Judiciary

25 federal district courts have always had white judges

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Twenty-five out of 94 federal district courts have never had a judge of color, according to a Bloomberg Law analysis. Image from Shutterstock.

Twenty-five out of 94 federal district courts have never had a judge of color, according to a Bloomberg Law analysis.

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia stands out for the disparity between its residents and the federal bench, Bloomberg Law reports.

Nearly one-third of the district’s residents are Black, the highest percentage of any district with a history of all-white judges.

The story noted that only 16 judges have been appointed over the years to the district’s three full-time seats, and that a Democratic president hasn’t had a chance to nominate anyone to a judgeship there in almost 30 years. Republican presidents are more likely to appoint white judges than Democratic presidents.

The 25 districts are: Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Alaska, the Eastern District of Texas, the Northern District of Iowa, the Southern District of Iowa, the Western District of Wisconsin, the Western District of Louisiana, the Western District of Kentucky, the Southern District of Georgia, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, the Northern District of New York, the Western District of New York, the Middle District of Pennsylvania, the Northern District of West Virginia, the Western District of Virginia and the Western District of North Carolina.

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