Fraternal Group Calls for Judicial Diversity

Kappa Boule

Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity

999 Peachtree Street, N.E., Suite 850

Atlanta, Georgia 30309

October 1, 2012

The Honorable Nathan Deal

Governor, State of Georgia

206 Washington Street
Suite 203, State Capitol
Atlanta, GA 30334

            Re:      Restoring Racial Diversity to the Superior Court of Fulton County

Dear Governor Deal:

We write to you this time to express our profound concern about the troubling erosion of racial diversity on the Superior Court of Fulton County. 

Who We Are and Why We Care

Sigma Pi Phi Fraternally (sometimes known as the "Boule"), is the Nation’s oldest historically-Black Greek letter organization.  The Boule is composed of degreed professional men, and it has no undergraduate members.  Kappa Boule, the fraternity's first Atlanta affiliate, consists of about 100 members, many of whom have been integrally involved in the civic life of Atlanta, including two former mayors, as well as many of our community's leading businessmen, lawyers and judges. Attached to this letter is a list of some of our current members.

Our members have had a longstanding interest in assuring accountability at all levels of government, including the judiciary.  We believe that, to be accountable, our courts must be representative of the diverse communities that they serve.  Judicial diversity promotes impartiality by ensuring that no one viewpoint, perspective, or set of values can persistently dominate legal decision making.  As Judge Richard Posner has observed, a diverse judiciary “is more representative, and its decisions will therefore command greater acceptance in a diverse society than would the decisions of a mandarin court.”[1]  Judge James Wynn has noted that a lack of diversity poses a significant challenge for a judicial system that passes judgment on issues affecting African Americans, women and other minorities.[2] 

The need for judicial diversity is especially keen on the Fulton County Superior Court, the largest and most powerful trial court in the State.  Because the State Capital is in Fulton County, constitutional challenges and appeals from State agency decisions are heard in this court.  In addition, emergency hearings and/or stays of execution and death penalty cases are decided in the Fulton County Superior Court.  Moreover, the overwhelming majority of individual litigants are African-Americans, some of whom need a reason to have confidence in the integrity our system of justice.

The Steady Erosion of Racial Diversity on the Superior Court of Fulton County

Over the last ten years, however, the Fulton County Superior Court bench has experienced a steady erosion in racial diversity.  In 2002, eight of the eighteen judges on the bench (or 44%) were African-American.  Today, only six out of twenty judges (or 30%) are African-American.  Based on the 2010 census, the population of Fulton County is 44% African American.  Fulton County saw the last African American female judge appointed to the Superior Court bench in 1996 by Governor Zell Miller.  Governor Roy Barnes appointed the last African American male to the Fulton County Superior Court bench in 2002.  While the bench may once have reflected a racial diversity that was reasonably representative of the population, that is no longer the case. 

The current erosion in judicial diversity is certainly not due to a lack of qualified African-American candidates.  Fulton County is also home to most of the State's several hundred talented African American lawyers.  Over the years, these lawyers have included the first African American woman to be admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as the lawyers who led the battles to desegregate the State's universities, public schools and places of public accommodation.  More recently, the county's African American lawyers have included several trial and appellate judges, three of Atlanta's mayors, two presidents of the Atlanta Bar Association, partners in every major law Atlanta law firm, and the Chief Legal Officers of major institutions such as United Parcel Service, Pepsiso, Inc., and The Home Depot. 

What You Can Do: What We Hope You Will Do

We are rapidly reaching a point at which the notion of a judicary composed of the best and brightest legal minds regardless of race will be no more than a bygone memory.  We urge you to avoid this consequence by establishing a judicial selection process which achieves accountability through diversity, by placing more African-Americans on the Judicial Nominating Commission, and by appointing qualified African American candidates to the Fulton Superior Court.

                                                            Very truly yours,

                                                            KAPPA BOULE OF SIGMA PI PHI FRATERNTY

                                                            By: ___________________________

                                                            Calvin W. McLarin, M.D.

                                                            Sire Archon
 

KAPPA BOULE - SIGMA PI PHI FRATERNITY MEMBERSHIP

 

Aaron, Hank

Adams, John H.

Aiken, Sr., B.A. Anthony C.

Alexander, William A.

Bacote, Sr., Samuel W.

Baranco, Gregory T.

Beard, Israel

Benham, Robert

Blackburn, II, D.D.S., Benjamin A.

Blackburn, III, Benjamin A.

Brown, Jr., Robert L.

Brown, M.D.,  Darwin L.

Buncum, Kelvin L.

Chastang, M.B.A. Mark J.

Cleveland, M.D., William H.

Cole, Jr., Thomas W.

Coles, Julius E.

Cook, Samuel D.

Coombs, Jr. Fletcher

Cooper, Clarence

Cooper, M.D. William A.

Darden, Jr., Alvin H.

Dempsey, Jr., Alford J.

Donald, Ph.D. Carlton D.

Douglass, M.D., Paul L.

Edmund, M.D., J.D. Roderick E.

Franklin, Jr., Robert M.

Greer, Esq. Ernest L.

Gulley, Samuel T.

Hackney, Wendell O.

Hall, D.D.S. John E.

Hall, Woodrow A.

Harris, Oscar L.

Harrison, Ira E.

Harrison, James C.

Holloway, M.D., Kelvin J.

Hornbuckle, Napoleon

Horne, Jr., J.D. Lewis C.

