As exam season wraps up, most students know what it feels like to be assessed; your work evaluated, your answers weighed, your future shaped by a decision. But what happens when the roles are reversed? When you’re no longer the one being judged, but the one asked to decide?

In this episode of Lady Justice Talks, our host Anita sits down with Fatima Hira, Outreach and Recruitment Coordinator at the Women in Law Association at York University, to explore what it means to step out of the classroom and into the courtroom. From advocating within WILA to serving on a real jury, Fatima shares how her leadership experiences shaped her perspective and how jury duty challenged everything she thought she knew about the justice system.

Together, they unpack the journey from being selected for jury duty to navigating the realities of a live trial. Fatima reflects on her initial assumptions, what surprised her most, and what it felt like to walk into a courtroom not as a student, but as an active participant in the legal process. As the selected foreperson, she also shares how she led a room of diverse voices, balanced differing perspectives, and worked toward a collective decision under pressure.

This conversation goes beyond procedure to explore the human side of justice; the emotional weight of delivering a verdict, the responsibility of influencing real lives, and the complexity of making decisions that aren’t always clear-cut. Fatima also reflects on how this experience deepened her understanding of justice beyond textbooks, and how it reshaped her vision for her future in law.

Whether you’re a student, an aspiring legal professional, or simply curious about what really happens inside a jury room, this episode offers an honest and thoughtful look at what it means to not just learn about justice; but to sit with it.

From the left: Fatimah hira & Anita Afraz