Demand Justice Applauds White House Commitment to Bypassing Corporate-Dominated ABA Review Process for Judicial Nominees
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 3, 2021
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DEMAND JUSTICE APPLAUDS WHITE HOUSE COMMITMENT TO BYPASSING CORPORATE-DOMINATED ABA REVIEW PROCESS FOR JUDICIAL NOMINEES
WASHINGTON, DC—On Wednesday, Demand Justice praised the Biden administration’s announcement that it will not allow the American Bar Association evaluation process to hamstring the selection of diverse public interest lawyers for judgeships.
Demand Justice Chief Counsel Christopher Kang released the following statement:
“This is a significant step toward fulfilling President Biden’s commitment to remaking our courts by appointing a diverse group of public defenders, civil rights lawyers, and legal aid lawyers to the bench. Although well-intentioned, the ABA Standing Committee is yet another corporate lawyer-dominated gatekeeper in the judicial selection process and must not be allowed to act as an obstacle to diversifying the bench. This announcement is exactly the kind of bold move required to rebalance the circuit and district courts.”
The Washington Post reported Wednesday that “the Biden White House will not review potential [judicial] nominees in advance through the bar association.” All 15 members of the ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary are lawyers at corporate law firms.
HuffPost previously reported that the White House has asked senators to recommend “public defenders, civil rights and legal aid attorneys, and those who represent Americans in every walk of life,” a plan consistent with calls from Demand Justice and others to change the fact that corporate lawyers and prosecutors are disproportionately represented on the federal bench.
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