Obtaining and Retaining a Diverse Judiciary, II
Program and reception honoring the local minority judges 
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Orlando, FL

Outreach Program to Minority Students
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
10:00 a.m.- 12:00 9.m.

Judicial Clerkship Program - Celebrating 10 Years!
February 4-6, 2010
Orlando, FL

Perceptions of Justice: A Town Hall Dialogue on Color, Ethnicity and the Courts
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
The Old D.C. Council Chambers
441 4th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20001

Perceptions of Justice
Thursday, August 5, 2010
3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Golden Gate University
San Francisco, CA

Justice for All? Perceptions of Racial and Ethnic Bias in the Courts
SMU, Dallas
Video now available online!

The Judicial Division Standing Committee on Minorities in the Judiciary, created in 1987, provides a catalyst to promote equal participation of minorities in the profession through educational experiences, outreach opportunities and numerous publications. The committee presents CLE programs, student outreach programs and prints the Minority Judges Directory.  The Committee is dedicated to keeping a diverse judiciary in the mind of the public and the legal profession.  The Committee will present Obtaining and Retaining a Diverse Judiciary, Wednesday, July 29 at John Marshall Law School in Chicago.  More information regarding the program and reception can be found on our website.

The Directory is the most comprehensive compendium of minority judges in the United States and contains the names, addresses, telephone, facsimile numbers, and, in many cases, email addresses of colleagues of color.  The newest feature of the 4th Edition is the expanded administrative law section.  The expansion includes a broader representation of various types of administrative law judges.  Please visit our website for further information.

The Judicial Division and the Standing Committee on Judicial Independence completed the first online, fully searchable Diversity Database.  The Database, the only one of its kind, provides the current composition of minority judges on the state bench, both nationwide, by level of court and by method of judicial selection used by the states. The Database can be found on the Standing Committee on Judicial Independence website.

The Standing Committee on Minorities in the Judiciary joined with the National Association of Law Placement (NALP) to print and distribute literature to federal judges to encourage the judges to consider minority students for judicial clerkships.  For more information, please visit our website.

The Judicial Clerkship Program is a joint effort of the ABA Judicial Division and the ABA Presidential Advisory Council on Diversity in the Profession with the generous support of LexisNexis®. The Program is held for three days in various sessions and brings together up to 90 minority law students from around the country together with judges and former law clerks. The group participates in panel discussions, a research and writing exercise, and informal social events. These activities are designed to introduce and reinforce to the students the reasons and values of pursuing a judicial clerkship.  Numerous students have obtained clerkships and internships as a result of their participation.  The 2009 Program hosted approximately 100 minority law students from up to 19 law schools and nearly 50 judges from 22 states.  The 2010 Program is expecting a record number as well.  Register today! Unsure if you’ve already registered?  Look here to see if you've already registered. Click here for questions. Contact Gilda Fairley if you need additional assistance.

The Tribal Courts Council is devoted to educating the public and recognizing the American Indian Tribal courts and the judges thereof. The ABA has no similar convening body that brings tribal court judges together.  The Council is leading an effort to push for a Native American presence in the federal judiciary.  Robert Saunooke, Tribal Courts Council chair, has met with senators and congressmen and women regarding the issue.  A list of Native American judges is being compiled and will be given to Senator Mel Martinez, Congressmen Heath Shuler, Robert Wexler, Alcee Hastings and Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen among others.   The council is also working with the ABA Judicial Clerkship Program and the Section of Litigation to increase the number of Native American Students in judicial clerkships.   The Council is excited that the ABA has enacted a resolution in support of adequate, stable, and long term funding for Tribal Justice Systems funding on August 12, 2008. Visit the Tribal Courts council website to view the report.  The council is planning a Joint Indian Child Welfare CLE program with the Family Law Section for the 2010 Annual Meeting regarding Native American issues crossing jurisdictional boundaries. Visit our website for more information

The Judicial Mentor Program matches attorneys and judges for one on one mentoring.  Judges and attorneys may register online to participate.  Attorneys are matched with judges in their jurisdiction, and can be matched according to their area of interest, gender, ethnicity and sexual orientation. The program is open to non-Judicial Division members and non-ABA members.

The Judicial Division is proud to announce that the registration for the Judicial Mentor Program is now open.
Judges: click here to complete the online registration.
Attorneys: click here to complete the online registration.

The Standing Committee on Minorities in the Judiciary presents outreach programs to local schools during the ABA Midyear and Annual Meetings each year. The outreach programs presented by the Standing Committee play a huge role in efforts toward advancing the legal profession by all. The purpose of the programs is to initiate an interest in the legal profession in 7-12th graders. Committee visits motivate students to seek mentors and schools of higher learning that will cultivate their efforts to enter the legal profession. The Standing Committee usually spends approximately two hours speaking with students regarding their careers and experiences as they aspired enter the legal profession as minorities. Upcoming visits can be found on the Standing Committee website.