Justice Scale

RESOURCES

The Infinity Project’s mission is to increase the gender diversity of the state and federal bench to ensure the quality of justice in the Eighth Circuit.

State Organizers
2019 Infinity Project - D&I award on sta

Join Us

Join the Infinity Project to receive personalized resources, coaching, and mentorship.

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You can also join us to become a coach or mentor.

Join Us
Jules Porter

Nominate Her

Do you know a women in the 8th Circuit who would make a great judge? Nominate her to receive personalized resources, coaching, and mentorship.

Nominate Her

COLLABORATIVE JUDICIAL BOOTCAMP

Collaborative Judicial Bootcamp Curriculum

The Collaborative Judicial Bootcamp consists of four hour programs developed alongside affinity bar organizations in Minnesota, Iowa and North Dakota. They include tracks for people at different stages of their legal career; recognize the important role of recruitment in changing the perceptions of who is qualified to sit on the bench; use personal outreach to potential participants and decision-makers; encourage individuals and organizations to think carefully and “outside the box” about future judicial talent; and involve judicial decision-makers as session leaders to give them direct experience with a deeper, more robust candidate pool. Through the bootcamp format, under-represented individuals receive coaching and mentoring from individuals that influence selection processes directly or indirectly. After years of feeling left out of the process, a reality affirmed by many of the judges of color who served as facilitators, participants felt like they were finally getting the same kind of information that white men have always been privy to through association with the types of “power brokers” leading the workshops. One participant said “it is all so democratic!”



Judicial Bootcamp Agenda

The Infinity Project Collaborative Bootcamp model covers a half day and includes three tracks: (1) lawyers with less than ten years of experience that may serve on the bench sometime in the future; (2) lawyers with more than 10 years of experience that may be interested in service on the state district court bench; and (3) sitting judges and others with significant experience that may be considering state appellate or federal courts. For sample agendas, please contact Julie Morrison.



Judicial Bootcamp Invitations

Personal invitations to potential participants and decision-maker facilitators are a key part of the Collaborative Bootcamp model. Affinity bar partners can use this exercise to think deeply about the talent in their community and a personal invitation has the potential to change the perceptions of under-represented lawyers about their qualifications to serve. Involvement of key judicial decision-makers as session leaders gives them an opportunity to see first hand the talent pool from under-represented communities and question processes that do not include that talent. Example invitations are available upon request.



Path to the Bench Plan

We have developed a My Journey to the Bench planning tool that potential applicants can use to plot short and long term strategies in a variety of categories, such as Information Gathering, Relationship Building, Building a Resume, Developing a Story/Brand, and Keeping Track of Information you will need to apply in the future. Request a copy of the plan from Julie Morrison.



RESOURCES FOR SUPPORTERS

Guides, Reports, and Toolboxes

“Judges”…Book by Oagile Bethuel Key Dingake (“This book discusses the work of judges”) 2020 Building a Diverse Bench: A Guide for Judicial Nominating Commissioners 2016 ABA Implicit Bias Toolkit 2016 The Path to the Federal Bench: A ‘How To’ Guide on Pursuing a Federal Judgeship 2011 Diversifying the Bench Guidebook: How to Become a Judicial Officer The Washington State Minority and Justice Commission 2011 Improving Judicial Diversity - Brennan Center for Justice, 2010 Building a Diverse Court: A Guide to Recruitment and Retention, 2010 Improving Diversity on State Courts: A Report from the Bench. George Mason University study conducted for the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Justice at Stake, 2009



Statistics & Data

Federal Judicial Center: Federal Judge Demographics – A visual representation: Gender Federal Judicial Center: Federal Judge Demographics — A visual representation: Race Court Statistics Project Diversity of the Federal Bench: Current statistics on the gender and racial diversity of Article III courts (2020).
State Supreme Court Diversity: Brennen Center for Justice (2019.) State Court Diversity: NAWJ (2019). Gavel Gap
National Center for State Courts: Diversity of the Bench Alliance for Justice: Judicial Selection Dashboards Path to the Eighth Circuit (2012 Table) Backgrounds of Obama Appellate Appointees and District Court Appointees in the Eighth Circuit (2012 Tables)



