Minority groups highlight need for diversity on all-white 7th Circuit

The lack of diversity on the 7^th Circuit Court of Appeals – which would remain unchanged if nominee Thomas Kirsch II is confirmed to fill the current vacancy – is prompting minority groups to speak out and call upon elected officials and the judiciary to appoint judges from different racial and ethnic backgrounds.

Both the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Indiana and the NAACP have issued statements highlighting the lack of diversity not just on the 7^th Circuit but in Indiana state courts as well. Indeed, they pointed out the 7^th Circuit remains the only federal appellate court in the country without a single minority judge.

Kirsch, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana, has been nominated by the Trump Administration on to fill the Indiana seat on the 7^th Circuit. The vacancy was created when Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee, the NAACP pointed out Trump has filled the four vacancies on the Chicago-based appellate court with four white individuals: Barrett, Michael Brennan, Amy Joan St. Eve and Michael Scudder. With the nomination of Kirsch, another white Hoosier is in position to join the 7^th Circuit.