Her Honor: Black Women Judges’ Experiences with Disrespect and Recusal Requests in the American Judiciary

Abstract

Existing scholarship has mainly focused on the experiences of Black women judges as they ascend to the bench and has largely overlooked the experiences of these judges once they reach the court. I address the topic of Black women’s experiences in the judiciary by drawing on an original survey with 163 Black women judges and centering their voices, reflections, and perspectives. These women report substantial disrespect by litigants and attorneys and share how they experience questioning about their ability to render fair decisions. These jurists’ experiences highlight how many Black women judges deal with disruptive, demeaning, intimidating, and passive-aggressive behavior, dismissive treatment, and insidious nonverbal behavior.