Improve justice system through diversity
Whenwe read things that trouble us, wehave a choice to be passive observers or to become active participants toward change.
A recent report by the American Constitution Society for Lawand Policy in Washington, D.C., found that our judicial system can better reflect the citizens it serves.
The report, which examined how closely judges mirror the race and ethnicity of the people who make up each state’s population, ranked Florida 35th with respect to minority representation and 21st with regard to gender diversity. In fact, of Florida’s state judges, about 83 percent are white and 37 percent are female. According to the report, since 2011, of the 241 judges appointed to the state bench, just 42 of the appointees were minorities and only 89 were female.
This is a critical issue, and it isn’t just limited to our state judiciary. It is also present in our legal profession as a whole.
According to the National Association for Legal Placement, minorities accounted for 27 percent of all legal graduates in 2014 yet the percentage of minority attorneys practicing at a large lawfirm in 2015was just less than 14 percent. If you look closer and examine leadership roles, minority attorneys represent just 7.5 percent of law partners in Florida. Women don’t fare much better; the NALP data shows that only 21.5 percent of partners are women and only 17.4 percent are equity partners.
Fortunately, many in our profession and community recognize the challenges that remain and are actively working to overcome them— both by recognizing the disparity that exists within our justice system and committing whole-heartedly to changing the demographics.
Through the Bar’s Wm. Reece Smith Jr. Leadership Academy, the legal profession’s leadership ranks are becoming more diverse. Founded by the Bar’s first African-American president, Eugene Pettis, in 2013, the program was created with the goal of pipelining amore diverse leadership through mentorship, training and immersive education.
The program has already graduated more than160 attorneys. The Florida Bar’s Committee on Diversity & Inclusion has already in 2015-16 funded more than 30 diversity programs at local and specialty bar associations that are working within their respective communities to create a more tolerant, diverse and inclusive justice system.
As attorneys and as judges, we make a choice to serve the citizens of our state becausewe see the positive impact thatwe can make in our communities and in the lives of the people who need us most.
Every day thatwe go towork, we actively choose to honor and uphold the values and the principles of both our judicial and legal systems. Those systems were built on a foundation of trust and confidence. Theywere established to uphold the rule of law, and the freedoms promised and protected by our democracy, andwe are accountable for ensuring that remains true.
By working together to foster a more diverse leadership on our benches, in our lawfirms and throughout the communities that form the fabric of Florida, we can keep progress moving forward.