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Safeguarding U.S. Democracy: The Quest for a More
Diverse Judiciary
The League of Women Voters continues to work to promote the
importance of fair and impartial courts nation-wide. 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. According to Norman L. Greene’s The Judicial
Independence Through Fair Appointments Act, 34 Fordham Urb. L.J.
13,25 (2007), the needs to promote a more diverse bench are: 1)
it will inspire more confidence in the judiciary, 2) it will be more
representative of the broader community, 3) it will promote justice, 4)
it will promote equality of opportunity for historically excluded
groups, and 5) it will promote judicial impartiality. A
continuation of the status quo will “[a]ffect the way citizens look at
the role courts play in their communities, it erodes the trust on the
courts, questions the right of equal under the law, and courts may not
be perceived to be fair and impartial.”
This discussion begins with a state-wide campaign in the State of
Kansas with the participation of all the League affiliates from October
2009-October 2010 and will begin with a kick-off event in Topeka on
October 17, 2009.
To Contact Zaida Arguedas, Senior Director for Educational Programs
or David Ward, Specialist on the Judiciary and the Courts, please use
the Contact Form.
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