Abstract
This article briefly surveys the constitutional and statutory foundation for the creation of the federal judiciary. It also furnishes data, by sex and race, of the appointment of federal judges to courts of general jurisdiction during each presidential administration from September 24, 1789, through April 11, 2016. Thus, Part I describes the pace of diversification of the federal judiciary. While data regarding other attributes of judges (such as their socioeconomic status) exist, extensive analysis of such characteristics falls outside the parameters of this preliminary analysis. Nonetheless, the Article notes in passing that, since 1989, during each presidential administration, the majority of federal judicial appointees have had a net worth in excess of a half million dollars.
Part II discusses recent scholarship regarding the potential and actual impact on judicial decision making of a more diverse federal judiciary. To facilitate practical policy recommendations, Part II presents contemporary demographic data about sitting federal judges. This Article closes with observations on issues for further discussion and research.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2016
Recommended Citation
Jonathan K. Stubbs, A Demographic History of Federal Judicial Appointments by Gender and Race: 1789-2016, 26 Berkeley La Raza L.J. 92 (2016).
Included in
Courts Commons, Judges Commons, Law and Gender Commons, Law and Race Commons