The results of the November 7 elections were incredibly encouraging to those of us who work for justice. Consecrating the right to an abortion into the Ohio State Constitution, the election of forward thinking, rights protecting candidates in Kentucky and Virginia, and Judge Dan McCaffery’s election to Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court ensuring that the court will continue to protect the liberties of all people are all victories to celebrate. As of this writing, AFJ is also celebrating the con rmation of the Biden administration’s 150th federal judge.
These judges are extremely professionally and demographically diverse, including 100 women, 98 people of color, 35 former public defenders, and 23 former civil rights lawyers. Under this administration, we have made powerful progress towards the more diverse, representative, federal judiciary we’ve so long needed. But there is always more work to be done. There are still 100 vacancies on federal courts to be filled, most of which don’t even have a nominee yet. This is almost entirely because of Republicans’ refusal to work with the White House to fill vacancies in their home states and Senator Durbin’s continued allowance of the Judiciary Committee’s usage of the “blue slip” (the archaic practice that allows senators to unilaterally deny the confirmation of any person the Administration chooses).
On the state level, we’re already looking ahead to 85 judicial races, in 35 states in 2024. We’ve seen how vital our state courts are to protecting our access to education, to protections in the workplace, to LGBTQ rights and equality, to voice at the ballot box, and to the air we breathe and the water we drink. These