Golden Gate University Law Review
Abstract
In the analysis which follows, an effort will be made to assess the historical record of the appointment of women to the federal bench. Extended consideration will be given to the Carter administration's judicial recruitment behavior in an effort to assess the thrust and implications of the President's affirmative action concerns. How successful was Carter in appointing women to the federal judiciary and how did the women appointees differ, if at all, from their male colleagues? Do women appointees follow a different "path" to the bench than males? Did affirmative action "dilute" the quality of the federal bench as many administration critics claimed or, alternatively, did criteria exist for women appointees which remained at a higher threshold than those employed for male candidates? Examination of these and other questions relies on a uniquely rich and penetrating data source. Finally, attention will be directed to President Reagan's judicial selection behavior as manifested in his recruitment of women jurists during the first three years of his administration.
Recommended Citation
Elliot E. Slotnick,
Gender, Affirmative Action, and Recruitment to the Federal Bench, 14 Golden Gate U. L. Rev.
(1984).
https://digitalcommons.law.ggu.edu/ggulrev/vol14/iss3/6