Litigation

Best Routes to Judicial Diversity Examined

By Peter Hardin

Minorities are more likely to be seated on state high courts through merit selection than through partisan and nonpartisan elections, according to a new study by the American Judicature Society.

AJS is a partner group of Justice at Stake, and the AJS findings were reported in an article entitled, ?Examining Diversity on State Courts: How Does the Judicial Selection Environment Advance?and Inhibit?Judicial Diversity??

The report made these other findings:

• In states that require judges to have a minimum number of years of legal experience, minority judges sit at higher rates on courts of last resort and general-jurisdiction trial courts.
• For intermediate appellate courts, women are less likely to be seated through merit selection than elected.
• Fewer women held judgeships on high courts in states having a minimum-age qualification.
• Minority and female judges had better chances of selection for intermediate appellate courts under Democratic governors.
• In states with a predominantly Democratic electorate, minorities were more likely to hold judgeships on trial courts, while women were less likely to to serve in these states.

The American Bar Association’s Judges Journal carried an article last year about the study. To learn more about the importance of diversity on the bench, check out Justice at Stake’s issues page on the topic.

Full post as published by The Gavel on May 17, 2010 (boomark / email).