[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 785 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 785

Recognizing the diaspora of Hispanic culture, and the representation of 
          Hispanics in the legal profession and the judiciary.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 13, 2023

   Mr. Soto (for himself, Ms. Crockett, Ms. Barragan, Mr. Garcia of 
 Illinois, Mr. Vicente Gonzalez of Texas, Ms. Kuster, Mr. Vargas, Mr. 
    Costa, Mr. Correa, Ms. Salinas, and Ms. Escobar) submitted the 
                          following resolution

                            October 25, 2023

               Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Recognizing the diaspora of Hispanic culture, and the representation of 
          Hispanics in the legal profession and the judiciary.

Whereas the United States celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month every year during 
        September and October to recognize and honor the achievements and 
        contributions from people of the Hispanic diaspora throughout the 
        history of the United States;
Whereas Hispanics represent a diverse and heterogeneous racial, ethnic, and 
        cultural group, with members hailing from many countries, including 
        North America, Central America, South America, the Caribbean, and Spain, 
        and representing all variations on the spectrum of race;
Whereas Hispanics are the fastest growing community living in the United States, 
        making up 18.7 percent of the United States population;
Whereas Hispanics contribute to the society of the United States through working 
        in many industries, including the legal profession;
Whereas Hispanic lawyers are dedicated public servants, holding posts at the 
        highest levels of State and Federal Government, including the Supreme 
        Court of the United States, Cabinet-level positions, the United States 
        Senate, and the United States House of Representatives;
Whereas 5.8 percent of the 1,300,000 lawyers in the United States identify as 
        Hispanic;
Whereas the current enrollment of Hispanic students in law schools is 14 
        percent;
Whereas the percentage of members of the bar who are Hispanic is less than 5 
        percent;
Whereas Hispanic lawyers account for 2.9 percent of law firm partners;
Whereas Hispanic lawyers only represent 7 percent of judicial appointments at 
        the Federal and State judiciary throughout history;
Whereas Hispanics are largely underrepresented in the legal industry and within 
        the Federal courts;
Whereas tracking historical trends, the number of Hispanic appointments to 
        Federal judgeships has shown a steady increase in the last 10 years;
Whereas the first Hispanic judge appointed to the Federal bench was the 
        Honorable Reynaldo G. Garza in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy;
Whereas President Jimmy Carter appointed 16 Hispanic judges to the bench, 
        including the Honorable Reynaldo G. Garza to the Fifth Circuit Court of 
        Appeals;
Whereas President Ronald Reagan appointed 14 Hispanic judges during his 
        Presidency;
Whereas President William J. Clinton appointed 25 Hispanic judges during his 
        Presidency;
Whereas President George W. Bush appointed 30 Hispanic judges during his 
        Presidency;
Whereas President Barack Obama appointed 37 Hispanic judges during his terms;
Whereas current President Joseph Biden has appointed 27 Hispanic Federal judges, 
        including 5 Hispanic circuit court judges;
Whereas Hispanics like the Honorable Justice Sonya Sotomayor, the first Puerto 
        Rican woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court in 2009, worked her way 
        up the judicial system;
Whereas Hispanic lawyers and judges have been frequently recognized as 
        trailblazers;
Whereas there have been initiatives created by national organizations to address 
        the lack of Hispanic/Latino representation among United States law 
        school professors and administrators as well as the shortage of 
        professional development resources specifically for Hispanic/Latino 
        professors, deans, and other administrators;
Whereas the success of Hispanic lawyers and judges has been championed by 
        national organizations like UnidosUs, Mexican American Legal Defense and 
        Education Fund (MALDEF), National Association for Law Placement (NALP), 
        Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA), LatinoJustice PRLDEF, League 
        of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), National Association of 
        Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund, and 
        various other organizations;
Whereas Hispanic representation in the legal profession has continued to 
        influence the work of legal scholars across the United States;
Whereas Manuel Ruiz is honored as the first Hispanic attorney to argue before 
        the United States Supreme Court in Buck v. California, 1951;
Whereas the United States should continue to invest in the future of Hispanics 
        to address the barriers that lead to becoming lawyers and judges; and
Whereas recognizing Hispanic lawyers will bring awareness toward increasing the 
        diversity within the legal industry, reflecting the American population: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes, celebrates, and honors the success of 
        Hispanic lawyers and judges and recognizes their past, present, 
        and future contributions to the United States; and
            (2) supports the goals of increasing the representation of 
        Hispanics in the legal profession and the State and Federal 
        courts to ensure that the representation of Hispanics in the 
        legal profession is reflective of the Hispanic population in 
        the country.
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