Where are the Asian, Hispanic justices?

OPINION:

The recent nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court has been accompanied by the wish, expressed by President Biden and others, that the Supreme Court should “look like America.” Nobody has articulated precisely what that would look like, but if what Mr. Biden wants is a Supreme Court that proportionately represents the racial and ethnic makeup of the U.S. population, then nominating Judge Jackson is not going to get him any nearer that goal.

Of course, it is difficult to achieve precise proportional representation with a nine-member panel, but given that there are only nine justices, here is the closest we can get. Based on the most recent census data, a court that “looked like America” would have the folllowing: six justices who were single-race “White or Caucasian,” one justice who was single-race “Black or African American,” one justice who was mixed-race and one justice who was Asian. Two of the nine justices (of any race) would be Hispanic.

Now, as far as I am aware, Judge Jackson identifies as single-race “Black or African American,” so if she serves on the Supreme Court alongside Justice Clarence Thomas, her racial category will actually be overrepresented, believe it or not — and at a cost to Hispanics and Asians, who are the true underrepresented minorities on America’s highest judicial body.

Of course, none of this is a reason Judge Jackson should not be confirmed if, like many Americans, one believes that race or ethnicity should be neither a qualification nor a disqualification to high office. But if race and ethnicity are so darned important, and if Mr. Biden really wants a Supreme Court that “looks like America,” he has made a misstep. He should have nominated a Judge Wong or a Judge Nguyen or a Judge Park, or at least a Judge Rodriguez, for Pete’s sake.

C. TODD MEREDITH

Memphis, Tennessee