With some legal experts contending there is a lack of diversity in the legal professions in Arizona, undergraduate programs at state universities are doing their best to promote representation.
Legal field issues trickle down to law schools because “people of color are most often the communities that fall into a lower socioeconomic status,” said Black Undergraduate Law Society Vice President Katelyn Kubly in a written response, “I feel this also holds true in Arizona as well. The legal profession is expensive.”
The Black Undergraduate Law Society organization at Arizona State University had been “designed to increase the percentage of Black students admitted to law school,” said President Renelle Malone of the Black Undergraduate Law Society in a written statement.
The Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law reported the percentage of racial diversity between white students and students of color. In 2020-2021, students of color accounted for 39% of student body racial diversity, while white students accounted for the remaining 61%.
Racial diversity within the faculty at Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law increased from 1 Black/African American faculty member to 8 in 2021, according to the ASU report.
The Arizona Advocacy Foundation stated in a 2021 report that Arizona’s State Court System is shown to lack population representation, meaning that the judges, who are mainly white and male, do not match the demographics of the state.
The nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson in February by President Joe Biden to become the 116th Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court has highlighted representation for people of color within the legal field.
By April, Judge Jackson’s nomination had been confirmed by a bipartisan group of Senators, and Judge Jackson became the first Black woman to be confirmed to the Supreme Court.
Judge Jackson’s confirmation by the Senate provided Americans from various racial and cultural identities with representation.
Alberto Rodriguez, the communication officer for public records for the Arizona Supreme Court, provided information about the high-level demographics of judicial appointments.
In the report, the judicial merit selection appointments by Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey from the Jan. 15, 2015, term to the present indicate that 16% of appointed judicial candidates are minorities, and 39% are women.
Representation for communities reminds law students at ASU that they are able to move forward in their studies and become the next professionals in the law field, Kubly wrote.
“When you see people who look like you occupy a space you want to be in, it becomes a lot less scary,” Kubly wrote.
Undergraduate students may express feelings of confusion and frustration while navigating the pathway to a profession in the legal field, because these students don’t know where to get help, Kubly wrote.
“I knew I needed help, but sometimes I didn’t know the right questions to get help,” Kubly wrote.
With organizational support, resources are available to students, especially when preparing for the Law Student Association Test, Kubly wrote. Applying for scholarships and making connections with other students that understand certain communities and racial identities also provides undergraduates with a multitude of resources to study or pay for the Law Student Association Test, Kubly said.
The Black Undergraduate Law Society created an environment for Black pre-law undergraduate students that allowed students “to understand the extensive journey to law school,” according to Malone.
The Black Undergraduate Law Society provided students with a “platform to lead, learn and expand their education,” Malone wrote.
Contact the reporter at mbadman@asu.edu.
