ABA Group Urges Implicit Bias Training for Judges, Lawyers

A proposal before the nation’s largest legal association urges states to require judges, attorneys and court personnel to undergo periodic training to address implicit bias, ingrained beliefs around race, gender, religion or sexual orientation that can result in excessive charges, ineffective assistance of counsel, or wrongful prosecution.

“Implicit bias training serves as an important first step with respect to mitigating and eradicating workplace bias as it starts the conversation about marginalized identities,” the American Bar Association’s social justice section said in a report accompanying its training proposal to the group’s House of Delegates.

The proposal, which also urges the medical ...