Judge Jules D. Edwards, III of Louisiana has much in common with today's modern college student -- more than meets the eye. The New Orleans native is the chief judge of the Cajun State's 15th Judicial District covering the parishes of Lafayette, Acadia and Vermilion. Over the years, Edwards has built up a record of achievement, influence and innovation.

But the judge will tell you it wasn't always that way. Like the hordes of undergraduate college students who struggle each year to pin down a major, pursue a career interest and a find their niche in an ever complicated world, Edwards also floated on the mantle of indecision in the late 1970s and early 1980s at Loyola University in New Orleans. Given his style, personality and judicial creativity, a lot of folks – some defendants too -- in Louisiana no doubt are happy Edwards found his way to the legal profession. "I guess I never knew what I wanted to be once I grew up, but I knew that I wanted to have a meaningful life and be of service and be able to help people. I knew that until I figured out what I wanted to do I needed to develop my talents so that whenever I figured it out, I would have the capacity to do it," Edwards says.

This sounds like a sociology major, which Edwards was at Loyola. While he graduated with a bachelor's of arts degree in sociology in 1981, working professionally in that discipline was far from his goal. He looked at the military, taking time off as an undergraduate to serve as a rifleman and wireman in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, and receiving a promotion to corporal. Edwards also spent some time away from college as an undergraduate working for himself renovating houses. "But, I realized that that kind of work was not very challenging for me," he said. After graduating and understanding that sociology was limiting in terms of earning potential and the ability to effect meaningful change, Edwards began thinking about the law.

"Law school was really an advanced liberal arts degree," he says. "With a law degree, you could do any number of things and were not strictly limited to being a litigator, which is what most folks think about being a lawyer." So after "floating and exploring" as an undergraduate, Edwards says he began to get serious about academics in law school. "I really kind of found my groove and saw that litigating was something that I was really interested in and had some talent in the capacity to persuade others. I kind of grew to love the law. I sort of evolved into it," he remarked.

Edwards received his law degree from Loyola Law School in 1984 and spent several years in private practice. Along the way to being named a judge in 1993 in the 15th Judicial Circuit, he worked as an indigent defender in New Orleans, an assistant district attorney, a partner in his own law firm, and counsel to the Louisiana Senate Select Committee on Crime and Drugs. And attesting to the notion that the restless spirit of youth never really goes away, Edwards found time to study for and earn a master's degree in public administration from Louisiana State University during the early 90s as well. He also furthered his interest in the military reserves, completing a number of courses in military law and command through the 1980s and 90s. Just this year, Edwards, who is married to the former Orida Broussard and the parents of three children, Jules IV, 10; Juliesa, 10; and Julien, 8, was named State Judge Advocate for the Louisiana Army National Guard.

Judge Edwards' advice to students who are going through today, what he experienced 20 years ago, is that being restless is okay. But, as he puts it, just be ready to seize opportunities when they present themselves. "The key thing to recognize is that when an opportunity presents itself, it's too late to try and prepare yourself. You need to be prepared to take advantage of the opportunity that is presented to you. So, it's very important that you develop your talents so that you develop the skills that employers are willing to pay for," Edwards adds.

Being a judge seems to have been the best professional way for Edwards to provide effective community service while making a positive impact on society at large. "It may sound a little hokey, but there's something noble about the quest for justice," Edwards muses. With his courtroom as a platform, Edwards has been able to form his own ideas about the legal system in a variety of ways, all intertwined into his own personality, style and vision:

• Restorative Justice Should Be the Goal of the Criminal Justice System: "The concept of warehousing people who commit crime is shortsighted," Edwards says. "Our current system kind of separates the victim from the system, in terms of a criminal prosecution. In a criminal prosecution, it's the state versus the defendant. The victim is really a witness, not really a party to the action. There is very little in the process that's designed to make the victim whole. With this concept of restorative justice, the idea is to recognize that the victim has been harmed and that there is a need to restore the victim to the position he was in, as best you can, prior to the commission of the crime. And there is a need to address the behavior of the person who committed the crime, to make sure they recognize what they have done is wrong and make sure they have an active role in repairing the harm," Edwards says.

• More Lawyers Amount to a Good, Not Bad Thing: Edwards says while some lament the "commercialization" of the legal industry, he believes just the opposite. "A lot of those concerns strike me as sort of anti-competitive, protectionist," he says. "When you have fewer folks to pick from, you have to settle for what they do. Where there are more lawyers, you have a wider variety of backgrounds, ethnically, economically, regionally."

• Encourage Legal Combatants to Find Their Own Resolutions: His style, Edwards says, is to help people achieve their own resolutions. "When two people have a dispute, they know much more about the dispute than anybody else. Often when people have a dispute, they're just yelling at each other. They're both talking; no one is listening. So, if I can assist each to hear and understand the perspective of the other, they're more likely to achieve a resolution that they determine to be just. If they determine it to be just, it is," Edwards says.

One area where Edwards has received noteworthy kudos is for his work with Louisiana's Drug Court, where nonviolent, drug-addicted offenders are given the opportunity to satisfy special conditions of probation, such as attending drug treatment programs, getting a high school equivalency diplomas, and having their convictions set aside and arrest records expunged.

Louisiana State Senator Don Cravins, who urged Edwards to seek a judgeship in 1993, says Edwards has taken a leadership role in making the drug court work. Nationally, more than 700 drug courts are in operation in the United States, enrolling more than 220,000 adult offenders. "It's been an effective program," Cravins said. "He took the initiative to get away from the norm."

Edwards believes that drug courts are linchpins of the concept of restorative justice. In recent years, some jurisdictions nationally also have established similar courts for defendants with domestic abuse and mental health problems. "A few years back, there was the mantra of ‘lock them up and throw away the key.' The reality is we can't afford to do that financially. Tough on crime is one thing, but it's important to be smart when dealing with problems associated with crime and drugs. If you can get a person to stop drinking and drugging, and become productive and responsible, then you're much better off," Edwards advocates.

Cravins contends the future is bright for a judge of Edwards' energy, creativity and innovation. "I've always said he would be a prime candidate for a federal judgeship, if the opportunity ever availed itself," Cravins asserts. "He's a guy who doesn't say a whole lot, other than go in and do what he has to do, and get it done. The ones that will make a difference are going to be the ones who are going to try new ideas, and be creative and innovative."

Marvin V. Greene is a frequent contributor to THE BLACK COLLEGIAN Magazine.