Oct15

CR-CL Podcast – Episode 16 – Affirmative Action and Judicial Nominations

Courts, Education, Podcast, Race and Immigration 0 comments

With Matt in the hosting chair this week, CR-CL’s Executive Editors for Online Content, Noah Kaplan and Matt Giffin take a close look at this week’s oral arguments in Fisher v. University of Texas and at the pace and process of President’s Obama’s judicial nominations. The show begins with our weekly news round-up, This Week in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.

Noah and Matt begin by talking about Fisher and whether Justice Anthony Kennedy tipped his hand at this week’s eight-Justice oral argument (with Justice Kagan recused). Can a university pursue a “critical mass” without pursuing a quota? Can a program seek “diversity within diversity” without becoming affirmative action for the privileged? Is affirmative action for privileged minorities necessarily bad?

Our second topic looks at the slow pace and moderate tendency of President Obama’s first term judicial nominations. Many district court seats remain vacant, and the President has made no appointments to the powerful D.C. Circuit. Has the President just used up his political capital? Is this the result of Republican obstructionism? What do we really know about Obama’s judicial philosophy? Is he pursuing diversity at the expense of ideology?

Some links related to the topics discussed on this week’s show:

New York Times – Race and College Admissions, Facing a New Test By the Justices

Washington Post – The High Court Should Save Race-Based College Admissions

Lani Guinier – UT History Matters in Affirmative Action Case

Daily Texan – UT Works To Diversify Enrollment In Face of Legal Battle

Bloomberg – Affirmative Action Is Over, Long Live Affirmative Action

Slate – Between a Quota and a Hard Place

New Yorker – Obama’s Unfinished Judicial Legacy

New York Times – Obama Lags On Judicial Picks

Reuters – Republicans Lead Obama in War for Judicial Dominance

Huffington Post – Obama Appoints Record Number of Women Judges

New York Times – Ratings Shrink President’s List for Judgeships