NAWJ URGES PRESIDENT OBAMA TO NOMINATE A WOMAN TO FILL JUSTICE STEVENS' SEAT ON THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT

With the announcement that Justice John Paul Stevens will vacate his seat on the United States Supreme Court at the end of the session in June, NAWJ President Dana Fabe has written to President Obama urging him to nominate another woman, his second of his term, to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Justice Fabe recalled in her letter that when Justice Sandra Day O'Connor retired, she addressed the question of diversity on the Court at a retirement gala organized by NAWJ in her honor. There, she remarked that she hoped she would be "around and still aware of what is going on" when "our third woman" is appointed to the Supreme Court, "our fourth . . . and wait a minute -- our fifth!" Justice Fabe commended President Obama's nomination of Justice Sonia Sotomayor as his first appointment to the high court but noted that "women are still far from being equally represented at the higher echelons of the bench, or the legal profession -- just as they remain underrepresented in other fields of professional endeavor." Justice Fabe closed her letter by stating: "With this critical nomination, we urge you to make clear again to the nation your commitment to the full and equal participation of women in American society by nominating an outstanding woman in the mold of Justice O'Connor, Justice Ginsburg, and Justice Sotomayor." Click here to read President Fabe's letter to President Obama.

The National Association of Women Judges is a non partisan, non-profit organization of more than 1,250 federal, state, administrative, tribal and military judges from across the country. For over 30 years, NAWJ has served as the nation's leading voice for jurists dedicated to: promoting the judicial role in protecting the rights of individuals under the rule of law through strong, committed, diverse judicial leadership; fairness and equality in the courts; equal access to justice; providing judicial education on cutting-edge issues; and the advancement of women at all levels of the judiciary to accurately reflect their full participation in a democratic society.