There is an absence of Black Judicial Nominees in the South

[ck4829]

In nine of 11 Southern states, President George W. Bush has never nominated an African-American for any of 62 openings for federal trial court judgeships, according to federal court data.

In his home state of Texas, the president has not nominated a single black judge to the federal bench in 18 nominations sent to the Senate during the past six years, according to Leslie Proll, director of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund's Washington office.

The lack of black nominees has caused some African-American lawyers to express concern that retiring black judges appointed years ago will leave a new crop of Southern lawyers who may never see a black judge on the federal bench.

In Alabama, where all nine Bush nominees have been white, U.S. Rep. Artur Davis, D-Ala., said, "It is inconceivable to me that there has not been a black judge of caliber to serve on the federal bench in the last 20 years."

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1171360971905