of where I am and the police officer comes to me and say 'what do you think you're doing? Get on the f**king floor' and my mom was like who is that talking to you, and I told her it was the police officer. She said, 'you know what, don't say nothing. Try and get a piece of paper and pen and get his badge number and first and last name. I was talking to a girl on the bus through the window, asking for a pen and paper because I came off the bus with only my phone and in the midst of me trying to get it, the police came to me again and said 'Did you not hear what I said, get on the f**king floor,' and by time he said that he threw me on the car, patted me down, put the handcuffs on and put me on the car," she related.

The horrific incident saw Rattigan being brought before a judge. She pled her innocence. The lawyer that her mother hired even encouraged her to take a plea deal, but Rattigan denied and said she would argue her case to the end.

"I told the judge that I wanted to take the case to trial. The lawyer told my mother that he could give back the money if I take the plea deal, but I said no, I'm not doing that. I told my mom that I wanted to take it to trial because I didn't do anything," she stressed.

A couple months later, the case was dropped and she was freed of the charges.

Now an advocate for human rights, in light of the recent deaths of George Floyd, Eric Gardner and Breonna Taylor, and having received the opportunity to intern with a black judge, it has since solidified her desire to pursue a career in law.

"My first desire was to be a journalist, to report stories that would inspire and uplift black people, but doing my masters, I've been learning a lot. Now, I am very excited to be a part of her team, and the fact that my judge is over the juvenile delinquency division. That is like a full circle for me because at 13, I was standing in front a judge, and now 12 years later, I am sitting beside the first black judge in the juvenile delinquency division. It is a full circle for me, it's a fresh and new experience for me."

Rattigan is reading for her masters degree in African American Studies at the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University.