IV
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. RES. 111
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Supreme
Court of the United States should improve its employment practices
with regard to hiring more qualified minority applicants to serve as
clerks to the Justices.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 11, 1999
Mr. MEEKS of New York (for himself, Mr. CONYERS, Mr HILLIARD, Mrs.
CHRISTENSEN, Ms. HORTON, Mr. WYNN, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr. RUSH,
Mr. FORD, Mrs. MINK of Hawaii, Mrs. CLAYTON, Mrs. JONES of Ohio,
Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. STARK, Mr. SANDLIN,
Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. KILDEE, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. LEE,
Mr. CUMMINGS, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr.
OBERSTAR, Mr. DIXON, Mr. UNDERWOOD, Mr. CLAY, Mr. TOWNS, Mr.
OWENS, and Mr. RANGEL) submitted the following resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that
the Supreme Court of the United States should improve
its employment practices with regard to hiring more
qualified minority applicants to serve as clerks to the
Justices.
Whereas the United States Supreme Court, the highest court
in the country, has the final say on such important issues
as affirmative action, civil rights, access to education,
workplace discrimination, religious freedom, prayer in
•HRES 111 IH
school, voting rights, the 2000 Census, sexual harass-
ment, police brutality, and death penalty appeals;
Whereas each of the 9 Justices are allowed four law clerks
a year;
Whereas the power these clerks hold is immense;
Whereas they review all cases brought before the court and
help decide which ones the Justices should hear;
Whereas while the Justices often determine how they will
vote, the clerks usually put in all the reasoning;
Whereas however, the United States Supreme Court has a
shameful record in hiring minority and women law clerks;
Whereas a recent study found that of the 428 law clerks
hired during the respective terms of the sitting
Justices—
(1) only 1.6 percent were African-American;
(2) only 1.2 percent were Hispanic-American;
(3) 4.2 percent were Asian-American;
(4) none were Native-American; and
(5) only 25.2 percent were women;
Whereas this, despite the fact that more than 40 percent of
law school graduates are now women and nearly 20 per-
cent are minorities;
Whereas this lack of diversity within such an important body
is unacceptable; and
Whereas these clerks have a dramatic impact on the lives of
every American, yet they are in no way a reflection of
America: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that—
•HRES 111 IH
(1) the United States Supreme Court should
move in an expeditious manner to improve its em-
ployment practices with regard to hiring more quali-
fied minority and women applicants to serve as
clerks;
(2) the United States Supreme Court should
implement recruiting procedures to ensure that di-
versity is emphasized and not undermined; and
(3) the inferior courts of the United States will
follow the lead of the United States Supreme Court
by improving their employment practices and re-
cruiting procedures to include more minority and
women law clerks.
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