Making History: President Obama's Female Judicial Nominees

From AFJ's new report

        President Obama has named a greater percentage of women to federal judgeships than any other president in American history – in fact, no other president comes close.

That fact is just one of the statistics in a new report from Alliance for Justice documenting the president’s outstanding record when it comes to naming women to the federal bench.

Color-coded maps dramatically illustrate the states where President Obama named the first woman to a federal district court or circuit court of appeals.  The report also includes pictures and notable “firsts” for each judge.

One of the judges in the
report: Morgan Christen,
first female circuit
judge in Alaska

“This administration deserves credit for working to create a federal judiciary that more closely reflects the richness and diversity of the American people,” said AFJ President Nan Aron.

Among the other notable facts in AFJ’s report:

        ● President Obama is the first President to appoint two women to the Supreme Court.  Because of those appointees, three women sit on the Supreme Court for the first time in its history.

        ● Forty-two percent (42%) of President Obama’s appointees have been women – a rate almost double that of President George W. Bush (22%) and almost fifty percent greater than that of President Clinton (29%).

        ● President Obama already has appointed more female federal judges than President George W. Bush did in his entire presidency (80 to 71).

        ● President Obama already has appointed more minority women judges (33) than President George W. Bush (22) or President Clinton (23).

        ● President Obama has quintupled the number of Asian Pacific American woman Article III judges in history (from 2 to 10).

        The report is the first in a projected series.  Future reports will document the president’s record on naming African Americans, Hispanics, Asian Pacific Americans, and LGBT people to the federal bench, as well as the professional diversity of his judicial appointees.