New York Court of Appeals Associate Judge Jenny Rivera warned against people of her background being "barred" from opportunity as she addressed the Women's Caucus of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association. "A person like myself, born poor on the Lower East Side, to migrant parents, I was not meant to have this life, but I'm very grateful I was able to make that possible," Rivera said in remarks last week at an event honoring herself and Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Ellen Spodek. "But as you know, that is not true for many people today, and frankly that is not how it should work." In addressing the crowd, Rivera spoke of her family's immigrant background and said her mother raised her with the belief that her children, and her children's children, would always have more than she had. "But it's not necessarily true for people who come with the same story," the judge said. "It's harder and harder to replicate my story, not because I'm so unique, but because we should keep those doors open for everyone else." "So that's why it's important you keep working towards opening those doors," Rivera continued. "And when there are judges from someplace else, from the Supreme Court of the United States, who decide that there are certain doors that need to be closed or at least shut and barred, then you're going to say 'We're not going to do that, we're not going to put up with that and we're going to keep the doors open.'" Rivera is the second Hispanic woman to serve on the Court of Appeals. "For all of us, we're always better when we lift someone else up," she said in conclusion. The event was hosted by NYSTLA President David Scher and President-elect Victoria Wickman and held at the Manhattan Penthouse.