Federal district courts are the first to hear criminal and civil cases. So who sits on those courts matters. But a quarter of federal district courts have never had a Black judge. Nowhere is that disparity more jarring than in Georgia’s Southern District, where one-third of the population under the court’s jurisdiction is Black.
We visited south Georgia to learn why this district, with its sizable Black population, has never had a Black federal district court judge. We look at the court’s unique history, meet prominent members of the region’s Black legal community, and hear their thoughts on why they have never seen one of their own elevated to their district’s bench.
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