{"id":5922,"date":"2021-11-09T12:55:15","date_gmt":"2021-11-09T12:55:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/?p=5922"},"modified":"2023-03-27T15:52:33","modified_gmt":"2023-03-27T15:52:33","slug":"people-skills-check-saying-yes-check-this-is-no-ordinary-bureaucrat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2021\/11\/09\/people-skills-check-saying-yes-check-this-is-no-ordinary-bureaucrat\/","title":{"rendered":"People skills. Check. Saying yes. Check. This is no ordinary bureaucrat."},"content":{"rendered":"

Trial Court Administrator E. Deneen Barrier\u2019s desk is a mess.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pushed into a corner beside her monitor, an enormous stack of jumbled documents dominates the space. Barrier thumbs through the pile as she hunts for a jury selection calendar, flipping past paperwork from seemingly every department in the Durham County Courthouse.<\/span><\/p>\n

Similar \u201cpockets of danger,\u201d as Barrier refers to them, litter the office. They include a thick stack of papers labeled \u201cshred and destroy,\u201d a mountain of boxes and scrambled files, and a whiteboard calendar still reading \u201cMay 2021.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Barrier wears many hats in the courthouse, all of them involving keeping operations as smooth and organized as possible. But she doesn\u2019t see bureaucracy the way most people do. Some might associate court management with red tape and closed doors, but Barrier said she\u2019s centered her career around creativity, openness and a willingness to say \u201cyes.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And sometimes that means learning to work with chaos.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a Broadway show,\u201d Barrier said, referring to the courthouse. \u201cIt\u2019s the lights, it\u2019s the cameras, it\u2019s the props\u2014it\u2019s all that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The problem-solver<\/b><\/p>\n

Barrier\u2019s office sits at the top of the courthouse, on the ninth floor \u2014 the same floor as the judges\u2019 chambers and the District Attorney\u2019s office. Her window offers astonishing views of downtown Durham surrounded by a sea of trees.<\/span><\/p>\n

Barrier loves discussing her work. Dressed in slacks and a tie-neck denim blouse, she is a dynamic, engaged speaker, sometimes asking questions of her interviewer or moving around the room to illustrate a point. Her descriptions of her duties often flow from administrative jargon to moving accounts of courthouse drama.<\/span><\/p>\n

As trial court administrator, Barrier handles tasks such as coordinating civil hearings and scheduling juror summonses. But the full scope of her duties extends far beyond that.<\/span><\/p>\n

In May 2020, Barrier also became the courthouse\u2019s COVID-19 coordinator. Since then, she has worked with other top-tier court officials to establish the numerous shifting health precautions the courts have adopted over the past 20 months.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Barrier is one of the courthouse\u2019s two disability access coordinators, providing equipment like hearing aids and crutches to those who need them for court. And judging from the many visitors, phone calls and emails she received on a recent Tuesday morning, many court employees consider her their go-to problem-solver.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of Barrier\u2019s first challenges that day came from a person wanting to bring a service animal to court. In her 17 years working there, Barrier had never received such a request. But she knew who could help.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She sent a quick email to, and left a voice message for, the disability access coordinator at the Administrative Office of the Courts, which oversees judicial functions for North Carolina. \u00a0Then she waited.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018Oil upon those troubled waters\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n

Barrier recalled one occasion where she spotted a man arguing with an arbitrator after he\u2019d missed his hearing. She told the man that the case was out of the arbitrator\u2019s hands, but that she could reschedule it for him.<\/span><\/p>\n

