Only recently has the U.S. Supreme Court reached an unprecedented level of diversity. But will the law ever reflect the new perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds of those who sit on the bench of the highest court in the land? Smith & Jacobs argue not until the gender and/or color barrier of the Chief Justice’s chair is broken. Why? Because of the Chief Justice’s immense Opinion-Assignment power.
Christopher E. Smith & Charles F. Jacobs, Underrepresentation and Exclusion from Influence on the U.S. Supreme Court: Senior Associate Justices and the Opinion-Assignment Power, 27 J. Gender, Race & Just. 383 (2024).