By: dmc-admin//August 3, 2009//
At age 26, Amanda L. Rockman, who’d just recently been named associate judge for the Ho-Chunk Nation, went to lunch in the tribe’s casino. She was carded.
Rockman became one of the youngest judges in the country when she took the bench in 2006, only 15 months after graduating law school. Her caseload includes family and civil cases, including constitutional law issue, which she finds fascinating.
“The Ho-Chuck Nation ratified its Constitution in 1994,” she says, “So we’re now hearing many constitutional issues of first impression.”
Rockman is also a board member for Children’s Learning Village Montessori, a preschool in the making. “Rural Wisconsin can be limited when it comes to child care, so trying to develop a Montessori school where people don’t really know a lot about its philosophies has been a challenge, but a very rewarding one,” she says.
Q&A
If you hadn’t become a lawyer, what would you have done?
I would have sought an advanced degree in anthropology
What profession would you not like to participate in?
Dentistry or podiatry
What is the first quote that comes to your mind?
“We are wiser than we know”
What is the first concert you went to?
Blues Traveler
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
It changes — I could spend decades idealizing, but I always have to be grateful for what I have
What’s your favorite sports team?
The Badgers
What was your favorite toy as a child?
Lite Brite
What trait do you most like in others?
Patience
What is your greatest extravagance?
My Mercedes