Call for judicial diversity
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We expect a great deal from our Supreme Court - that justices apply the law rigorously, but with a broad understanding of what their decisions mean to individuals and society. It is the need for this broad, wise understanding that makes diversity on the bench so important. None of us, however intelligent and well-educated, can see all sides of an issue.
As Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman on the Supreme Court, said about her colleague, Thurgood Marshall (the first African American on the Court) “Occasionally, at Conference meetings, I still catch myself looking expectantly for his raised brow and his twinkling eye, hoping to hear, just once more, another story that would, by and by, perhaps change the way I see the world.”
We also tend to think of the law as a set of rules that can be applied impartially. This is the goal, but there are many situations in which understanding of the world views and immediate problems of defendants can lead to the sort of decisions that benefit individuals and society. We need diversity in judicial experience - backgrounds other than prosecution, and educations that are other than Ivy League.
We also need to consider that, as Justice Brown Jackson states, “The judicial branch... is the protection of the rule of law, which can only be done by the consent of the governed. It can only be done if people in our society believe, decide, and agree that they’re going to follow what it is that courts decide. And so, one of the reasons why having a diverse judicial branch is important is because it lends and bolsters public confidence in our system.”
We, of course, need this diversity in national and state supreme courts. Let your representatives know.
Gail Trenfield
St. Ignatius
