US Judge Promises No Bias in Her Circuit Amid GOP Concerns

A top US appellate judge told two Republican senators she is committed to ensuring that courts in her circuit are “free of discrimination,” after the lawmakers questioned judicial orders that aimed to promote diversity in oral arguments.

The Feb. 16 letter from Chief Judge Diane Sykes of the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit comes in response to conservative backlash over standing orders by three federal judges in Illinois indicating they would be more likely to grant argument if the arguing attorney is newer, a woman, or a person of color.

Responding to concerns by Senate Judiciary Committee members Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and John Kennedy (R-La.), Sykes highlighted the avenues available for court employees to report discriminatory practices, including by filing a judicial conduct complaint or making an inquiry to the circuit’s director of workplace relations.

“In our roles as both administrator of justice and as employer, we are committed to ensuring an environment free of discrimination,” wrote Sykes, whose circuit encompasses federal trial courts in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin.

She didn’t indicate if the orders would remain in place, according to her letter obtained by Bloomberg Law.

In writing Sykes, Kennedy and Cruz slammed the orders as “unethical and unconstitutional.” They also asked for more information about the process of evaluating what they called “facially discriminatory” standing orders, and what measures were in place to promote an environment where employees are comfortable reporting discrimination.

The three contested orders, each titled “Increasing Opportunities for Courtroom Advocacy,” state that once a motion is fully briefed and a party is requesting oral argument, the party may inform the court that it plans to have a “newer, female, or minority attorney” handle the argument.

The judge would approve that request “if it is at all practicable to do so,” and would “strongly consider” giving more time for oral argument, the orders say.

The orders were issued in 2020 by Chief Judge Nancy J. Rosenstengel and Judges Staci M. Yandle and David W. Dugan of the US District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. Yandle and Rosenstengel are both Barack Obama appointees, and Dugan was appointed by Donald Trump.

America First Legal, the group led by former Trump administration adviser Stephen Miller, filed judicial ethics complaints against those three judges in January. The complaint argued the standing orders are unconstitutionally discriminatory, show judicial bias, and “undermine faith in the judiciary’s integrity.”

Referencing that complaint, Sykes wrote in her February letter to the senators that she “cannot comment” on issues they have raised that relate to that complaint.