The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is the only federal U.S. appellate court that’s never had a Black judge.
There have also been only been a small number of Black law clerks in the Washington-based court’s 38 years. Several of those say they never saw a Black attorney argue a case while they were clerks. And now that they’re lawyers practicing before the court, they say it’s rare to see a peer in the courtroom.
“It was hard to miss the lack of other Black faces,” said Damon Lewis, of counsel at DLA Piper in Washington.
Eight Black ...