Obama's (Doubly) Diverse Judges
Reshaping the Federal Courts: Obama's (Doubly) Diverse JudgesOver the last 40 years, presidential administrations have exerted varying levels of effort to diversify the federal courts through their appointment powers. President Obama's status as a Democrat and a racial minority, as well as his repeated statements about his commitment to selecting "empathetic" judges, make him well positioned and by all appearances eager to create for himself a presidential legacy based on his selection of large numbers of diverse judges to the federal courts. Newly compiled data reveal that during his first two years in office, Obama has made good on this potential. Over half of his appointments have been female and two-fifths were racial or ethnic minorities. Many of these judges have been "doubly diverse" -- both female and nonwhite -- an area that no previous president has made a sizable impact. The implications of Obama's developing judicial appointment record and commitment are vast, including increased overall diversity in the federal judiciary, an increase in liberal court outcomes and precedent in certain issue areas, a shift in the partisan composition of key federal courts, and short term and long term political gains for Obama himself and other Democrats.
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