Litigation

Nomination Puts Diversity Issues to Fore

By Jason Barrett

President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Sonia Sotomayor, has found herself in the middle of a national conversation regarding the role of race on the bench. Judge Sotomayor would be the first Hispanic to serve on the nation’s highest court.

The New York Times ran an article on Saturday looking at the effects of a minority judge’s presence on the bench. Hearkening back to the frustrations expressed by Justice Thurgood Marshall, the Court’s first African-American justice, it’s not always necessary for a minority judge to take command of the debate in a case involving minorities.

?Marshall could be a persuasive force just by sitting there,? Justice Antonin Scalia said. “He wouldn?t have to open his mouth to affect the nature of the conference and how seriously the conference would take matters of race.?

According to the Times, studies indicate that a white judge sitting on a panel with a minority judge is 20 percent more likely to find in favor of litigants declaring voting rights violations. Similarly, three-judge panels with at least one female judge are significantly more likely to find for plaintiffs seeking damages for sexual discrimination and sexual harassment.

Other media outlets are also exploring the racially historic possibility of a Hispanic on the Supreme Court, and the commentary that has arisen:

• LA Times: “GOP senators bring race issue to forefront of Sotomayor nomination”
• Kansas City Star: “High court needs Sonia Sotomayor’s insight”
• Washington Post: “Court Watch: An Analysis of Sotomayor’s Decisions on Race-Related Cases”

Full post as published by The Gavel on June 01, 2009 (boomark / email).