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Diversity of background and experience among judges is critical to public confidence in the courts and the development of the law.
That’s why we track racial, ethnic, gender, and professional diversity on state supreme courts. Here’s what we found. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/state-supreme-court-diversity-april-2021-update
That’s why we track racial, ethnic, gender, and professional diversity on state supreme courts. Here’s what we found. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/state-supreme-court-diversity-april-2021-update
Across all state high courts, only 17% of justices are Black, Latino, Asian American, or Native American. By contrast, people of color make up almost 40% of the US population.
In 22 states, no justices publicly identify as a person of color, including in 11 states where people of color make up at least 20 percent of the population.
There are no Black justices in 28 states and no Latino justices in 40 states.
There are no Asian American justices in 44 states and no Native American justices in 47 states.
Women hold 39% of state supreme court seats. And in 12 states, there is only one woman on the supreme court bench.
37% of sitting justices are former prosecutors, while only 7% are former public defenders.
Learn even more about the makeup of our state courts in our new tracker. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/state-supreme-court-diversity-april-2021-update
