(Subscription required) San Diego County Superior Court Judge Lilys D. McCoy brings compassion, patience and a lifelong commitment to learning to juvenile dependency court, where she balances protecting children with helping families find a path toward reunification.

For Katherine Lucero, becoming a Yolo Superior Court judge means coming full circle. “This is a great honor, to be here in Yolo County where I was born, and to come back to serve you,” Lucero, officially sworn in Friday afternoon, told a courtroom filled with her family, court employees and fellow members of the bench.

The four South Bay students are part of Justice For All, a court-watching endeavor they started as freshmen and sophomores — Corbu at Evergreen Valley High, and the other three at Leland High — to get acclimated to what was going on in the halls of justice, or as is the case in San Jose, the Hall of Justice. The students are not merely watching.

Fifth graders at Rancho Santana School got a lesson in civics and the judicial system when San Benito County Superior Court Honorary Judge Omar Rodriguez visited their classroom on Sept. 17 to mark Constitution Day.