Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who passed away on Sunday at the age of 100, left behind a transformative legacy in the American judiciary. Throughout his one-term presidency, Carter broke records by appointing a diverse group of judges to the federal bench, forever changing the landscape of the U.S. legal system. His efforts to diversify the judiciary made him the first president to make such a significant impact on the representation of women and people of color in the courts.
Carter’s commitment to judicial reform led to a groundbreaking 262 appointments to federal courts, a record for a president’s single term. While he never had the opportunity to appoint a U.S. Supreme Court justice, his appointments reshaped the federal judiciary, paving the way for greater diversity in the judicial system.
Among Carter’s most notable appointments was Ruth Bader Ginsburg, whom he appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1980. This appointment set the stage for her eventual nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Bill Clinton in 1993. Ginsburg, who passed away in 2020, later recalled the significance of Carter’s decision, noting that his actions were a turning point for women in the judiciary.
“After Carter, things never went back to the old ways,” Ginsburg said in 2015. “The first time I ever thought of being a judge was when Jimmy Carter announced to the world that he wanted to change the complexion of the U.S. judiciary, which he did.”
Carter’s judicial legacy didn’t stop with Ginsburg. His presidency also saw the appointment of Stephen Breyer, another future Supreme Court justice, who served on the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Carter’s bold appointments helped establish a new standard for inclusivity in the courts, with a focus on ensuring a judiciary that more closely reflected the diversity of the nation it served.
Before Carter’s presidency, there had been only eight women and 31 people of color appointed to the federal judiciary. In just four years, Carter appointed 40 women and 57 people of color, including eight women of color. His landmark judicial appointments were facilitated by the passage of the Omnibus Judgeship Act of 1978, which expanded the federal judiciary and added 152 new judgeships.
Carter’s record still stands as the highest number of judicial appointments for a single term. While presidents like Joe Biden and Donald Trump have surpassed his total number of appointments across two terms, Carter remains a trailblazer in this area. President Biden, as of December 2023, has appointed 235 judges, just surpassing Trump’s total of 234 appointments in his first term.
Maya Wiley, President of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, praised Carter for his historic commitment to diversifying the judiciary: “As president, Jimmy Carter recognized the devastating lack of representation in our federal courts and prioritized diversifying the judiciary. His leadership remains a beacon for future generations.”
During a 2012 event at the Carter Center, Carter reflected on his legacy of judicial appointments, saying he did not view his decisions as acts of political courage but rather as necessary steps for a nation ready for change. “We still have a long way to go,” he remarked, echoing the need for continued progress in achieving full diversity in the judiciary.
Carter’s record of judicial diversity has had a lasting influence on U.S. courts, and his efforts continue to inspire movements for greater representation within the legal system.
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