Statewide Magistrate’s Conference, 1970

Judge Guinn attended the 1970 Statewide Magistrate’s Conference in Anchorage, Alaska.  Given her long experience and expertise, she often conducted training sessions for other judges and magistrates at gatherings such as this.  She and other long-time women magistrates Arlene Clay of Aniak (1960-1977) and Sadie Neakok of Barrow (1960-1980) were early leaders in efforts to bridge the cultural, language, and other differences that could undermine justice delivery in the state’s isolated rural areas.  L-R, Front Row: Judge Nora Guinn, 2^nd from left; Magistrate Arlene Clay, 4^th from left; Magistrate Sadie Neakok, 5^th from left.  Upon Judge Guinn’s death in 2005, the Alaska Bar Association established the “Nora Guinn Award,” which is presented annually to an Alaskan who has “made extraordinary or sustained effort to assist Alaska’s rural residents, especially its Native population, overcome language and cultural barriers to obtaining justice through the legal system.”