Judges

Today is the Lunar New Year, the beginning of the Year of the Dragon – considered the luckiest year in the Chinese zodiac. 
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Speaking in Yuma, Arizona on Tuesday, former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor told of her harrowing search for work as a young lawyer recently graduated from Stanford Law in 1952. She called every firm recruiting Stanford graduates, but “not one of them would talk to me. I was female. They didn’t intend that a woman would make an appointment.”

Finally, she interviewed with a fellow female law student’s father, a lawyer in Los Angeles. She thought surely he would give her a chance, but “he said he was impressed but that the law firm had never hired a woman lawyer and that he didn’t see a day when it would.” He offered her a job as a legal secretary instead.

How times change. Today, that very law firm has hired hundreds of women, and the same lawyer supported Justice O’Connor’s later appointment to the Supreme Court.

Justice O’Connor’s difficulties are echoed by many female judges who graduated from law school in the same era and went on to hold high-ranking positions in the federal judiciary. But even though female lawyers have become commonplace in the legal field, it’s a different story when it comes to the judiciary.  Even though women comprise nearly half of all law school graduates, far fewer make it to the federal judiciary. Read more »

Caitlin Halligan, a nominee for the D.C. Circuit Court, is one of the most respected appellate lawyers in the country. She has a broad range of legal experience, including government service, private practice, and academia. She has honed her practice in state and federal appellate courts, and has argued five cases before the Supreme Court. Her many accomplishments are reflected by the unanimous "Well-Qualified" rating she received from the ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary. She has earned the respect and support of her peers and has been endorsed by a long list of organizations.

This superb nominee has waited over eight months without a vote by U.S. Senators — even though there are three vacancies on the D.C. Circuit. But the wait is finally over.

It's time for a vote: Tell your Senators to support the nomination of Caitlin Halligan for the D.C. Circuit. Read more »

Yesterday afternoon, the Senate voted to confirm Christopher Droney to a Connecticut-based seat on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Remarkably, Judge Droney is only the 8th appellate court judge confirmed by the Senate in 2011. Those members of the Senate determined to slow-walk judicial nominees are apparently determined to do so in every conceivable category. With 15 vacancies on the courts of appeal, you would think that all Senators would want to proceed to votes on the four other Court of Appeals nominees ready for a vote, out of, you know, a concern for the administration of justice. Apparently not. Read more »

We’re excited to have Allen Derr, attorney who argued for Sally Reed in the landmark Reed v Reed case, joining the audience tomorrow for a special panel to mark the 40^th anniversary of the case. The panel will be discussing the past and future of women’s legal rights under the Equal Protection Clause and you can register to join the live webcast here: http://action.nwlc.org/reedvreed

You can learn more about the Reed v Reed case here and also, read an article from the Idaho Statesman about Mr. Derr coming to Washington, D.C. for the event: Read more »

Yesterday the Senate confirmed two women to federal district courts -- Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers to the Northern District of California and Sharon Gleason to the District of Alaska. Read more »

Yesterday, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals became the third of the four federal appeals courts to consider the issue to turn back a constitutional challenge to the individual responsibility provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Congress has the power to require individuals to obtain health insurance (with subsidies for low- and moderate-income individuals), the court held, as part of its authority under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution to regulate commercial markets, including the insurance industry. Those challenging the individual responsibility provision have argued that Congress nevertheless cannot require individuals to participate in the insurance market if they choose not to. But, as we argued in a brief in the case and the D.C. Circuit held, civil rights cases show that such a requirement falls squarely within Congress’s Commerce Clause power. As the D.C. Circuit Court stated, while the individual responsibility’s requirement that people obtain health insurance “is an encroachment on individual liberty, . . .it is no more so than a command that restaurants or hotels are obliged to serve all customers regardless of race.”

But just as notable as the decision itself is who wrote it. Senior Judge Laurence Silberman, the author of the opinion, is an intellectual leader among conservatives.  Read more »

Yesterday evening, the Senate confirmed Cathy Bissoon to the Western District of Pennsylvania by a vote of 82-3. Judge Bissoon will be the first Hispanic woman to sit on this court. She is the ninth woman (and 11th judge) confirmed to the federal bench thus far in October, and the 54th woman confirmed during the Obama Administration.  All of which is terrific news, but news like this needs to keep on coming to make a real difference -- unfortunately, although women make up half the population and, for almost twenty years, close to half of law students, only a third of federal judges are women, and many, many fewer are women of color. We can do better. 

Likewise, it's encouraging that the Senate has taken action on eleven nominees this month, but with the number of judicial vacancies hovering around 90 (for a vacancy rate of almost 11 percent) there is still a long way to go. The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service determined that we are in the longest period of historically high vacancy rates in 35 years. And with 33 of the existing vacancies designated "judicial emergencies," more than 188 million people are living in a jurisdiction that has been declared a judicial emergency. Without enough judges to hear cases, people around the country are waiting for justice. As Senator Patrick Leahy said on the floor yesterday evening, the nominees who are currently pending on the floor would, if confirmed, serve about 170 million people in as many as 25 states. Read more »

The end of another week is upon us. It’s been testing at times, that’s for sure, but I promise that within this roundup are some encouraging stories mixed in with the not-so-happy ones. After the jump, more on National Coming Out Day, reflections on Anita Hill, the continued post-H.R. 358 onslaught, changing times in the UK, everyone’s favorite football-playing Homecoming Queen, and some awesome friendship in Congress. Read more »

Today, the Senate confirmed Alison Nathan and Katherine Forrest to be judges on the Southern District of New York, and Susan Owens Hickey to the Western District of Arkansas. That brings the total number of female active district court judges to 183 – or 30%. In addition, Judge Nathan will become the third openly gay judge on the Southern District of New York. We heartily celebrate the addition of these highly qualified women to the federal bench. Read more »