The Committee on Diversity was established by the Federal Magistrate Judges Association in recognition of the important role our Association must play in promoting and increasing diversity in the federal judiciary, in general, and, in particular, with respect to the magistrate judge system that plays an extremely vital role within the judiciary.
The Committee is charged with the task of developing and implementing diversity. The Association's commitment begins with the goal of encouraging and facilitating the appointment of magistrate judges that reflect the diverse populations represented throughout the nation's communities. Judicial appointments should certainly be made without discriminating against anyone on the basis of race, national origin, gender, sex, disability, or other immutable backgrounds.
At the same time, however, the importance of diverse appointments to accomplishing the work of the federal judiciary requires that they also reflect the understanding that the judiciary should represent, as much as possible, the people they are judging. The perception of inclusion requires not only that judges have diverse areas of practice or legal expertise, but also that they have varied personal backgrounds and experiences that will help them make the difficult and sensitive decisions required of them as members of the federal judiciary.
A diverse community of magistrate judges is, accordingly essential to the success of and respect accorded the magistrate judge system as a whole. The Committee is tasked with enacting practical steps designed to promote, recruit, and develop magistrate judges from all walks of life. The Committee is exploring more comprehensive ways of recruiting and promoting diverse members of the legal profession in every community we serve to become magistrate judges. Expansion of minority interest in this position requires effective communication with key administrators in every federal court and district in the country to identify all potential full and part-time magistrate judge appointments in each district.
Its essential that the appointment process in each district be as transparent and public as possible, thereby ensuring that all members of the community are aware of the vacancy in adequate time to apply. After all, if the community as a whole is not informed of the opening, only limited numbers of people will have the opportunity to respond. The important goal of diversity is fostered only through more open access to judgeships. Moreover, better publicity is expected to attract an even broader group of qualified applicants who will enhance the strength, experience, and wisdom already characteristic of the federal bench.
The Committee is further dedicated to communicating the importance of the magistrate judge system to members of the legal profession, individually, as well as associations and local bar associations., law schools and legal educators, and members of the community-at-large. Diversity in the federal bench becomes a more realistic and achievable goal when the entire community understands and appreciates what magistrate judges do and how that work can be enhanced by a diverse population of judges.
The work of the Committee is not limited to increasing diversity in judicial appointments. The overall goal of diversity generally requires that all facets of the federal judiciary be representative of "all the people" as possible. That requires that qualified law students and young attorneys from diverse communities be identified and promoted to work within the federal judicial system, as judicial interns, law clerks and staff attorneys. A diverse group of law students interested in the work of the judiciary will eventually yield additional qualified members of the legal profession, hence a large pool of qualified candidates for the federal bench and chambers. These students and lawyers, eventually will well serve all members of their respective communities and in particular those from diverse backgrounds, in the years to come.
Ultimately, the work of the Committee on Diversity will provide one means by which the Federal Magistrate Judges Association promotes the long-term success of and confidence in the federal judiciary and, particularly, the magistrate judge system. We must continue to develop innovative ways to promote the appointments of diverse magistrate judges of the highest quality and ethics, who represent various segments of our community, and the full and equal participation of all types of individuals in the Association, the federal judiciary, and the justice system as a whole.
