Janet Kintner
Author Interview - Janet Kintner
Author of A Judge's Tale: A Trailblazer Fights for her Place on the Bench
Kintner's inspiring memoir reveals her difficult childhood including when she was the victim of sex crimes. Instead of breaking her, these inspired her to become a lawyer dedicated to protecting other people who were victims of crime or who needed legal representation against scams and con men. It was the 1960s and the entire system of justice was a male bastion. It was almost impossible for a woman to get a job as a lawyer. Overcoming enormous odds, Janet became a successful lawyer for Legal Aid of San Diego, representing low income people in civil cases against fraudulent businesses, and then a prosecutor specializing in consumer fraud. She was later in private practice where she helped everyone who had a meritorious case whether they could afford a lawyer or not. In 1976, when she was 31 and pregnant with her first child, she was appointed the youngest judge in the state of California. That didn't sit well with everyone. Two men challenged her in an election in 1978 and she fought for her judgeship in a very difficult election while working fulltime, raising a two-year-old, and pregnant with her second child. The question was whether San Diego was ready to vote for a female judge for the first time.
Author Interview - Janet Kintner
Author I draw inspiration from:
I’m inspired by books by and about trailblazing female judges including Sandra Day O’Connor, Sonia Sotomayor (who has type one diabetes like one of my closest family members), Ruth Bader Ginsburg (“My Own Words”), and Beverley McLachlin, the first female Chief Justice of Canada's Supreme Court.
I love reading Jane Austen, Isabel Allende, Alexander McCall Smith, and Jodi Picoult. Picoult has explored huge problems like illnesses, racism, abortion, the Holocaust, school shootings, and other moral dilemmas. One example is "My Sister's Keeper" about a second daughter created to provide spare parts for her older sister with cancer. Imagine being that younger daughter.
But when the world's problems seem to be overwhelming or I am too exhausted to tangle with moral angst, I turn to Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series for comic relief. I'd sometimes read the latest book and then send it to my daughter. "Dirty Thirty" is an example. When I read one of these books on the airplane, it leaves me uncontrollably laughing out loud. (I apologize if you were sitting next to me on that flight to San Diego.) I love Evanovich's characters, her naughtiness, but most of all, her humor.
Author Interview - Janet Kintner | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book:
I like to read in my upholstered reclining chair in the sunshine near a window with a view of the water and my feet up. With a glass of ice water and lemon juice nearby and maybe a bag of chocolates or licorice. Of course, there's nothing like reading in bed propped up on down pillows under a fluffy comforter with a good light at the end of the day...or first thing in the morning. I always take a book with me when I have an appointment-- in case I have to wait. A book turns boredom into pleasure. I am usually so busy I hate to waste time and reading good books makes sure I am not wasting time.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
I'd have to choose Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a character in "No Truth Without Ruth: The Life of Ruth Bader Ginsburg'' by Kathleen Krull, but, of course, she's not a fictional figure. I met her once shortly after she was appointed to the US Supreme Court, and I saw she was charming, extremely bright, and witty. But we didn't have time for a real one-on-one conversation. We could talk about the law, the world, and balancing families and careers. She was born eleven years before I was, and we had similar experiences as trailblazers.
But it might be handier to pick someone who could get us out of the elevator, so I should probably pick Ranger from "Now or Never" by Janet Evanovich. Ranger always saved our heroine at the last minute, using brains and almost magical powers.
Author Interview - Janet Kintner | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
I always loved to read books; they gave me enormous pleasure. So I figured I owed the world a book in return. Then when Covid closed down my activities in 2020, I began to write my first book, my memoir. I took lessons on how to do this, because my writing before this had been legal articles and that is as far from a memoir as one could get. I had to get in touch with my feelings. I teach Myers Briggs personality types, so I knew what feelings were, but I didn't know how to describe them. So I learned.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
I prefer paperback to hardback; it's lighter and easier to pack and carry around with me, although hardback books look nice.
I also love audiobooks especially with good narrators-- I listen to them in the car, on planes, in airports, and even at home while I am doing other things like cleaning house or doing laundry. When nobody else is there, I just play them without earphones. That is a special pleasure. They make the time fly. One time I had one audio book playing in my house ("The Last Thing He Told Me" by Laura Dave), another on my car CD player ("Notorious Nineteen" by Janet Evanovich), and a different paperback I had for while I waited for my doctor's appointment ("Paula" by Isabel Allende). It was a challenge to keep them separate in my mind. But I looked forward to each one.
