Supreme Bias

Gender and Race in U.S. Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings

Paul M. Collins Jr, Lori Ringhand, Christina Boyd, Christina L. Boyd, Paul M. Collins Jr., Lori A. Ringhand

• Publisher: Stanford University Press
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN: 9781503636880, 9781503632691
• eBook ISBN: 9781503636897
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Law
• Subtopic: Courts
• Index: Law

In Supreme Bias, Christina L. Boyd, Paul M. Collins, Jr., and Lori A. Ringhand present for the first time a comprehensive analysis of the dynamics of race and gender at the Supreme Court confirmation hearings held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Drawing on their deep knowledge of the confirmation hearings, as well as rich new qualitative and quantitative evidence, the authors highlight how the women and people of color who have sat before the Committee have faced a significantly different confirmation process than their white male colleagues. Despite being among the most qualified and well-credentialed lawyers of their respective generations, female nominees and nominees of color face more skepticism of their professional competence, are subjected to stereotype-based questioning, are more frequently interrupted, and are described in less-positive terms by senators. In addition to revealing the disturbing extent to which race and gender bias exist even at the highest echelon of U.S. legal power, this book also provides concrete suggestions for how that bias can be reduced in the future.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• One: Diversifying the Federal Courts
• Two: The Supreme Court Confirmation Process
• Three: Theorizing Bias in the Confirmation Hearings
• Four: Professional Competence and Expertise
• Five: Interruptions
• Six: Language Choices
• Seven: Gender, Race, and the Thomas-Hill and Kavanaugh–Blasey Ford Special Sessions
• Eight: Reflecting and Looking Forward
• Notes
• References
• Index