Biden Should Nominate More LGBTQ+ Federal Judges, Lambda Legal Urges
Lambda Legal.“The current federal judiciary fails to reflect the diversity of the nation it serves, a reality that has devastating, real-life consequences for those on the margins of society,” Sharon McGowan, chief strategy officer and legal director of Lambda Legal, said in a press release. “The nomination and confirmation of more openly LGBTQ+ judges must be a priority for the Biden administration in order to enhance the quality of judicial adjudication and improve the credibility of the federal judiciary as a whole.”“It’s so important to have the courts reflect the communities they serve,” Sasha Buchert, a senior attorney with Lambda Legal, added in an interview with The Advocate.
This is not to assure any specific outcome, but to maintain the public’s faith and trust in the judiciary, she said.While much public attention focuses on the U.S.
Supreme Court, for which Biden will soon nominate a successor to retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, lower federal courts play a crucial role in American society.
The Supreme Court decides only about 100 cases per year, while federal circuit courts — the appellate level — “decide tens of thousands of cases each year, often serving as the court of last resort in a wide array of civil rights issues,” Lambda’s report points out.
