District Court Chief Judge Elaine O’Neal Bushfan delegates the courtroom to the classroom. Judge Bushfan has definitely made her mark in the county of Durham and throughout the state by becoming the First African-American female Judiciary Chief Judge in North Carolina history.

Judge Bushfan has utilized her courtroom power to force change in and throughout the community by serving as a community advocate and role model for young African-American youths.

In 1991 Bushfan, graduated (Cum Laude) with her Juris Doctorate Degree from North Carolina Central University (NCCU), after previously receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics in 1984. Judge Bushfan has always strived to make change. Since taking district court office first in 1995 and in 1996, she became a CALEA Commissioner.

Judge Bushfan and Durham County Officials set in motion the first Durham County Juvenile Task Force, sparking the birth of the first alternative group home for delinquent youth in Durham County in 1997. The Durham County Juvenile Task Force later renamed the JuvenileCrime Prevention Council, which Bushfan stills continues to be an integrate part of.

Bushfan has helped to aid and implement many programs designed to prevent youth from entering the judicial system. She recently founded her own positive diversion program, the Restoration Institute for Leaders (RIL). The Restoration Institute for Leaders focuses on an array of judiciary, social services, vocational options and incentives for 13-18 year olds who are at-risk.

RIL helps young men and women escape low academics, truancy, disruptive behaviors, and gang involvement. Educational facilitators, teachers, teacher assistants and vocational instructors work diligently with RIL to form a community, judiciary and literacy change.

According to O’Neal, “rehabilitation is an area the criminal justice system struggles with. A 15- or 16-year-old convicted of a felony loses certain rights. They’ve lost the right to vote before they were ever old enough to exercise it. Prospective employers do background checks, and want no part of them. So how can these kids survive, and what can we do for them?

O’Neal said she’s watched them go from juvenile court to district court, from a 14-year-old to a 22-year-old who’s never been able to get a job. That’s the reality. At the age of 25, if you want to change your life, and even if you’ve gone back to school and gotten your GED, you still have a felony conviction, and consequently can’t find a job at a livable wage. What can the court system do?”

In O’Neal’s words, “Zippo. The judicial system is 1/3 of government, and receives 3% of the budget. There’s no way out of the cycle; we’ll continue to see people come out of the system and go back in.

It’s easier to stand on the corner than to go and face rejection every day. With a felony conviction, even if it happened ten years ago, a person can’t even get a cleaning job. It costs $62,000 to house one kid for one year at a training school. They can’t lock everyone up, O’Neal argued; the community has to change its attitude.”

Judge Elaine O’Neal Bushfan has reach out not only to the youth of North Carolina but the youth around the country through several types of television line-ups. Judge Bushfan had the opportunity to be a guest on the Montel Williams Show. Bushfan is also hosting her own cable television show called ”And Justice for All.”

Judge Bushfan has been a huge asset to the city of Durham administering the Oath of Office to William V. “Bill” Bell, Mayor of Durham. She continues to be involved in many educational, judicial and political efforts throughout the state.