The People’s Parity Project released a report, which reviews and assesses President Biden’s progress so far with judicial nominations. The organization, which describes itself as a “network of law students and new attorneys organizing to unrig the legal system and build a justice system that values people over profits,” emphasized the need for more professionally diverse candidates.The report, among other things, opined that the selection
of federal judges comes from a small segment of the legal profession, particularly attorneys who follow a specific career route.
The paper said the ongoing state of judicial nominations sends a signal to law students. “The over-saturation of prosecutors and corporate attorneys on the federal bench reinforces the message to law students that these career paths are the only ones they should consider. As New York University law students Melanie Nault and Jack Travis wrote, “Stacking the courts with prosecutors and corporate lawyers pushes students away from careers in public defense, legal aid, and legal services for the indigent.””
The report also criticized the political delays and unfilled vacancies it said was caused by the blue slip tradition in the U.S. Senate, a practice intended to facilitate the constitutional “advice” of the home-state senators about the judicial candidates.
