Unprecedented Diversity of Judicial Nominees; Unprecedented Obstruction

As we’ve mentioned before, President Obama’s nominees to the federal bench demonstrate his concerted effort to increase the diversity of the federal judiciary.  As a number of articles today highlight, almost half of the nominees are women, and significant percentages are African-American or Latino, such that 70 percent of the President’s nominees are “nontraditional”.  In addition, there have been a number of openly gay nominees.

When women are fairly represented on our federal courts, those courts are more reflective of the diverse population of this nation. When women are fairly represented on the federal bench, women, and men, may have more confidence that the court understands the real-world implications of its rulings. For both, the increased presence of women on the bench improves the quality of justice:  women judges can bring an understanding of the impact of the law on the lives of women and girls to the bench, and enrich courts’ understanding of how best to realize the intended purpose and effect of the law that the courts are charged with applying. For example, one recent study demonstrated that male federal appellate court judges are less likely to rule against plaintiffs bringing claims of sex discrimination, if a female judge is on the panel.

The same holds true for racial and ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, gay and lesbian individuals, and lawyers with diversity of experience – such as public interest law, direct service, academia, or labor law.  So the significant diversity of President Obama’s nominees is an accomplishment to celebrate.  But unfortunately, our celebration has a caveat:  because of the unprecedented obstruction of a minority of determined senators, many of these diverse nominees – even those who were unanimously approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee – have been waiting for months for a vote. But you can help.  Tell your Senator to ensure that the federal judiciary is more reflective of the diverse population of this nation by pushing for floor votes on the pending nominees.