Judges & the Courts

A Highly Qualified Nominee

Professor Goodwin Liu, nominated to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, is a person of the highest integrity, fairness, even-handedness and collegiality, who is deeply committed to public service and the rule of law. 

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Supreme Court of the United States

History in the Making

With Elena Kagan's confirmation as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, three women will serve together on the highest court in the land for this first time in its 221 year history.

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Supreme Court to Hear Case Challenging ACA

Find out more about the legal challenges, why we think the law is constitutional, and what women could lose if the law is struck down.

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Statue of Justice

Reed v. Reed at 40

Learn more about the Reed v. Reed decision and the past and future of women's legal rights under the Equal Protection Clause.

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A Highly Qualified Nominee
History in the Making
Health Care Law Challenge
Women and the Constitution

Highlights

Fact Sheet | Women in the Federal Judiciary: Still A Long Way to Go

December 19, 2011

Over the past three decades, an increasing number of women have joined the legal profession. In recent years, law schools have seen the number of female students increase, so that they now make up nearly half of all law students. But the number of women in the federal judiciary has stagnated. It is of critical importance to increase the representation of women on the federal bench.

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Blog Post | Unprecedented Diversity of Judicial Nominees; Unprecedented Obstruction

September 14, 2011

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.

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press release | National Women's Law Center Applauds Confirmation of Goodwin H. Liu to California Supreme Court

September 1, 2011

(Washington, DC)  After receiving the unanimous approval of the California state Commission on Judicial Appointments, Berkeley law professor Goodwin Liu was expected to be sworn in today as an Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court. The National Women’s Law Center hailed this appointment as a victory for all who care about justice.

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More Resources

Legal Briefs & Testimony | Amicus Brief: Department of Health and Human Services, et al., v. State of Florida, et al.

January 13, 2012

The National Women’s Law Center's “friend of the court” brief is on behalf of 60 organizations in United States Department of Health and Human Services, et al v. State of Florida, et al. The brief explains what’s at stake for women in the challenge to the new health care law and why the ACA, in correcting fundamental gender inequities in the health insurance and health care markets, is an appropriate exercise of federal Commerce Clause authority and therefore is constitutional.

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Fact Sheet | Supreme Court Preview: 2011-2012 Term

January 12, 2012

This fact sheet previews the important cases affecting women before the Supreme Court in the 2011-2012 term.

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Fact Sheet | Women in the Federal Judiciary: Still A Long Way to Go

December 19, 2011

Over the past three decades, an increasing number of women have joined the legal profession. In recent years, law schools have seen the number of female students increase, so that they now make up nearly half of all law students. But the number of women in the federal judiciary has stagnated. It is of critical importance to increase the representation of women on the federal bench.

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Fact Sheet | The Health Care Litigation: What Women Could Lose

November 14, 2011

In 2010, Congress passed the landmark Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, known as the “Affordable Care Act” or “ACA.” The ACA is intended to achieve near-universal health insurance coverage, slow the growth of health care costs and insurance premiums, and end an array of insurance practices that have prevented individuals from obtaining health insurance and health care. One of the ACA’s primary goals is to improve women’s health and address the discrimination women have faced in the health insurance market—disadvantages and discrimination that often lead women to bear significant costs or go without health care altogether. The law begins to remedy the economic impact of the discrimination that women have long faced in the health insurance market.

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Fact Sheet | Walmart v. Dukes: New Hurdles and a Significant Step Back for Women Employees

September 07, 2011

The Supreme Court’s decision in favor of Wal-Mart in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes struck a devastating blow for employees who seek to hold their employers accountable for discrimination and other violations of workplace law. While the decision does not mean the end of the road for the women of Wal-Mart, it does undermine their ability to achieve companywide change through their lawsuit. 

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