In this Diversity Dialogue segment of the Amici podcast program, we explore Indian boarding schools, institutions established in the U.S. and Canada with the expressed goal of eradicating indigenous culture. Our guest is Marnee Ryan Lehtonen, of Corning City Court. Marnee’s grandmother grew up in the notorious Thomas Indian School and, with some prodding by Marnee, shared her experience. Here, Marnee shares what she learned from her grandmother. Diversity Dialogue is a production of the NYS Unified Court System’s Office of Diversity & Inclusion. #indianboardingschools #orangeshirtday

Shortly after Peter F. Lane took office as a New York City Civil Court judge in January, he was surprised to get a call from the Estonian Embassy. He assumed it was a wrong number. Regardless, he picked it up and learned that he's apparently the first and only judge in the nation of Estonian descent. In this podcast, we'll explore Judge Lane's background and learn a little about a country in Northern Europe that some of us may have heard of, but most of us could never pinpoint on a map. Transcript: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/files/2025-08/Judge%20Peter%20Lane.pdf

The lack of accessible legal services in rural areas is a national crisis, and New York State — where four million people live in rural areas – is certainly no exception. Presiding Justice Elizabeth A. Garry of the Appellate Division, Third Department, is attempting to address the crisis through a novel “Rural Pathways” initiative that places law students in remote areas where they can experience the camaraderie of the local legal community and appreciate the innumerable benefits of life and practice outside the bigger cities. In this Amici podcast, Justice Garry, who grew up on a dairy farm and spent most of her legal and judicial career in one of the more remote regions of the state, speaks of the need for legal services in rural areas and the recently completed and highly successful pilot program she embraced: Rural Pathways. Transcript: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/files/2025-08/Rural%20Pathways.pdf

In the latest Diversity Dialogue podcast, Esther Louis-Juste, the Justice Coordinator for the Ninth Judicial District and the child of Haitian immigrants, discusses her role in the courts, and how her background and family experiences influence the way she views her job. “I think about my grandpa, who's 102,” she said. “If my grandpa came into this court building today, would he be able to access the courts in a safe manner? Will they be able to accommodate his language barrier or his physical barriers? Will he feel comfortable and safe? If I take the mission statement and apply it to anybody that I encounter, my challenge is making sure that people feel that us, as justice coordinators, and us, as court staff, are meeting their needs for equal justice and access to justice on a daily basis.” The Diversity Dialogues segment of the Court System’s Amici podcast program is produced in conjunction with the Office of Diversity & Inclusion. Transcript: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/files/2025-06/OPTIMIZE%20Esther%20Louis%20Juste.%20docx.pdf

Transcript: http://ww2.nycourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/files/2019-08/Goodman-Booth_0.pdf

Transcript: http://ww2.nycourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/files/2019-08/Goodman-Zhu%20Final.pdf

Transcript: http://ww2.nycourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/files/2019-06/TamaraKersh.pdf

Transcript: http://ww2.nycourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/files/2019-05/Goodman-RazzaqFinal_0.pdf

Transcript: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/doc/18126

Transcript: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/doc/18131

Transcript: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/doc/14006

In today's Diversity Dialogue, we'll meet a man well-known to many of us in the court system -- Martin Huynh. But who knew he was a Vietnamese refugee brought out of the country at the age of four by a single parent mom, or that their journey halfway around the world began on a boat and included a period of waiting in the Philippine Islands where they slept on hammocks? Transcript: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/files/2025-05/Martin.pdf

Less than a decade ago, no Black person had ever been elected to state Supreme Court in any of the 28 counties of the Third Department, an area from Kingston to Canada that accounts for about 45 percent of the counties in New York. The woman who broke that barrier and paved the way for several others, the Hon. Christina L. Ryba, was recently appointed Administrative Judge for the Third Judicial District, which encompasses seven counties in the Albany area. In this episode of Amici, the Court System’s podcast program, Justice Ryba discusses her journey, her dreams and her plans, and reveals personal details about her childhood, family — and year as the Albany Tulip Queen. Transcript: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/files/2025-06/Judge%20Ryba.pdf

Transcript: http://ww2.nycourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/files/2019-07/GRIPCourt_0_0.pdf

Transcript: http://ww2.nycourts.gov/doc/20771

Transcript: /doc/13886

Transcript: /doc/13751

Transcript: /doc/10996

Transcript: Transcripts/AmiciSkinner.pdf

Transcript: Transcripts/JudgeBurns.pdf