Groups pushing for more African-Americans on courts

November 7, 2011

Florida & North Carolina: Recently, civil rights groups publicly asked President Barack Obama to appoint an African-American to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. North Carolina's NAACP Chapter President, Rev. William Barber, claimed that "... North Carolina has the least diverse bench of all states in the South," since the federal court does not have any African-Americans serving on it. Also, the open seat has been vacant since 2005, delaying justice in the Eastern District for years.

Meanwhile, Governor Rick Scott is being criticized for his poor record of appointing African-Americans to the Florida state courts since he's become governor. According to the Florida Legislative Black Caucus, only two of thirty-six judicial appointees have been African-American. The governor countered by showing that 30 percent of his appointees and hires have been African-American. He also made comments during the meeting that some members of caucus found to be surprising. In response, State Representative Alan Williams sad that he thought Scott "should be more sensitive in 'a professional setting'."

In the end, Scott lamented that the appointment system was not entirely his responsibility, since the judicial nominating commissions first need to present more diverse candidates. In North Carolina, President Obama does not face the same issue, since both of the state's United States Senators have forwarded the names of minorities for appointment.