Surendran: Once a beedi worker, now a judge in America

He took the oath of his post on this one January. He has achieved this feat within just five years of moving from India to America. Hailing from Kerala, Pattel worked as a beedi maker during his high school days. Getting three meals a day was a challenge for his family. In the midst of poverty, he first became a lawyer in Kerala, then practiced in the Supreme Court. After that went to America.

Pattel was in the eighth grade when his sister died. He had a 15-month-old daughter. His sister was the eldest child of three brothers and three sisters. His illiterate parents used to work as daily wage laborers in Kasaragod district of Kerala. According to Pattel, the wages for beedi making were very low. Me and my elder sister used to roll beedis till late night. I passed my high school but didn’t get good marks. I left my studies.

After some time took admission in pre-degree course. Studied while working nights and working in the fields on weekdays. Due to poor attendance in the first year, he was not allowed to appear in the examination. Later the teachers gave permission after knowing the condition of their house. When the results came, it was found that he was among the top two students. After that he got a job in a hotel for further studies.

Pattel earned a degree in political science in 1992 before pursuing a law degree. Four years later, he joined P Appukuttan’s team in Hosdurg to practice law. Pattel worked with Appukuttan for a decade but moved to Delhi with his wife Subha when she got a job in a major Delhi hospital. Pattel did not want him to come in the way of his wife’s career.

Rajeev Dhavan, a senior advocate of the Supreme Court in Delhi, refused to appoint his junior in view of his decade-long experience but allowed him to work for a short time from his chambers. Within a year, Pattel’s wife got a job in America. He reached America with them. After arriving in Houston, Texas in 2007, Pattel worked at a grocery store.

He learned that with only seven years of experience, he could take the examination for admission to the bar in the state of Texas. Only after this he did LLM course in International Law. Both India and the US follow British Commonwealth law. The basics are the same and the law is not difficult to understand. Pattel became a citizen there in 2017 and now won the election in 2022 after just five years.

The county in which Pattel has been elected as a judge has a white population of 35 percent. 25 percent are black people. 24 percent of the people are of Spanish origin. Only 20 percent are Asian. It is a diverse country, he says, and most people accept an Indian-American as a district judge.