Howard, II, Samuel H.

Hughes, George M.

Hunter, Esq. James M.

Johnson, III, Charles S.

Johnson, Leroy R.

Johnson, Michael D.

Jolley, Jr. Samuel D.

Jones, Arnold M.

Jones, Jr. Milton H.

Joyner, Gordon L.

Kennedy, Michael D.

Lomax, Michael L.

Mason, Jr., Herman S.

Matthews, M.D., Roland P.

Maupin, Jr., M.D., John E.

McBride, Cornell

McLaurin, M.D. Calvin W.

Moody, Jr., Charles D.

Norris, Alfred L.

Organ, M.D., Brian C.

Patterson, Esq. P. Andrew

Patterson, III, M.D., Pickens A.

Patton, William C.

Pinado, Alan E.

Porche, Bernard

Rachal, Tyrone

Rhodes, Jacob A.

Richardson, Arthur H.

Robinson, Jr., George K.

Robinson, Ray M.

Russell, Herman-Jerome

Russell, Michael B.

Sampson, Esq. Thomas G.

Sampson, II, Thomas G.

Scott, David K.

Sears, Jr. Bertram E.

Shropshire, Sr., D.D.S. William B.

Sims, Frank L.

Sinkfield, Richard H.

Smart, J.D. Donald E.

Spikes, Esq. Jesse J.

Stanley, III, William J.

Stephens, Jr., Robert L.

Strothers, J.D. Bruce E.

Taylor, B.A. David V.

Taylor, Bernard

Thomas, Jr., D.B.A.R. Roosevelt

Thomas, Jr., Ph.D. Norman H.

Thomas, Sr., Norman H.

Tidwell, Isaiah

Tompkins, Esq., Jeffrey E.

Tookes, M.D. Darryl J.

Turner, Dwayne L.

Turner, Jr., B.A. Dennis

Turpeau, Aaron M.

Ward, Horace T.

Ware, Carl

Warnock, Raphael G.

Weaver, M.D. William L.

Williams, James E.

Work, M.D. Frederick T.

Yancey, Sr. Asa G.

---

[1] Richard A. Posner, Law, Pragmatism and Democracy 71 (2003).

[2] James A. Wynne and Eli P. Mazur, Judicial Diversity: Where Independence and Accountability Meet.  67 Albany Law Review 755 (2004).

Georgia Should Codify its Pursuit of Judicial Diversity

[Reprinted from the Daily Report, October 4, 2012]



 

 

To the Editors:

We note with interest an article by Leah Ward Sears and Kimberly Bourroughs which appeared in the Sept. 24, 2012, issue of the Daily Report entitled "Raise the bar on judicial diversity." While we concur with the sentiments expressed in the article, we respectfully disagree that the recent gathering at the courthouse steps was an expression of "anger." Rather, it was a concerted effort by minority bar associations and community-based organizations to bring an important issue to the public's attention.

Moreover, we would add that judicial accountability requires that the courts be representative of the communities that they serve. Judicial diversity also promotes impartiality by ensuring that all viewpoints, perspectives and values are part of the decision-making process.

The recent article was particularly commendable in proposing steps that can be taken in pursuit of the goal of a more representative judiciary, especially in addressing the lack of diversity on Georgia's Judicial Nominating Commission ("JNC"). Not long ago, the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys asked Governor Nathan Deal to diversify the JNC, but since then there has been no change in the diversity of its membership. The JNC still has only one African-American male, no African-American females, and no other persons of color among its 15 members. In 2012, this lack of representation does a disservice to the state's highly diverse populace.

Beyond the steps toward increasing judicial diversity which were suggested in the recent article, Georgia should also consider some of the more recent steps which other states have taken to pursue this goal. For example, Arizona has a constitutional provision requiring its judicial nominating commission to "consider the diversity of the state's population, however, the primary consideration shall be merit." Ariz. Const. Art.VI, § 36.

Maryland has an executive order which requires that its nominating commission "shall consider … the importance of having a diverse judiciary." Md. Exec. Order No. 01.01.2007.08.

In Missouri, the governing Supreme Court rules direct that "the Commission shall further take into consideration the desirability of the bench reflecting the racial and gender composition of the community." Mo. S. Ct. R. 10.32(f) (2008).

Several other states have laws that mandate diversity in the composition of their judicial nominating commissions. Florida, for example, requires that "the Governor shall seek to ensure that, to the extent possible, the membership of the Commission reflects the racial, ethnic, and gender diversity, as well as the geographic distribution of the population within the territorial jurisdiction of the Court for which nominations will be considered." Fla. Stat. Ann. § 43.291(4) (2008).

Tennessee law requires the appointment of "persons who approximate the population of the state with respect to race, including the dominant ethnic minority population, and gender." Tenn. Code Ann. § 17-4-102(C) (2008) Rhode Island provides that "[t]he Governor and the nominating authorities hereunder shall exercise reasonable efforts to encourage racial, ethnic, and gender diversity within the Commission." R.I. Gen. Laws § 8-16.1-2(a)(3) (2006).

We do not wish to displace the recommendations advanced by Justice Sears and Ms. Bourroughs. However, we suspect that actually codifying the state's pursuit of judicial diversity, as these other states have done, might enhance the likelihood of producing positive results.

Suzanne Wynn Ockleberry, Past President, Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys
Charles S. Johnson, Past President, Gate City Bar Association