Knives Out

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It was International Women’s Day earlier this week. The campaign theme was #BreakTheBias. The theme asked peeps to use their imagination (and “imagination” is certainly the right word) to “imagine a gender equal world, a world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination, a world that is diverse, equitable and inclusive, a world where difference is valued and celebrated.” Imagination and reality have yet to meet; we are so not there yet. We can certainly celebrate how far women have come, but we still need to imagine how far women still must go to fulfill the aspirations that International Women’s Day advocates.

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I am sure it won’t be a surprise to many readers that I had dreadful LSAT scores when I took it more than 50 (not a typo) years ago. When I decided to go to law school, very few schools would even deign to consider me. But I got in, albeit a non-ranked law school, but one that had the highest bar passage rate in California at that time. So, sniff all you want. I still think pedigree is a dog food brand.

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Why are peeps asking about Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s LSAT score? I don’t recall any questions about Amy Coney Barrett’s score, ditto Brett Kavanaugh, ditto Neil Gorsuch, and back through time. It’s insulting that the question is even being asked. Perhaps Jackson should ask, “with all due respect” of course, about the LSAT scores of the lawyer members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. In other words, play the child’s game of “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.” Fair’s fair.

Why do women, especially women of color, have to prove themselves repeatedly? It’s exhausting to see this game played out all the time.

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The LA Times recently reported that women who are in government, especially those at the state and local level, are facing unprecedented harassment and even criminal threats. Exhibit A: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, who was the target of a foiled kidnapping attempt. Where would it have ended had it not been foiled?

The headline says it best: “Gov. Whitmer kidnapping plot case spotlights growing abuse of female officials.” Notice the word “female.” Not “male,” of course, but “female.” Is anyone genuinely surprised by that? No one should be, not when questions arise about the LSAT score of the Supreme Court nominee who’s a Black female. I wonder what Barrett’s score was on the LSAT.

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When and where does it stop? Obviously, it’s not going to be in my lifetime, sad to say. Women, not just women lawyers and women judges, but women in all walks of life, whether government officials, CEOs, all the way down to leaders of local public entities like school boards, water districts, and the like are facing barrages of abuse. Now, it may not come in a blatant form like kidnapping, but over the past two years during COVID-19, public health officials and others trying to hold the healthcare system together have faced harassment, death threats, and intimidation. And let’s not forget all the first responders on the front lines of all the abuse and threats. I haven’t seen any job description that includes braving harassment, threats, and intimidation as part of the job. Have you?

No wonder women in public service are resigning, a different form of the Great Resignation; no wonder women, not just in public service, but in law and elsewhere, have decided to move on.

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Jackson has already received support from some conservative lawyers and judges. I hope that the usual knives out during confirmation hearings will be dulled by the support already gathered. However, there’s no telling whether there will be knives out at the hearing on Judge Jackson’s nomination.

A retired district judge from … wait for it … Alabama has written President Biden, saying that putting Jackson on the Supreme Court would sacrifice “simple justice and equity in the workplace.” The retired judge is of counsel to the firm that represented Black plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit that Jackson decided. She decided, among other things, that the proposed settlement would not be fair and equitable. Sour grapes here?

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Another win for DEI: the ABA will have its first Native American woman lawyer as president for the 2023-2024 term. Mary Smith, who practices in Chicago, is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation.

Every step forward, be it Jackson’s nomination to the Supreme Court, be it Mary Smith as ABA president next year, every step, be it large or small, is a step toward a profession that looks like all of us, and not like those who have come before. However, we still must imagine as reality trails behind.

In an essay in the ABA Journal, Megan Elizabeth Gray asks this question: “Are we willing to keep making progress only at the edges, moving the needle so faintly year after year without addressing what is really going on? When presented with a choice, will law firms continue to preserve their business model and the status quo at the expense of losing women, along with their talents and unique perspectives?”

I would hope that the answer is no, that the desire is not to preserve the status quo, but I wonder.

The first International Women’s Day was in 1911. Now more than a century later, some of the same battles women have fought, both here and abroad, are still being fought or being fought again. History certainly does repeat itself. The knives are still out in so many different directions.

Jill Switzer has been an active member of the State Bar of California for over 40 years. She remembers practicing law in a kinder, gentler time. She’s had a diverse legal career, including stints as a deputy district attorney, a solo practice, and several senior in-house gigs. She now mediates full-time, which gives her the opportunity to see dinosaurs, millennials, and those in-between interact — it’s not always civil. You can reach her by email at [email protected].

Topics

Courts, Jill Switzer, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Supreme Court, The Jabot, Women's Issues