State Courts Need Big Dose of Diversity

The Illinois judiciary is still a white man's world, and that's ashame.

Although this may not come as a shock to defendants and othercourt observers, what should surprise us all is that nothing has beendone or is being done to increase diversity on the bench.

Illinois legislators had a chance last week to at least changehow the state selects judges. But they blew it. Lawmakers voteddown two measures that would have amended the Illinois Constitutionto allow judges to be appointed on merit instead of popularlyelected.Electing officials in most cases is a good idea. But theprocess of electing judges in Illinois has attracted a plethora ofincompetent, inexperienced, politically connected people to thebench.Obviously, the system has done little to ensure that women andminorities have a voice on the bench, too.Studies of the judiciary have shown that blacks and women inmost cases have fared much better when chosen on merit rather than bypopular election. More than 92 percent of all women on state supremecourts were appointed, and more than 80 percent of black justices onstate supreme courts were appointed.Meanwhile, popular election of judges in Illinois has resultedin women and minorities sharing just one-third of the judgeships inCook County, according to Sun-Times reporters Tim Novak and JonSchmid. And in all of Downstate Illinois - where about one-fourth ofthe state's minorities live - only nine minorities preside over thesystem's lowest-rung courtrooms.When the people who sit in judgment aren't representative of thepeople they sit in judgment over, the justice system is open tocharges of discrimination in sentencing.With diversity comes a variety of approaches to solvingproblems, social equity and access to justice. With diversity comesa court system that epitomizes democracy.The General Assembly is now mulling a proposal to requirejudicial candidates to be at least 35 and have 10 years of legalexperience. That's a start. But there will be no true court reformin Illinois as long as the face of the judiciary is largelyhomogeneous.