NCJ Number
80783
Journal
Judicature Volume: 65 Issue: 6 Dated: (December/January 1982) Pages: 306-313
Date Published
1982
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Using previously published material on male judges, this study compares President Carter's female judicial appointees with male appointees from the Carter administration and three previous administrations.
Abstract
Three characteristics are discussed: occupation at time of appointment, previous judicial experience, and political party activism. The primary source of background on the women judges is their responses to the extensive questionnaire used by the Judiciary Committee in confirmation hearings. The traditional emphasis on selecting sitting judges is clear from the male appointments of previous administrations. Over 50 percent of Nixon and Johnson appointees and 75 percent of Ford's appointments came from the judiciary. Carter's male appointments show the same emphasis on sitting judges (56.4 percent of his nominees were on the bench). Of Carter's women nominees, only 27.3 percent came from the judiciary. The nominees came equally from the judiciary, large law firms, and academia. The most unusual departure from the historical norm was the low level of political party activism for the women nominees (political activism is defined as holding party or public office). The women nominees did have outstanding records of interest in and commitment to public service. About 90 percent show a commitment to feminism and the underprivileged. A major study suggests that one of the background characteristics of women judges may incline them toward judicial activism. Schmidhauser found that Supreme Court justices with prior judicial experience have been more willing to overturn precedent. The majority of Carter's women appointees have had prior judicial experience. This may encourage women judges to take new, even unpopular, positions on the women's and minority rights issues to which they have shown a commitment. Tabular data are provided.