Appointment of African American U.S. Circuit and District Court Judges: Historical Overview and Current Data Page: 1 of 3
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CRS INSIGHT
Appointment of African American U.S. Circuit and
District Court Judges: Historical Overview and
Current Data
February 12, 2016 (IN10444)
Related Author
" Barry J. McMillion
Barry J. McMillion, Analyst in American National Government (bmcmillion~crs.loc.gov, 7-6025)
This CRS Insight provides historical and statistical information related to the appointment of African Americans as U.S.
circuit and district court judges. Such information addresses ongoing congressional interest in the demographic
characteristics of lower federal court judges. Previous CRS analysis examines other racial groups and additional
demographic characteristics, such as gender.
The first African American to be appointed to a lower federal judgeship authorized by Article III of the U.S.
Constitution was William H. Hastie, appointed by President Truman in 1949 to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third
Circuit (comprised of Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the U.S. Virgin Islands). Judge Hastie initially received
a recess appointment from President Truman, but was later confirmed by the Senate in 1950.
U.S. Circuit Courts
Judge Hastie remained the sole African American circuit court judge until the appointment of Thurgood Marshall by
President Kennedy in 1961 to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Figure 1 shows the number of African
Americans serving as U.S. circuit court judges at the start of every four-year period from January 1, 1960, (when Judge
Hastie was the sole African American on the bench) to January 1, 2016.
As shown by the figure, the number of African American circuit court judges, as of January 1 during the years listed in
the figure, remained at three or below until 1980 (immediately following the emphasis on diversity in the judicial
selection process during the Carter presidency). From January 1, 1976, to January 1, 1980, the number of African
American circuit court judges increased from 2 to 9, a 350% increase.
Since (and including) Judge Hastie's appointment in 1949, there have been a total of 39 African Americans appointed to
U.S. circuit court judgeships. As shown by Figure 1, of the 39 ever appointed, 21 (54%) were still serving on the bench
as of January 1, 2016.
Figure 1. Number of African American U.S. Circuit Court Judges(Serving on January 1 of Years Indicated)
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McMillion, Barry J. Appointment of African American U.S. Circuit and District Court Judges: Historical Overview and Current Data, report, February 12, 2016; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc824720/m1/1/?q=%22law%22: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.