The Hon. Carol Scott Berry (ret). will receive the Ruth V. McGregor Award at the Reception.
Judge Carol Scott Berry is a thirty-five-year Arizona attorney and retired Phoenix Municipal Court Judge. Prior to her judicial appointment, Judge Berry served as a Maricopa County Public Defender, Judge Pro-Tem in Phoenix and Chandler Municipal Courts and was a sole practitioner practicing in the areas of real estate, trusts and estates and criminal law. During her judicial tenure, Judge Berry served as the Phoenix Municipal Court Domestic Violence Court Judge and on the Arizona Supreme Court Committee on the Impact of Domestic Violence in the Courts. (CIDVIC). Judge Berry served as the CIDVIC chair of the Orders, Enforcement and Access Workgroup. As chair, Judge Berry made presentations to other Arizona Supreme Court committees on remote video access to justice and served on the Order of Protection Policy Workgroup of the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission (ACJC). Judge Berry earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Administration from the University of Southern California and a Juris Doctorate from Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.
In retirement, Judge Berry is using her privileges and blessings to achieve justice, fairness and equality for all. An email from a law school classmate ignited Judge Berry to start building coalitions between the State Bar of Arizona, affinity bar groups and the ASU Center for the Study of Rest and Democracy (CSRD) to address the issues of equity, justice and fairness. This coalition is now Arizona Equal Justice Alliance (AEJA) which Judge Berry serves as chair. AEJA created virtual and in-person forums where lawyers and judges could talk openly and seek solutions to issues of race, institutional and systematic bias and discrimination. AEJA has presented a session at the State Bar Conference from 2020-2022 and will be a presenter at the 2023 Conference. Judge Berry received the State Bar of Arizona 2021 Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Award in recognition of her efforts.
In 2021, Judge Berry was appointed by Governor Ducey to the Arizona Civil Rights Advisory Board whose goal is to foster the elimination of discrimination through community effort. Judge Berry currently serves as the Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church (PRBC) Advocacy Legal Advocacy Ministry which holds seminars, consultations and forums. The ministry currently collaborates with the Arizona Black Bar to provide free thirty-minute consultations to community members once a month. Judge Berry also serves as Teaching Leader in Bible Study Fellowship International (BSF) where she presents weekly Bible lectures for a class of 250 women.
Judge Berry is a member of numerous civic and professional organizations including the ASU CSRD Advisory Board, American Judges Association, Arizona Women Lawyers Association, Arizona Black Bar Association, Arizona Community Foundation African American Giving Empowerment Circle (AAWEGC), State Bar of Arizona Task Force on Social Justice Bias & Inclusion, National Association of Women Judges and Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church (PRBC). She is a frequent speaker in Arizona Teen Court and other platforms encouraging and educating the public, grade school, college and law students about the legal profession.
Judge Berry is the recipient of numerous awards including the Arizona Black Bar 2017 Cecil Patterson Community Service Award, National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice 2017 Medgar Edgars Award, Arizona Summit School of Law BLSA 2016 Legal Trailblazer Award, the Jack and Jill of America, Inc., Phoenix Chapter of The Links, Inc. and Gamma Mu Boule 2015 Living History Award, and the 2007 Alpha Phi Alpha Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund Award. In 2014, Judge Berry was one of six Arizona judges selected for entry in the Council on Legal Education Opportunity (CLEO) Hall of Fame
Judge Berry has been happily married for 33 years to Virgil J. Berry, Jr. They are the proud parents of Jacquelyn Grace and Virgil J. III. Judge Berry enjoys travelling with her family, spending time with close friends, watching USC football and the Los Angeles Lakers.