The American Bar Association came out with an interesting study on Race and Gender making differences in judges rulings earlier this month. I was a little surprised to find that it came out of the ABA, but it is worth taking a look at. The information predominantly focuses on federal judicial activity, but one could likely draw inferences on state justices as well. Since gender and race is at question, inferences could likely be drawn regarding state family courts (where gender appears to be a large issue), possibly leading conclusions to restrict the unnecessarily broad discretion of judges to protect from the appearance of impropriety.
A judge’s race or gender makes for a dramatic difference in the outcome of cases they hear—at least for cases in which race and gender allegedly play a role in the conduct of the parties, according to two recent studies.
The results were the focus of a program about “Diversity on the Bench: Is the ‘Wise Latina’ a Myth?,” sponsored by the ABA Judicial Division at the ABA Midyear Meeting in Orlando on Saturday afternoon. (ABAJOURNAL.COM; http://www.abajournal.com/weekly/article/race_gender_of_judges_make_enormous_differences_in_rulings_studies_find_aba; Feb. 6, 2010)
MYTH OF THE COLOR-BLIND JUDGE: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF RACIAL HARASSMENT CASES (PAT K. CHEW, ROBERT E. KELLEY; WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW; VOL. 86:1117- 1166)
Above Report Last Available Online From: http://lawreview.wustl.edu/inprint/86/5/kelley.pdf
FEMALE JUDGES MATTER: Gender and Collegial Decision-making in the Federal Appellate Courts (Jennifer L. Peresie; The Yale Law Journal; VOL. 114: 1759-1790)
Above Report Last Available Online From: http://www.yalelawjournal.org/images/pdfs/211.pdf
Regardless of the level of interest in the issues of judicial impartiality, judicial accountability, or judicial reform ~ the studies at hand bring a fresh reminder that we are more and more becoming a nation of men rather than a nation of laws contrary to what our system was founded upon. Not diversity, subjective determinations, and the whims of personalities or circumstance but with critical thinking and an objective standard founded within our Constitution.
