Federal Judges Facing Diversity Complaint

Diversity is the big word these days, as everyone wants to be able to say they have all the right boxes checked.

That has leaked into the judiciary, where several judges are now facing complaints on this matter, just not how you would think.

According to the report, the judges are facing a complaint for having given preferential treatment based on the race and sex of the attorneys.

Complaint Filed

The complaint was filed by America First Legal (AFL), which alleged that three judges on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, Chief Judge Nancy J. Rosenstengel, Judge Staci M. Yandle, and Judge David W. Dugan, issued a controversial order.

The order allegedly stated that the judges would give priority to hearing oral arguments for “newer, female, and minority attorneys.”

The complaint stated, “Those policies constitute judicial misconduct because they unlawfully discriminate, evidence judicial bias, undermine faith in the judiciary’s integrity, and violate the equal protection guarantee of the Fifth Amendment.

“I ask that you carefully consider the contents of this complaint and, upon conclusion of your review, take appropriate corrective action to ensure that no lawyer appearing before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois faces discrimination based on immutable characteristics.”

It should not be a surprise that two of the judges are Obama-appointed judges. However, the third judge is a Trump appointee.

Judge David W. Dugan was appointed to the bench in September 2020 by Donald Trump.

Gene Hamilton, America First Legal Vice President and General Counsel, added, “Americans must have faith in the impartiality of the judiciary–knowing that their case will have a fair shot before a court and that they will not receive unfavorable treatment because of the immutable characteristics of the parties before the court or their counsel.

“Yet, in the year 2024, we see federal courts openly using policies that treat some attorneys better than others based on the color of their skin or their sex.

“This is intolerable and harms the public’s faith and confidence in the judiciary at large. These policies must be rescinded.”

Trump has taken heat for the decisions of some of his judiciary picks, most recently the decision of Justice Amy Coney Barrett to join Justice Roberts to side with liberal justices regarding Texas’ right to defend its border. And this is surely not going to help his case.