As we honor workers this Labor Day, we must commit to ensuring our court system serves all people fairly—not just the wealthy and powerful. Most people would recognize that a Black woman suing her employer for racial discrimination might be less likely to receive the justice she deserves if her fate is determined by a jury of white men. But there’s another, less obvious factor often working against her: the professional background of the judges who hear her case and appeals.
Of the 171 active federal judges serving on our nation’s circuit courts, only 11 have any experience as attorneys advocating for economic justice. That’s just 6 percent of our appeals court judges who have represented workers challenging wage theft or fighting to form a union, consumers who’ve been harmed by products, or who have served as civil legal aid attorneys.
For decades, conservatives have advocated that lawyers who worked for big law firms and represented corporations are more qualified to be judges, a ruse that helped them pack our courts with judges who would serve corporate interests. Those with economic justice experience—those who’ve actually represented working Americans—were framed as “biased” or unsophisticated and thus unqualified for the bench.
Congratulations to labor rights attorney Jennifer Sung, who the Senate just voted 50–49 to confirm to the Ninth Circuit!
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