Latino organizations welcome the confirmation of Judge Gustavo Gelpí to the First Circuit Court of Appeals, but call on Senate and White House to pick up the pace on Latino judicial nominees

Washington, DC — Latinos for a Fair Judiciary (LFJ) and its partners applaud the U.S Senate and President Joe Biden for returning Latino representation to the U.S. Court of Appeals in the First Circuit with today’s confirmation of Judge Gustavo Gelpí. Judge Gelpí’s appointment marks an important step toward modernizing the federal judiciary to reflect the changing demographics of the population our courts serve. However, the current slate of judicial nominees and confirmations still falls short of the numbers needed to remedy the lack of Latinos on the federal bench. 

“To ensure that courts can truly render justice, the makeup of the federal bench must reflect that of the American public,” said Lourdes M. Rosado, President & General Counsel of LatinoJustice PRLDEF. “Mr. Gelpí’s confirmation to the First Circuit takes us in the right direction. However, the Senate and White House must nominate and confirm many more Latinos, especially in states where our community is growing in numbers. This includes confirming Myrna Perez to the Second Circuit.” 

According to the 2020 Census, Latinos represented more than half of the nation’s growth in the last decade. As the largest racial and ethnic minority group, Latinos are driving U.S. demographic growth, comprising over 18 percent of the population. And yet, only barely six percent of all federal judges were Latino as of 2020. Despite some progress, neither the White House nor the Senate have made significant strides in remedying this disparity. 

“The Trump administration, despite record-breaking numbers of judicial appointments, managed to appoint only one Latino to any court of appeals in the country; therefore, we welcome wholeheartedly this first Biden Administration confirmation of an eminent Latino jurist to the First Circuit Court of Appeals,” said Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of MALDEF. “We eagerly await the confirmation of two other announced appellate court nominees, and we look forward to additional Latino circuit court nominations, commensurate with the current prominence and future growth of the Latino community in every region of the country.

Although Latinos have been the nation’s largest racial minority group since 2003, Latinos currently rank fourth among racial groups in Biden administration judicial nominations, an inauspicious way to end this 2021 Hispanic Heritage Month, and a ranking that must change for the betterment of our federal judiciary.” 

“Judge Gelpí’s confirmation is an important step towards increasing Latino representation and deepening the knowledge, judgment, and legitimacy of the federal bench by adding jurists with more diverse lived and professional experiences,” said Andrea Nill Sanchez, Director of Latinos for a Fair Judiciary. “There are many additional Latinos across the country who are also highly qualified to serve as federal judges — the Senate and White House just need to prioritize identifying, nominating, and confirming them.” 

Learn more about Latinos and federal judicial nominations HERE. 

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Latinos for a Fair Judiciary (LFJ) provides Latino leaders across the nation a platform and voice in matters related to our nation’s judicial system. LFJ is an unaffiliated, non-partisan, independent network of elected officials, legal, civil rights, labor, academic and political leaders who care deeply about the impact that the Supreme Court has on the Latino community. Our mission is to raise public awareness around the pressing legal issues Latinos are facing and call attention to the significance of the Supreme Court. For more information about LFJ, visit www.latinosforafairjudiciary.org.