IV 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1545 
Recognizing October 15, 2024, as the day to honor the diaspora of Hispanic 
culture, and the representation of Hispanics in the legal profession and 
the judiciary. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 15, 2024 
Mr. SOTO (for himself, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Ms. CROCKETT, Ms. KUSTER, Mr. 
VARGAS, Mr. COSTA, Mr. CORREA, Ms. SALINAS, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. 
ESPAILLAT, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mrs. RAMIREZ, and 
Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
to the Committee on the Judiciary 
RESOLUTION 
Recognizing October 15, 2024, as the day to honor the 
diaspora of Hispanic culture, and the representation of 
Hispanics in the legal profession and the judiciary. 
Whereas the United States celebrates Hispanic Heritage 
Month every year during September and October to rec-
ognize and honor the achievements and contributions 
from people of the Hispanic diaspora throughout the his-
tory of the United States; 
Whereas Hispanics represent a diverse and heterogeneous ra-
cial, ethnic, and cultural group, with members hailing 
from many countries, including North America, Central 
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•HRES 1545 IH 
America, South America, the Caribbean, and Spain, and 
representing all variations on the spectrum of race; 
Whereas Hispanics are the fastest growing community living 
in the United States, making up 19.5 percent of the 
United States population; 
Whereas Hispanics contribute to the society of the United 
States through working in many industries, including the 
legal profession; 
Whereas some Hispanic lawyers are dedicated public serv-
ants, holding posts at the highest levels of State and 
Federal Government, including the Supreme Court of the 
United States, Cabinet-level positions, the United States 
Senate, and the United States House of Representatives; 
Whereas 13.7 percent of law students identify as Hispanic; 
Whereas there are 5.9 percent Hispanic lawyers, judges, and 
related workers, of the estimated 1,166,625 total lawyers, 
judges, and related workers, nationwide; 
Whereas, in 2022, 3 percent of partners at law firms were 
Hispanic lawyers; 
Whereas 11.2 percent of the 76,000 judges, magistrates, and 
other judicial workers employed in the United States are 
Hispanic; 
Whereas, as of September 15, 2023, 14 of 172 active circuit 
court judges were Hispanic, of whom 8 were men and 6 
were women, and as of the same date, of the 19 Hispanic 
men ever appointed as a circuit court judge, 8 were serv-
ing as an active judge; in contrast, of the 7 Hispanic 
women ever appointed as a circuit court judge, 6 were 
serving as an active judge; 
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•HRES 1545 IH 
Whereas the first Hispanic judge appointed to the Federal 
bench was the Honorable Reynaldo G. Garza in 1961 by 
President John F. Kennedy; 
Whereas President Jimmy Carter appointed 16 Hispanic 
judges to the bench, including the Honorable Reynaldo 
G. Garza to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals; 
Whereas President Ronald Reagan appointed 14 Hispanic 
judges during his Presidency; 
Whereas President William J. Clinton appointed 25 Hispanic 
judges during his Presidency; 
Whereas President George W. Bush appointed 30 Hispanic 
judges during his Presidency; 
Whereas President Barack Obama appointed 37 Hispanic 
judges during his terms; 
Whereas President Joseph Biden has appointed 35 Hispanic 
judges during his term; 
Whereas, of the 40 circuit court nominees confirmed as of 
February 15, 2024, during the Biden Presidency, 7 were 
Hispanic; 
Whereas, as of September 15, 2023, President Biden has ap-
pointed the third-greatest number of Hispanic district 
court judges, with a total of 22, and additionally, half of 
President Biden’s Hispanic district court appointees have 
been women, specifically, 14 (64 percent) of 22 ap-
pointees; 
Whereas Hispanics like the Honorable Justice Sonia 
Sotomayor, the first Puerto Rican woman to be ap-
pointed to the Supreme Court in 2009, worked her way 
up the judicial system; 
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•HRES 1545 IH 
Whereas Hispanic lawyers and judges have been frequently 
recognized as trailblazers; 
Whereas there have been initiatives created by national orga-
nizations to address the lack of Hispanic/Latino rep-
resentation among United States law school professors 
and administrators as well as the shortage of professional 
development resources specifically for Hispanic/Latino 
professors, deans, and other administrators; 
Whereas the success of Hispanic lawyers and judges has been 
championed by national organizations like UnidosUS, the 
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund 
(MALDEF), the National Association for Law Placement 
(NALP), 
the 
Hispanic 
National 
Bar 
Association 
(HNBA), LatinoJustice PRLDEF, the League of United 
Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the National Associa-
tion of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) 
Educational Fund, and various other organizations; 
Whereas Hispanic representation in the legal profession has 
continued to influence the work of legal scholars across 
the United States; 
Whereas Manuel Ruiz is honored as the first Hispanic attor-
ney to argue before the United States Supreme Court in 
Buck v. California, 1951; 
Whereas the United States should continue to invest in the 
future of Hispanics to address the barriers that lead to 
becoming lawyers and judges; and 
Whereas recognizing Hispanic lawyers will bring awareness 
toward increasing the diversity within the legal industry, 
reflecting the United States population: Now, therefore, 
be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
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•HRES 1545 IH 
(1) recognizes, celebrates, and honors the suc-
cess of Hispanic lawyers and judges and recognizes 
their past, present, and future contributions to the 
United States; and 
(2) supports the goals of increasing the rep-
resentation of Hispanics in the legal profession and 
the State and Federal courts to ensure that the rep-
resentation of Hispanics in the legal profession is re-
flective of the Hispanic population in the country. 
Æ 
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