Twelve years later, a judge meets the teenager who once appeared before him in court

In 2006, Carmen Day appeared before Judge Charles W. Dortch Jr. in Camden. She was a 17-year-old who had made a bad decision, and was facing 18 months of probation.

“I was respectful; I was apologetic,” she recalled recently. She told the judge, “I can't go on probation for 18 months, I'm trying to go to college. I want to be somebody one day. Maybe I'll be a lawyer in your courtroom one day.”

Her words had an impact. “I felt that she needed some encouragement,” Dortch recalled recently. He ruled that six months of probation would be consistent with the law, given the nature of the offense. She could finish out high school, and start college fresh.

Earlier this year, Day and Dortch met again. This time, she was an NJSBA member and a student at Rutgers Law in Camden, and she returned to show him how his words had impacted her.

In a Facebook post, Day described their meeting this way: “I've waited for this moment for so long…for the chance to say thank you for believing in that lost girl so many years ago….and to show him that I made good on my promise.”

That Facebook post—a photo of the two of them and a caption describing Day's story—now has been 'liked' more than 16,000 times, shared nearly 5,000 times, and picked up by different news publications. Day has experienced what she describes as an “overwhelming outpouring of love and support from people all over.” Dortch jokes that he feels like he's having his “15 minutes of fame.”

Day has been getting calls, messages and invitations to speak from people all over the country who have seen her Facebook post. “My purpose in sharing was honestly for someone else to see my story, listen to my story,” she said. “I wanted to inspire someone, motivate someone, give them hope. In any unfortunate situation it's easy to get discouraged.”

Dortch downplays his own role in Day's achievements. “I'm very proud of that young lady,” he said, but “I'm a bit player in this.” When she came to see him, he said, he told her “You had it inside of you. Sometimes in life you just need people to open the door.”

Dortch says that over the years he has tried to set a good example and be encouraging in his court, while also abiding by the requirements of the law. “I will always try to encourage young people to make good decisions, to think before you act, to realize the strength you have within,” he said.

Day's visit, he said, was rewarding. “It shows that not everything that comes in the courthouse turns out bad. A lot of people do not have a favorable impression of the courts or the legal system. I thought it was an important story for her, first and foremost. Who knows how many others she will inspire?”

In Day's Facebook post, she put it this way: “After meeting in his chambers, he took me out to the courtroom and shared my story—now our story. We all have a story, and this one is mine. This is my testimony. I hope by sharing that I can encourage someone to keep living, keep fighting, and keep dreaming. You are not what happened to you, you are what you choose to become.”