Answering the Call for a More Diverse Judiciary: A Review of State Judicial Selection Models and Their Impact on Diversity

At a time when the United States is focused on creating diversity on the Supreme Court, an Open Society Foundations grantee has released a study revealing a serious lack of diversity among state judiciaries. Despite some modest advances, minority candidates who want to serve as judges often face unique barriers to office, according to Answering the Call for a More Diverse Judiciary: A Review of State Judicial Selection Models and Their Impact on Diversity, published by the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

The study found that the failure to overcome obstacles like racially polarized voting and the inability to raise sufficient campaign funds has created a glass ceiling for minority judges, making it difficult for them to win seats in statewide high court judicial elections. This has implications for the fair administration of justice both locally and nationally since these state courts are transmission belts for the federal bench and even the Supreme Court. The study also includes expanded data from four states: Texas, California, New York, and Mississippi.