Diversity on the federal bench is “critical” because it brings different perspectives into the courtroom and constricts biases relating to gender and ethnicity that can undermine justice, said Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond law professor and an expert in judicial nominations. It also improves confidence in the courts when the judges on them reflect the people they serve, he said.
“In some of these places, Native Americans are overrepresented as litigants in the federal courts and severely underrepresented as judges of those courts,” he said. “Moreover, Indian Law is an exceedingly complex and highly specialized area of law that many lawyers in practice, even those who work and live in Indian Country, may understand minimally, if at all.”
“I believe that this is a perspective that matters, and one that has been missing for far too long,” she told HuffPost. “To have a judge in front of you who has stepped foot on tribal land and understands the process ― this perspective is really important for people to know when they go through the process, that they have someone with expertise.”