He turned his frustration on Barrier. He ranted for the entire trip to the ninth floor, and when they left the elevator, he was still too distraught to be reasoned with.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s bent down like this,\u201d Barrier said, crouching and staring at the floor with tense hands framing either side of her head. \u201cHe\u2019s just, \u2018This is not right, this is not fair.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Not wanting to tower over him, Barrier said she crouched to his level. She asked if he had a certain document, and he handed it to her. She copied it for him and rescheduled his case. Then she gave him her phone number and email address. That way, he could double-check the time before coming to court.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe said, \u2018You know what, I want to apologize for my behavior earlier,\u2019\u201d Barrier said. \u201c\u2019You know, you just come to the courthouse and people tell you things, and this case is for a lot of money.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Barrier sympathized.\u00a0<\/span>\u201cI\u2019ve been to places and people just tell you, \u2018no,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cAnd then you find out, it\u2019s not true.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Barrier said she focuses on finding ways to get people a \u201cyes.\u201d And her coworkers bear witness to those efforts. The first time Clerk of Court Archie Smith \u2014 the courthouse’s chief administrator \u2014 met Barrier, she was dealing with a particularly disagreeable woman whose case was being transferred to Superior Court.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShe spread oil upon those troubled waters,\u201d Smith recalled. \u201cThe next thing you know, they\u2019re walking off together like best chums.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Trial Court Coordinator Suzanne Hansen, who works under Barrier, marvels that her boss \u201cnever forgets a face or a name.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Employees and laypeople alike frequently find themselves in Barrier\u2019s wing of the courthouse, lost. Everyone in the wing is happy to give directions, Hansen said. But, she said, Barrier likes to accompany a person to make sure they get to the right place.<\/span><\/p>\n

A \u2018muddled\u2019 work-life balance<\/b><\/p>\n

During a recent interview, Barrier handled various mini crises typical of a Tuesday morning in the courthouse.<\/span><\/p>\n

She got a response on her service animal question within half an hour: They are allowed in courtrooms, but a judge can order them removed if they interrupt proceedings. <\/span>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Barrier\u2019s next challenge came from two out-of-county court interpreters who said other courthouses usually provide badges to ease their comings and goings. The Durham County court interpreter, Maria Owens, appeared sheepish as she approached Barrier.<\/span><\/p>\n

Barrier immediately opened a cabinet and pulled out an ID card labeled \u201ccourt reporter.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCan you send an email to me and we can work on getting interpreter badges?\u201d she told Owens after handing her the badge.<\/span><\/p>\n

Barrier remains in her office until 7 p.m. most evenings, Hansen said. And when she goes home, Barrier said she often takes calls at night and on the weekends.<\/span><\/p>\n

Asked about work-life balance, Barrier said, \u201cI don\u2019t think I really have one. I think it\u2019s all just muddled together.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This devotion has limited her personal life. Barrier said she\u2019s too busy to take care of so much as a \u201chermit crab,\u201d even if she kept it in her office.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt would surely die,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The note wall<\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/b>But Barrier doesn\u2019t regret the time she devotes to her career. Instead, she sees her \u201cwork family\u201d as essential to her life.<\/span><\/p>\n

A portion of a wall in Barrier\u2019s office testifies to her impact on this \u201cfamily.\u201d Countless cards, notes and letters clutter the space, many attesting to Barrier\u2019s kindness and service.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDear Deneen, Maria and Patty,\u201d Barrier\u2019s former boss, Kathy Stuart, wrote in a handwritten note to Barrier and two others. \u201cThank you for traveling 350+ miles to Richmond last month so that you could surround me with love on a tough evening.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThank you again for your usual, wonderfully professional courtesies extended to me during my recent stop at your courthouse,\u201d wrote attorney John Bussian in a typed letter. \u201cArranging hearing time within 24 hours and a way to obtain a copy of the file within minutes are truly remarkable feats of public service. No wonder I feel, in all the other courts in which I appear across the country, none approach the Durham County Superior Court!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Barrier pointed out that she spends more time with her coworkers than she would with a spouse and children at home. She fought to contain her emotion while looking at the notes.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes, when it\u2019s tough and you need a bit of support, it\u2019s good for me to go to that wall,\u201d she said, blinking back tears.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

PHOTO ABOVE:<\/strong> Deneen Barrier sits at her desk at the Durham County Courthouse. Photo by Josie Vonk, the 9th Street Journal.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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This is no ordinary bureaucrat."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/","name":"9th Street Journal","description":"We cover Durham (and North Carolina politics)","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#organization","name":"9th Street Journal","url":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/09\/9th-Street-Journal-Logo-cropped.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/09\/9th-Street-Journal-Logo-cropped.jpeg","width":869,"height":104,"caption":"9th Street Journal"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#\/schema\/person\/915eb670c76ba64d4177f332f818a5e6","name":"Daniel Egitto","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/61ac8f3ba9d3df2bc4960b0fca988bdb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/61ac8f3ba9d3df2bc4960b0fca988bdb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Daniel Egitto"},"url":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/author\/daniel-egitto\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5922"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5922"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5922\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5923"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}