How One Voluntary Bar Association Addressed the Lack of Diversity on the Bench.

• Author: Jean-Bart, Leslie Scott
• Position: D.W. Perkins Bar Association

I was president of the D.W. Perkins Bar Association in January 2013, when I spearheaded an initiative to examine diversity on the bench in the Fourth Judicial Circuit.

The first step of the initiative was to research and compile the statistics of judicial nominations and gubernatorial appointments over a 20-year period, beginning in 1994. The statistics confirmed that the lack of diversity on the bench needed to be addressed, and the primary area of concern was the judicial nominating commission for the Fourth Circuit. In Duval, Clay, and Nassau counties, African-Americans make up approximately 25 percent of the population, according to U.S. Census data. However, at the time, only one African-American had been nominated for consideration by Gov. Rick Scott by the Fourth Judicial Circuit Nominating Commission. Indeed, based on the initiative's independent review of judicial nominations, at that time, the JNC had not nominated an African-American for consideration for the circuit court bench for 20 years.

Next, I wrote a letter to the chair of the JNC with copies to all the JNC members and key leadership within The Florida Bar regarding the lack of diverse nominees. The chair of the JNC, Henry "Chip" George Bachara, Jr., responded immediately with a letter and a telephone call. He acknowledged the lack of diversity and expressed a need for qualified candidates to apply.

To address the lack of diversity on the bench, the D.W. Perkins Bar Association formed a Judicial Diversity Committee. The committee's task was to aggressively recruit diverse judicial applicants, carefully review their applications, conduct intense mock interviews, and attend the JNC interviews. In addition, the committee conducted mock interviews in preparation for the gubernatorial interview. Thus, not only did our committee identify potential candidates for judicial appointment, we went the extra step in assisting the candidates through each phase of the JNC interview and selection process. The results of our efforts were almost immediate, as two of our identified candidates were nominated for the Fourth Circuit Court vacancies.

Following our nominees' JNC interviews, but prior to their gubernatorial interviews, I traveled to Tallahassee to meet with the governor's general counsel, Pete Antonacci. He was very accommodating and explained the appointment process to us...