Last month, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced revisions to the Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity, known as Directive 15. The revisions, the first since 1997, include the historic addition of a new “Middle Eastern or North African” (MENA) minimum reporting category, the use of a combined question format to collect race and ethnicity data, and the requirement of more detailed data collection by federal agencies are welcomed steps toward the modernization of federal race and ethnicity data. For Arab Americans, the MENA categ ..read more

“Black drivers have a problem in Richmond, Virginia.””[i] In February, a federal district judge in Richmond, Virginia, concluded that Mr. Keith Moore presented sufficient evidence to prove selective enforcement of the law by the Richmond Police Department (RPD) against Black drivers. United States District Judge John A. Gibney Jr. granted Mr. Moore’s motion to dismiss the government’s indictment for illegally possessing a firearm after finding that Moore had established the discriminatory effect and purpose elements necessary to prove his claim of systemic bias. This decision illustrates an av ..read more

This article first appeared in print in Reparations Daily(ish) Volume 102 When you think about slavery, Jim Crow, and other forms of anti-Black oppression, a few familiar villains probably come to mind—you might think of brutal overseers whipping Black people on plantations, cruel auctioneers ripping families apart, or sadistic police setting dogs on Black protesters. You probably don’t immediately think about the thousands of lawyers who worked behind the scenes to normalize these atrocities, including lawmakers, judges, prosecutors, and private attorneys. Yet, from the Constitution, which in ..read more

The Fourteenth Amendment, Section Three states, “No person shall be a [federal or state official] who, having previously taken an oath … to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against [the government].” Given a textualist read and borrowing from the ordinary rules of statutory interpretation, the plain meaning seems clear. At the time of its ratification back in 1868, the United States was emerging from a deadly Civil War which killed 620,000 Americans. Back then, everyone knew who the Amendment covered: former Confederates. They were ..read more

In an era where the phrase "unprecedented times" has become all too common, another remarkable chapter is set to unfold in our highest court. On February 21, the Supreme Court is poised to bypass traditional procedure, hearing a case from the shadow docket before the D.C. Circuit reaches the merits—a move that sidesteps the D.C. Circuit and ventures away from standard court review—at the request of polluters who don’t want to reduce their smog-causing pollution that blows across state lines. The result could leave millions unprotected from harmful smog pollution while threatening the balance o ..read more

Happy New Year! And what a year it is poised to be. 2024 could prove definitive in our country’s struggle between securing the promise of a multiracial democracy and succumbing to authoritarianism. That is the challenge before us, and that is why ACS is starting the year with four key priorities: Ensure President Biden matches or better yet exceeds his predecessor’s total of 234 judicial appointments in four years. As you’ve heard me say before, to have a multiracial democracy, we need a multiracial judiciary that is committed to upholding the rule of law and vindicating our fundamental freedo ..read more

The Senate broke for the holidays this week, leaving President Biden 21 appointments behind former President Trump’s 187 at the end of three years. Had the Senate prioritized judges since returning in September from its August recess, it could have ensured that President Biden matched or even exceed Trump’s pace. The nominees were there all fall! The political will was not. This is alarming as we stare down the final year of President Biden’s first term, with roughly 90 current or future known vacancies on the federal judiciary. Three Years at a Glance: President Biden has appointed:  &nb ..read more

The Senate heard us! Rather than breaking for the holiday this week, which the House did, the Senate is coming back next week. We have one message for the Senate majority: maximize the week for judicial confirmations. Said another way: use this time to start to dig yourselves out of the hole you put yourselves in. As of December 15, the Senate has confirmed 164 Article III confirmations during the Biden-Harris administration, putting President Biden 23 judges short of the 187 judges that his predecessor had appointed at the end of three years. This 23-judge deficit is a creation of the Senate ..read more

Friends, we are gearing up for a most consequential year for our democracy. We have been talking all year about the struggle underway in this country between our pursuit of a multiracial democracy and the threat of authoritarianism. Next year could determine whether our democracy prevails, which is why we are asking for your support now, because we need to be prepared. What we know for sure about next year: It is the last year in which we know who is in the White House and the make up of the Senate. It’s the last year when we know we can confirm diverse, qualified judges, which is why we are ..read more

In the early months of President Biden’s term, Senators Schumer and Durbin vowed to “balance” the federal courts. This was in the wake of the Trump administration and the GOP’s success in packing the federal judiciary with conservative ideologues. It was clear even then the impact that Trump judges would have on our laws and our lives. An impact that has become more and more stark in the years since, with judges taking aim at reproductive healthcare, voting rights, the First Amendment, and a litany of other vital protections in this country. We are now staring down the final year of President ..read more