Leadership Program Stresses Judicial Empathy, Creates Pipeline

The Judicial Leadership & Learning Lab (JL3) is a statewide civic development and judicial innovation program created by the Texas Progressive Policy Institute for African American Engagement (TPPI). Designed for Texans ages 15 and older, JL3 cultivates the next generation of jurists, court administrators, policy thinkers, community advocates, and justice reform innovators. The Lab provides a structured, culturally fluent space where participants learn how the courts work, identify barriers to fairness, and design solutions that strengthen equity and public trust in the Texas judiciary.

At its core, JL3 is a training ground for future judicial leadership, especially within communities whose voices are often excluded from decisions that shape daily life. Through justice hack-a-thons, mock judicial review, intergenerational collaboration, and real-world problem solving, JL3 equips participants to think critically, lead ethically, and reimagine the systems that administer justice in Texas.