The last book I read:
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman was fun reading and portrayed impressive skills of some older people for solving crimes, which is encouraging to my generation.
Author Interview - Janet Kintner | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer:
I love my laptop computer for writing, because I think fast and I type fast. Also it is easy to make changes on a computer. And I love to make changes. Every time I read my manuscript, I think I can improve it. At first I wrote my story on my laptop and then I worked with editors and deleted much of it. I have dozens of drafts labeled as separate word documents with titles including dates.
But I also have paper and pen by my bed to write down things I think of in the middle of the night. Like--did I remember to say I never lost a single consumer fraud case as a prosecutor?
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
I'd choose the strong, admirable Louisa May Alcott, the nonfictional protagonist of Harriet Reisen's "Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women." Alcott, born in America in 1832 to a financially struggling family, was committed to meritorious causes including ending slavery and obtaining the right to vote for women. She worked as a nurse in the Civil War before she was a successful author. She never married and yet was able to support herself, which was rare for women then. She had health problems probably from mercury poisoning from her nursing days and died at 56 years.
If I had to choose a fictional character, I'd choose Elizabeth Bennet, the heroine in "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen. English laws made it difficult for women then. Women could not inherit, they were often forced to marry for financial reasons, and they could not get jobs like we can which denied them independence. Yet, Lizzie was strong, of good character, and intelligent. She refused to marry the abominable Mr. Collins, instead choosing to remain single and possibly destitute, until she fell in love with the incomparable Darcy. She had the courage to stand up to the wealthy Lady Catherine who opposed her marrying Darcy.
Author Interview - Janet Kintner | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
I'd be a lawyer again-- representing important causes and people who need help whether they could afford a lawyer or not. It feels good to help people in need and see that justice is done.
Judges are getting more threats these days, but I like helping people, securing justice and upholding the rule of law, so that's another job I'd do again.
I also like to teach, which I'm still doing. I teach classes using Myers Briggs Personality Types to explain the different ways we do things including take in information, and make decisions. People learn their strengths and weaknesses, and how to be more tolerant and understanding.
Favorite decade in fashion history:
I like the roaring twenties, because it was a lighthearted era of new freedom for women. I wore a knee-length flapper dress costume (no need for a corset or to hold my tummy in), with fringe and long beaded necklaces, for a high school play role and later for an adult costume party. I could breathe, do the Charleston, and have fun.
Place I’d most like to travel:
I'd like to go to Antarctica, because I have friends who said that was their favorite trip, and I think penguins are cute.
My signature drink:
My signature drink is a Margarita. I’ve had fantastic margaritas in San Diego and Mexico.
If I need to stay sober, I like a lemonade.
In the morning a decaf latte is hard to beat.
Favorite artist:
I love the music of Freddie Mercury who sang with Queen.
I also love the crooning and personality of Michael Buble.
For background music while I am writing, I like pianist Richard Clayderman's and Conductor Andre Rieu's music.
Number one on my bucket list:
I'd like to write a fiction book. In writing my memoir, I found the facts were sometimes stranger than fiction. For example, as a judge, I got absolutely no time off to give birth to my babies in 1976 and 1978. I had to take my three week annual vacation each time and that is all I got. I didn't want to complain and give the male judges a reason to resent female judges on their court.
Find more from the author:
www.janetkintner.com
https://joyfulwriter.substack.com/
About Janet Kintner:
Janet Kintner
Janet Kintner was an early lawyer and judge who broke gender barriers in San Diego,
California, in the 1960's and 70's. She was a successful lawyer until she was appointed by the governor in 1976 to be the youngest judge in the state. She was 31 and pregnant. She was the third female judge in history in San Diego. She was challenged by two men in an election in 1978 and forced to campaign to try to save her job. By then she was 33 and pregnant again. She has edited and written many legal articles, but this is her first book. Her three children are now married and have given her four “perfect” grandchildren. She lives with her second husband, a very nice Canadian, part time on Vancouver Island in Canada, but mostly in San Diego.