Scholarship

Review of Judicial Merit Selection: Institutional Design and Performance for State Courts. G Goelzhauser, 2019 Picking Judges: An Introduction: Lisa Montpetit Brabbit. April 2020 Trump’s Takeover of the Courts: Lena Zwarensteyn. April 2020
Pipeline to the Bench: Women’s Legal Career: Linda Greenhouse. April 2020 The Case for Districts: Descriptive Rural Representation on State Supreme Courts: Nathaniel M. Fouch. April 2020 Pernicious Bias and Judicial Illegitimacy: Do Americans Perceive Diverse Judges as Inherently Biased? April 2020 Ebook: Open Judicial Politics: Solberg, Diascro, Walternburg. 2020 EChapter: Open Judicial Politics: Public Attitudes Towards State Courts. 2020 Book: Judicial Selection in the States: Politics and the Struggle for Reform. HM Kritzer, 2020 Examining Gender and Race Intersectionality in Public Law School Admissions and Enrollment. A Multi-Institutional Analysis, April 2020 Women of SCOTUS: An Analysis of the Different Voice Debate: JE Kraybill, Open Judicial Politics, 2020 Hastings Business Law Journal: Women and (In) Justice: The Effects of Employer Implicit Bias and Judicial Discretion on Title VII Plaintiffs: KR Coletta, (Summer 2020) Gender and Justice: Why Women in the Judiciary Really Matter: A book by Infinity Founder Sally Kenney, 2012 Minnesota State Law Library: Diversity Resources Sherrilyn Ifill, “Judicial Diversity,” 13 Green Bag 2D 45, 2009 White Male Heterosexist Norms in the Confirmation Process. TM Beiner, 2011 Critical Perspectives on Gender and Judging. SJ Kenney, 2010



2020 News & Articles

Gender Reveal -- Who is arguing before MN Supreme Court by Liz Kramer, Cicely Miltich, Hillary Taylor and Cat Rios-Keating - September 2020 Female Judges were a rarity when Ruth Bader Ginsburg was born. They still are. Washington Post by Atthar Mirza and Chiqui Esteban - September 2020



RESOURCES FOR ASPIRING JUDGES

Guides, Reports, and Toolboxes

“Judges”…Book by Oagile Bethuel Key Dingake (“This book discusses the work of judges”) 2020 Building a Diverse Bench: A Guide for Judicial Nominating Commissioners 2016 ABA Implicit Bias Toolkit 2016 The Path to the Federal Bench: A ‘How To’ Guide on Pursuing a Federal Judgeship 2011 Diversifying the Bench Guidebook: How to Become a Judicial Officer The Washington State Minority and Justice Commission 2011 Improving Judicial Diversity - Brennan Center for Justice, 2010 Building a Diverse Court: A Guide to Recruitment and Retention, 2010 Improving Diversity on State Courts: A Report from the Bench. George Mason University study conducted for the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Justice at Stake, 2009



Statistics & Data

Federal Judicial Center: Federal Judge Demographics – A visual representation: Gender Federal Judicial Center: Federal Judge Demographics — A visual representation: Race Court Statistics Project Diversity of the Federal Bench: Current statistics on the gender and racial diversity of Article III courts (2020).
State Supreme Court Diversity: Brennen Center for Justice (2019.) State Court Diversity: NAWJ (2019). Gavel Gap
National Center for State Courts: Diversity of the Bench Alliance for Justice: Judicial Selection Dashboards Path to the Eighth Circuit (2012 Table) Backgrounds of Obama Appellate Appointees and District Court Appointees in the Eighth Circuit (2012 Tables)



Scholarship

Review of Judicial Merit Selection: Institutional Design and Performance for State Courts. G Goelzhauser, 2019 Picking Judges: An Introduction: Lisa Montpetit Brabbit. April 2020 Trump’s Takeover of the Courts: Lena Zwarensteyn. April 2020
Pipeline to the Bench: Women’s Legal Career: Linda Greenhouse. April 2020 The Case for Districts: Descriptive Rural Representation on State Supreme Courts: Nathaniel M. Fouch. April 2020 Pernicious Bias and Judicial Illegitimacy: Do Americans Perceive Diverse Judges as Inherently Biased? April 2020 Ebook: Open Judicial Politics: Solberg, Diascro, Walternburg. 2020 EChapter: Open Judicial Politics: Public Attitudes Towards State Courts. 2020 Book: Judicial Selection in the States: Politics and the Struggle for Reform. HM Kritzer, 2020 Examining Gender and Race Intersectionality in Public Law School Admissions and Enrollment. A Multi-Institutional Analysis, April 2020 Women of SCOTUS: An Analysis of the Different Voice Debate: JE Kraybill, Open Judicial Politics, 2020 Hastings Business Law Journal: Women and (In) Justice: The Effects of Employer Implicit Bias and Judicial Discretion on Title VII Plaintiffs: KR Coletta, (Summer 2020) Gender and Justice: Why Women in the Judiciary Really Matter: A book by Infinity Founder Sally Kenney, 2012 Minnesota State Law Library: Diversity Resources Sherrilyn Ifill, “Judicial Diversity,” 13 Green Bag 2D 45, 2009 White Male Heterosexist Norms in the Confirmation Process. TM Beiner, 2011 Critical Perspectives on Gender and Judging. SJ Kenney, 2010



2020 News & Articles

Gender Reveal -- Who is arguing before MN Supreme Court by Liz Kramer, Cicely Miltich, Hillary Taylor and Cat Rios-Keating - September 2020 Female Judges were a rarity when Ruth Bader Ginsburg was born. They still are. Washington Post by Atthar Mirza and Chiqui Esteban - September 2020