Judges Clarence Thomas, KBJ, Beyond

President Joe Biden’s farewell to elected workplace on Jan. 20, 2025, presents a possibility to replicate on the legacy he left on the federal courts.

Many will understand Biden’s affect on the courts based on his appointment of Ketanji Brown Jackson, the nation’s first Black, feminine Supreme Courtroom justice.

However Biden’s judicial legacy spans a long time and reaches far past the make-up of the present Supreme Courtroom.

As a number one scholar of the federal courts, I consider Biden’s judicial influence is most notable in three regards: his function within the 1991 affirmation of Clarence Thomas, his historic efforts throughout his presidency to diversify the federal bench, and his 2024 resolution to veto laws increasing the variety of federal district court docket judgeships.

Supreme Courtroom Justice nominee Decide Clarence Thomas, proper, poses with Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Senator Joe Biden in Washington, D.C., on July 9, 1991. | Supply: Mark Reinstein / Getty

Chairman Biden’s influence

When he was a senator, Biden served because the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee from 1987 to 1995. Throughout that point, Biden oversaw the Senate’s consideration of a whole bunch of federal court docket appointments, together with six Supreme Courtroom nominees.

His function within the 1991 affirmation listening to of Supreme Courtroom Justice Clarence Thomas stands out for a way he dealt with allegations of sexual harassment introduced towards the nominee.

Thomas was appointed by President George H.W. Bush to switch Thurgood Marshall, a liberal icon and the nation’s first Black Supreme Courtroom justice.

Changing the liberal Marshall with the conservative Thomas had the potential to shift the ideological make-up of the court docket. Because of this, Thomas’ affirmation listening to was certain to be contentious.

However issues obtained particularly heated when Anita Hill, a former colleague of Thomas, alleged that Thomas had sexually harassed her after they each labored on the Division of Training and on the Equal Employment Alternative Fee.

As chairman of the committee, it was finally as much as Biden the best way to deal with the investigation of those allegations.

Maybe Biden’s most controversial resolution concerned his refusal to permit senators to listen to from witnesses who have been prepared to testify underneath oath to corroborate Hill’s allegations. In a 2017 interview, Biden stated that the witnesses backed out on the final minute. However this clarification is contested by at the least one witness, who stated she was by no means known as to testify.

Although we’ll by no means ensure, this testimony might have sunk Thomas’ affirmation. As an alternative, he was confirmed by a 52-48 Senate vote.

A lot later, Biden acknowledged that his dealing with of Hill’s allegations was going to be a difficulty in his 2020 presidential marketing campaign. Because of this, Biden reached out to Hill earlier than saying his candidacy. In that cellphone name, he expressed his remorse for what she skilled on the listening to, however he didn’t go as far as to apologize.

Biden’s federal court docket appointments

As president, Biden’s main legacy includes his historic efforts to diversify the federal bench when it comes to the race, gender, sexual orientation and faith of his judicial nominees.

Biden appointed extra ladies to the bench than any president earlier than him, in addition to probably the most racially and ethnically numerous group of judges within the nation’s historical past. Biden additionally appointed an unusually giant variety of former public defenders to judgeships.

Jackson, as a Black lady and former public defender, is probably the most high-profile instance of this. However Biden additionally nominated greater than 1 / 4 of all sitting federal judges in his 4 years a president.

Biden’s efforts to diversify the federal bench are necessary and are more likely to be tangible.

Having numerous judges on the courts will increase assist for courts amongst ladies and other people of coloration. That is important, since courts depend on the general public for his or her legitimacy, and America has develop into more and more numerous over time.

Feminine judges and judges of coloration are usually extra progressive of their decision-making than different judges, extra usually supporting litigants claiming violations of their civil rights. That is very true for areas through which such judges could have distinctive views and experiences, comparable to gender and racial discrimination.

Equally, analysis reveals that judges who have been as soon as public defenders are much less more likely to incarcerate convicted criminals and have a tendency at hand down shorter sentences amongst these sentenced to jail.

The way forward for federal courts

Considered one of Biden’s lesser-known, however very substantial, closing acts in workplace includes vetoing the JUDGES Act of 2024.

This laws would have added 66 judges to the federal courts. A few of these courts are presently understaffed, leading to heavy workloads for judges, creating delays within the administration of justice.

Although the invoice had unanimous assist within the Democratically managed Senate in August 2024, the Republican-led Home refused to vote on the invoice till after the 2024 election.

This was a strategic transfer that may make sure that the winner of the election – Donald Trump – would appoint the preliminary batch of 25 judges underneath the laws.

Biden stated that he vetoed the laws as a result of there have been some lingering questions that needs to be answered, comparable to how the brand new judgeships can be allotted to courts throughout the nation.

However as a scholar of the federal courts, it’s evident to me that Biden’s actual motivation was to forestall Trump from appointing the primary 25 judges.

Taken as an entire, Biden leaves an advanced legacy on the federal courts. On the one hand, he undertook unprecedented efforts to make sure that the federal courts appear like the individuals they symbolize. He additionally resisted efforts that may have moved the courts in a conservative route underneath Trump’s second time period.

Then again, Biden performed a significant function within the affirmation of Thomas, some of the conservative justices in American historical past.

Paul M. Collins Jr., Professor of Authorized Research and Political Science, UMass Amherst

This text is republished from The Dialog underneath a Artistic Commons license. Learn the unique article.

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