Other Groups Focusing on Diversity
ABA Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession
Founded in 1986, the Commission works to achieve a multi-ethnic, multicultural profession conscious and appreciative of difference and blind to prejudices. It sponsors research, serves as clearinghouse for data on minorities in the legal profession, and sponsors a minority judicial clerkship program with the ABA Judicial Division.
ABA Judicial Division's Standing Committee on Minorities in the Judiciary
Founded in 1987, the Committee provides a catalyst to promote equal participation of minorities in the profession through educational experiences, outreach opportunities and numerous publications. It publishes the Directory of Minority Judges of the United States, sponsors judicial outreach programs to give minority judges a chance to get to know one another, works to provide minority law students with clerking opportunities, and helped produce a videotape-"Bias In The Courtroom" videotape-used in many judicial education programs to help judges recognize and avoid the adverse effects of bias in the judiciary.
Greenlining Institute
The Greenlining Institute's mission is to empower communities of color and other disadvantaged groups through multi-ethnic economic and leadership development, civil rights and anti-redlining activities. The Institute's Claiming Our Democracy Program is building a multi-ethnic, pro-democracy movement for campaign finance reform as a civil rights issue, and working to educate minority and low-income communities on the discriminatory impacts of the current campaign finance system.
Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA)
Founded in 1972, the HNBA represents the interests of over Hispanic American attorneys, judges, law professors, and law students in the United States and Puerto Rico. Its primary objectives include increasing professional opportunities for Hispanics in the legal profession, including judicial appointments. The HNBA sponsors programs to increase the number of minority law school students and support them with scholarships. It has a permanent Judicial Appointments Committee.
The Infinity Project’s mission is to increase the gender diversity of the federal bench to ensure the quality of justice in the Eighth Circuit.The Infinity Project raises public awareness for the importance of gender equity on the bench and the availability of qualified women candidates; engages senators and other politicians on gender equity and the need for a female Eighth Circuit judge; and serves as a clearinghouse for candidates interested in serving on the Eighth Circuit bench. It is affiliated with the University of Minnesota's Center on Women and Public Policy.
League of Women Voters of the United States “Safeguarding U.S. Democracy: A Quest for a More Diverse Judiciary”
During the next two years, 2009-2011, the League will focus on promoting diversity at all levels of the state judiciary to enhance the legitimacy of our system of justice in the eyes of an increasingly diverse public. Starting in Kansas, in conjunction with a diverse coalition of partners, every local League (League of Women Voters of Emporia, League of Women Voters of Great Bend, League of Women Voters of Johnson County, League of Women Voters of Lawrence/Douglas County, League of Women Voters of Manhattan/Riley County, League of Women Voters of Salina, League of Women Voters of Topeka/Shawnee County, League of Women Voters of Wichita Metro Area) will develop and implement strategies for education and advocacy, such as community forums, town hall meetings, events at local law schools, and meetings with appointed and elected officials.
For more information, go to www.lwvk.org.
Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
Formed in 1963, Lawyers' Committee's primary mission is to secure, through the rule of law, equal justice under law. The Lawyers' Committee is working to integrate the work of civil rights groups and minority lawyers with the movement for fair and impartial courts. They will publish Judicial Selections and Bias: A Dilemma for Judicial Independence, dealing with obstacles confronting minority lawyers who deal with judicial elections and the appointments process.
Minority Law Journal
Founded in 1996, the Minority Law Journal provides a forum for the exchange of ideas on the application of diversity in the legal workplace. Its well-informed coverage of issues and efforts to promote the cause provides readers with firsthand accounts of what works and what doesn't work in firms, corporations, agencies and public interest groups across the nation.
National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA)
Founded in 1988, NAPABA advocates for the legal needs and interests of the Asian Pacific American community. It work includes efforts to increase the diversity of the judiciary. It has a permanent Judiciary Committee.
National Association of Women Judges (NAWJ)
Founded in 1979, the National Association of Women Judges (NAWJ) was created to ensure equal justice and access to the courts for all including women, youth, he elderly, minorities, the underprivileged, and people with disabilities; providing judicial education on cutting-edge issues of importance; developing judicial leaders; increasing the number of women on the bench in order for the judiciary to more accurately reflect the role of women in a democratic society; and improving the administration of justice to provide gender-fair decisions for both male and female litigants.
National Bar Association (NBA)
Founded in 1925, the NBA is the nation's oldest and largest national association of predominately African-American lawyers and judges. Its Judicial Council worked with the Joint Center for Political Studies to compile Black Judges in the United States, the most comprehensive listing ever of African-American elected and appointed judges. The Council also worked with the American Judicature Society to compile first ever National Roster of Black Judicial Officials. During the Carter Administration, the NBA helped developed a judicial selection process to ensure meaningful gains for minority judges under the Omnibus Judgeship Act.
Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (PRLDEF)
PRLDEF works on behalf of Puerto Ricans and the wider Latino community to, among other things, attain full civic participation, engagement and empowerment and participation in a strong civil society that enjoys fully- developed community-based institutions. In 2002, it published the study "Opening the Courthouse Doors: The Need for More Hispanic Judges."
