Latinos for a Fair Judiciary Applauds Increased Latino Representation in Biden’s Latest Judicial Nominations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

PRESS RELEASE 

September 9, 2021 

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Sarai Bejarano | Manager of Traditional & Digital Media | [email protected] | 212-739-7581 

Latinos for a Fair Judiciary Applauds Increased Latino Representation in Biden’s Latest Judicial Nominations

Washington, DC — Today, Latinos for a Fair Judiciary (LFJ), a coalition of Latino leaders from prominent civic organizations and across the legal and nonprofit communities, announced its support of President Joe Biden’s inclusion of three Latinos — Justice Gabriel Sanchez, David Herrera Urias, and Judge Hernán Vera — in his latest slate of nominations to federal judicial seats. LFJ urges the U.S. Senate to swiftly confirm these highly qualified nominees in order to increase Latino representation within the federal judiciary to match the nation’s new demographic reality.

“Today’s slate of nominees to the federal judiciary is a very hopeful announcement.  The inclusion of three extremely well-qualified Latino nominees, each with a track record of supporting civil rights, and two of whom spent part of their exemplary legal careers at MALDEF, demonstrates the Biden Administration’s commitment to including judges in our federal system beyond the usual former prosecutors and big-firm partners,” said Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of MALDEF, in a statement on Wednesday. “The slate also provides hope that we can one day arrive at a federal judiciary that includes the large and growing Latino population in numbers commensurate with the future role of Latinos as litigants in the system and leaders in our nation.”

According to data from the 2020 Census, Latinos accounted for more than half of the country’s growth since 2010 and remain the nation’s largest minority group in the U.S., comprising nearly 20 percent of the national population. However, only eight percent of federal judges identify as Latino. With the 2022 midterm elections right around the corner, it is critical that the Biden administration continue prioritizing the nomination of Latino/a judges in order to bring equal representation to the federal courts to reflect the now 62.1 million Latinos living in the U.S.

In a statement, Elia Diaz-Yaeger, National President of the Hispanic National Bar Association, said: “The HNBA is encouraged by the inclusion of three talented and experienced Hispanic candidates to the latest slate of federal judicial nominees. We recognize the work President Biden has done to date to diversify the federal bench and nominate qualified Hispanic candidates, but we continue to press his Administration to act with urgency to fill the remaining vacancies in the federal courts. Of the 43 federal judicial nominees President Biden has announced, only one of the Hispanic nominees has been confirmed and entered active service.”

Among the eight candidates announced today by the White House, Justice Gabriel P. Sanchez, Associate Justice of the California First Appellate District Court of Appeal, was nominated to the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In addition, David Herrera Urias, attorney at Freedman Boyd Hollander Goldberg Urias & Ward, P.A. in Albuquerque, was nominated for the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico, and Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Hernán D. Vera is a nominee for the United States District Court for the Central District of California. If confirmed, these three judges would help bring balance and equal justice to the federal court system that has long underrepresented Latinos throughout the country.

“LatinoJustice joins with Latinos for A Fair Judiciary in applauding this important step by the Biden administration to address the current lack of racial, gender and professional diversity in the federal judiciary,” stated Jose Perez, Deputy General Counsel of LatinoJustice PRLDEF. "More diversity is clearly needed, and we expect further Latina/o judicial nominations in the coming months, particularly in the many federal courts where there are no sitting Latinx judges.”

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About LatinoJustice
LatinoJustice PRLDEF works to create a more just society by using and challenging the rule of law to secure transformative, equitable and accessible justice, by empowering our community and by fostering leadership through advocacy and education. For nearly 50 years, LatinoJustice PRLDEF has acted as an advocate against injustices throughout the country. To learn more about LatinoJustice, visit www.LatinoJustice.org