Carter’s Judicial Legacy Paved Way for Biden Diversity Push

Former President Jimmy Carter’s expansion of the federal judiciary set a standard for future Democratic administrations, including fellow one-term Democrat Joe Biden, to emulate.

While Carter, who died Sunday at 100, is the rare president without a Supreme Court appointment, he did name future justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer to the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit and First Circuit, respectively.

Overall, he appointed more women and people of color to the federal judiciary than all his predecessors combined. Ginsburg, who faced gender-based discrimination in her career prior to her circuit appointment, lauded Carter’s judicial legacy before her death in 2020.

“Women weren’t on the bench in numbers, on the federal bench, until Jimmy Carter became president,” Ginsburg said at a 2015 American Constitution Society appearance. “He deserves tremendous credit for that.”

None of Carter’s appellate or district appointees remain in active service, but more than two dozen still hear cases as senior status judges, or in semi-retirement, according to federal judicial data. Breyer, who retired from the Supreme Court in 2022, is set to return to the First Circuit in January to hear cases as a visiting judge.

Carter appointed more than 260 judges to lifetime seats in just four years, including 56 to appellate courts. In comparison, Biden appointed 235, including 45 to Article III circuit posts. Carter operated with notable Democratic majorities in the Senate, while Biden contended with narrow margins to get his nominees through confirmation.

In a twist that resonates today, Carter filled the first batch of seats created by legislation approved during his term aimed at reducing court backlogs and delays. A similar, bipartisan bill passed Congress this month that would create 66 new judgeships, but Biden vetoed the measure.

Diversity Legacies

Carter and Biden converged on their aggressive efforts to diversify the federal bench.

Biden emphasized elevating women, especially women of color, in the judiciary. He followed through on a campaign pledge to name the first Black woman Supreme Court justice with the appointment of Ketanji Brown Jackson, whom he previously named to the DC Circuit.

Carter said during his presidency that he was determined to address the lack of women and people of color on the bench at the time, saying the goal “was in reach” to increase their representation.

He appointed nearly 60 people of color. His more than 40 female appointments included a dozen to circuit courts, Federal Judicial Center figures show.

“President Carter revolutionized the federal judiciary, laying the groundwork for the important future efforts, including President Biden’s historic progress, to ensure our courts are diverse and reflective of the people they serve,” the Alliance for Justice said in a statement.

Barack Obama noted the accomplishment in his tribute to Carter, singling out the appointment of “pioneering women’s rights activist and lawyer” Ginsburg to the DC Circuit.

Carter’s other notable appointments included civil rights lawyer U.W. Clemon as the first Black lifetime federal judge in Alabama, Leon Higginbotham to the Third Circuit, and Amalya Kearse to the Second Circuit. A judicial pioneer for Black women, Kearse was a one-time Supreme Court shortlister. She still serves in a senior capacity.

Carter also appointed future Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell (D-Maine) to a trial court seat, and tapped one of the few federal judges who went on to be impeached, future Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.).