The judiciary, once thought of as a neutral branch of the government, has entered a phase of swinging about as often as it calls strikes. With the YOLO Court setting new precedent after waving goodbye to stare decisis and respect for Congressional intentions, pressing matters like healthcare access, gun ownership, and civil rights are increasingly dependent on who is wearing the robes rather than who was elected to office. Factor in lifetime appointments, and the roles that judges play in our increasingly divided democracy take on even more importance. President Biden has just nominated four judges to deal with the heightened political consequences of sitting on the bench. From Reuters:
President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced four new nominees to serve as federal judges across four states.
…Combined with two new district court nominees in California and Hawaii, the latest nominations bring to 188 the number of federal judicial nominees that Biden has announced since taking office in January 2021. The Senate has confirmed 140 of them.
Of those nominees, 62% are people of color and 62% are women, according to the White House, keeping with Biden’s campaign pledge to diversify the federal bench.
It really is a great chess move. One of the few successes of the Trump presidency was his record-breaking placement of judges — a play that will have legal consequences for decades to come. Given the habit of Republicans skipping the whole “separation of powers” thing and making phony cases for judges to legislate in ways Congress hasn’t, there need to be judges nominated and confirmed that will balance out the havoc that Trump appointees are wreaking by daring to actually do their jobs.
Biden doesn’t get all of the praise here; the reason these optics matter is that there are people prodding Biden to do the right thing. During his campaign run, he promised that he would diversify the judiciary. Which he’s clearly done, but there is still room for improvement.
This could also bode well for Biden’s legacy. Actually making good on his campaign promise of diversifying the judiciary sets him up to be remembered fondly despite his poorer judgments, like how Barack Obama is remembered mostly for his snazzy fashion sense and steadfast endorsement of LGBTQIA+ rights rather than his drone strike record being worse than former President Bush’s.
The nominated judges are Jamel Semper, Mustafa Kasubhai, Shanlyn Park, and Kirk Sherriff. Best of luck on the bench!
Biden Continues Push To Diversify Judiciary With Four New Nominees [Reuters]
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Earlier: When There Are 50: Pressure Mounts For President Biden To Assist Diversifying The Judiciary
Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s. He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and by tweet at @WritesForRent.