Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Practice Management Blogs -> Chuck Newton

OR PHONE (866) 635-1838 for Bankruptcy Help, (866) 635-6190 for Divorce,
(866) 635-2689 for Personal Injury or (866) 635-9402 for Criminal Defense

Find a Local Lawyer

Bankruptcy (866) 635-1838
Divorce (866) 635-6190
Personal Injury (866) 635-2689
Criminal Defense (866) 635-9402

Practice Management

: Chuck Newton

Judicial Diversity

By Chuck Newton

ADVERTISEMENTS

Scott Simon's essays on NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday, took on judicial diversity in a way I thought to be rational. He is right that there is nothing wrong with Ivy League justices, if we're going to argue that the pursuit of education is a good thing. Nonetheless, there is also nothing wrong with the thousands of qualified individuals who graduate from not only non-Ivy League law schools, and even 4th tier law schools. The truth of the matter is we need more than racial and gender diversity on the Supreme Court. We need racial and gender diversity, which still does not much exist, but we need more.

As stated by Simon:

"Eight of the justices on the court today are from Ivy League law schools. Some people believe that nominating a justice who got a great legal education and trial experience in the west or south might enliven discussion on a court where Harvard and Yale predominate. Five of the justices are from the northeast, and only one is from the south, which hardly reflects where people live in America today. Placing an avowed atheist, an active evangelical, an open gay or a former public defender might be a bolder step to express America than the usual categories by which we have come to keep score of diversity. America has become so gloriously varied, the old categories may feel a little narrow now. And, they'll only change."

Full post as published by Chuck Newton on April 26, 2010 (boomark / email).