Reader Jeff Peterson sent this link to an article in the Detroit Free Press about a 6th Circuit Judge who openly discriminates in hiring clerks.
Jeff gave me permission to reprint his email, which says what I would have said:
Basically, the article focuses on the law clerks that Sixth Circuit Judge Damon Keith has employed in his 35 years on the bench. Many of them have gone on to notoriety, including Michigan governor-elect Jennifer Granholm and Lani Guinier.
But what’s REALLY interesting about the article is the overall theme that Judge Keith purposely hired minority and female clerks, which we’re obviously supposed to conclude is “a good thing.” Indeed, the article states that of his 75 clerks, 61 (over 80%) have been minorities. Perhaps more interesting is Keith’s admission of forethought:
“I had to tell some of my African-American colleagues on the bench who said, ‘I can’t find any qualified black (clerks)’ . . . I said, ‘Well, let’s assume you had to be the first in your class or editor of your law review. Would you be sitting there as a federal judge? Give others a chance.'”
Isn’t it a bit odd for a sitting federal Court of Appeals Judge to blatantly admit (and boast about) discrimination. There is certainly room to argue whether it’s a “good thing” for society to intentionally discriminate in favor of minorities and women, and I’m sure there were situations (particularly at the beginning of his career) when minority clerks faced barriers that Keith was trying to remedy. But how can Keith (or Eric Clay — another Sixth Circuit Judge and one of Keith’s law clerks) possibly be equipped to preside over a case brought by a white employee claiming they were discriminated against in favor of a minority?
Anyway, I thought it was interesting, and certainly surprising to see discrimination admitted in such stark terms. But, of course, most people aren’t conditioned to look at it that way…
In a subsequent email, he added:
The funny thing is that I have a lot of respect for Judge Keith’s personal accomplishments. He was appointed by Lyndon Johnson to the federal bench in 1967. He was certainly a pioneer of sorts, and no doubt had to overcome significant societal obstacles to reach that point in his career. But judges are supposed to uphold the law, and it seems to me that what he is admitting to and bragging about is the very thing he spent his life ostensibly fighting against.
