Jennifer Webb-McRae: 'I'm Passionate About Doing Justice Every Day'

Jennifer Webb-McRae: 'I'm Passionate¹ About Doing Justice Every Day'

Jennifer Webb-McRae always knew what she wanted to be when she grew up.

“I really never wanted to be anything else when I grew up. I knew I wanted to be a lawyer and that was because my family kind of put that notion in my head. They used to tease me and say I argued every point, so I should grow up and be a lawyer.”

But neither Webb-McRae, nor her family, knew how far she would go -- all in her home state of New Jersey².

“I am the Cumberland County prosecutor³, which means that I am the Chief Law Enforcement Officer for the county of Cumberland. There are 21 county prosecutors⁴ throughout the state. I happen to be the first African American and first female prosecutor of Cumberland County.”

Webb-McRae was raised in Vineland, New Jersey. She received her law degree just 40 minutes away from home, from Camden School of Law at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

Early on, Webb-McRae was interested in family law. She clerked for a judge involved in that field. He became a lifelong mentor⁵. However, she found she had a passion for criminal law when she worked with the juvenile⁶ justice system.

“I was fortunate enough to get a job very quickly at the Office of the Public Defender⁷ representing juvenile defendants⁸. So it was interesting because it gave me a passion for criminal justice, but it also kind of suited that social work element of me to want to do justice and help serve the whole person and kind of started me on my way in the criminal justice world.”

Webb-McRae says her responsibilities as Chief Prosecutor of Cumberland County are complex.

“There are a lot of hard issues that you face when you have to made decisions that affect people’s lives in the criminal justice system. However, with some of the national issues that are going on in our country, with you know with Ferguson, with mass incarceration⁹, with a lack of confidence in law enforcement. It’s been a challenge being the first African-American prosecutor.”

Sometimes the challenges might feel personal.

"Also being a mother of an African-American boy, to reconcile that I have a role to play in this system and how to do that responsibly. One of the things that we work really hard on, and I hopefully have brought to the forefront, is that I understand that my primary responsibly here is to prosecute¹⁰ people who break the law in Cumberland County as well as protect the citizens of this great county.”

There are many ways to serve that purpose, however. Webb-McRae says she works to help people make good choices, especially when they are young. She recognizes the power of peer pressure that children face. She notes the strong “no-snitching” culture among young people that can block needed intervention¹¹.

To battle this, Webb-McRae launched an Annual Back to School Initiative. After just six years in existence, the program now involves 40 schools. McRae and her office staff attend over 30 back-to-school events each year. They share information about programs that help keep kids safe.

Earlier this year, Webb-McRae also launched a community engagement series.

“With Ferguson, with police-involved shootings, it’s important that we dialogue with the communities in times of rest and when things are calm, so that we can capitalize on those relationships when we have unrest or we have crises that we all have to deal with together.”

Prosecutor Webb-McRae hopes her example will inspire girls in Cumberland County.

“I’m passionate about what I do. I’m proud to be career woman. I’m proud to a role model for other young women who are embarking¹³ to be decision makers¹⁴ and I'm passionate about doing justice every day.”

Jennifer Webb-McRae plans to continue to grow in her career. She hopes to become a judge someday. Her belief in community involvement, public service and justice will continue.

“I believe that everyone is a stakeholder in our community and everyone has a right and a vested interest to make sure that the justice system is fair and just and equitable¹⁵ for everyone. Our system is not perfect, our justice system across the country certainly is not perfect, but I’m passionate about doing my little part to make it better. I believe in action and moving the ball forward.”

Words in This Story

notion n. an idea or opinion

tease v. to laugh at and criticize (someone) in a way that is either friendly and playful or cruel and unkind

clerk v. a person whose job is to keep track or records and documents for a business or office

mentor n. someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a person

passion n. a strong feeling or enthusiasm or excitement for something or about doing something

incarceration n. the state of being put in prison

reconcile v. to find a way of make exist or be true at the same time.

embark¹² – n. to begin a journey

stakeholder n. a person or business that has invested money in something

vested interest n. – a personal stake or involvement in an undertaking¹⁶ of state of affairs, especially one with an expectation of financial gain.

equitable adj. dealing fairly and equally with everyone

1 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

2 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

3 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

4 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

5 mentor   

n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导

参考例句：

• He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
• He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。

6 juvenile   

n.青少年，少年读物；adj.青少年的，幼稚的

参考例句：

• For a grown man he acted in a very juvenile manner.身为成年人，他的行为举止显得十分幼稚。
• Juvenile crime is increasing at a terrifying rate.青少年犯罪正在以惊人的速度增长。

7 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。

8 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

9 incarceration   

n.监禁，禁闭；钳闭

参考例句：

• He hadn't changed much in his nearly three years of incarceration. 在将近三年的监狱生活中，他变化不大。 来自辞典例句
• Please, please set it free before it bursts from its long incarceration! 请你，请你将这颗心释放出来吧！否则它会因长期的禁闭而爆裂。 来自辞典例句

10 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

11 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

12 embark   

vi.乘船，着手，从事，上飞机

参考例句：

• He is about to embark on a new business venture.他就要开始新的商业冒险活动。
• Many people embark for Europe at New York harbor.许多人在纽约港乘船去欧洲。

13 embarking   

乘船( embark的现在分词 )； 装载； 从事

参考例句：

• He's embarking on a new career as a writer. 他即将开始新的职业生涯——当一名作家。
• The campaign on which were embarking was backed up by such intricate and detailed maintenance arrangemets. 我们实施的战争，须要如此复杂及详细的维护准备。

14 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 equitable   

adj.公平的；公正的

参考例句：

• This is an equitable solution to the dispute. 这是对该项争议的公正解决。
• Paying a person what he has earned is equitable. 酬其应得,乃公平之事。

16 undertaking   

n.保证，许诺，事业

参考例句：

• He gave her an undertaking that he would pay the money back with in a year.他向她做了一年内还钱的保证。
• He is too timid to venture upon an undertaking.他太胆小，不敢从事任何事业。