ILLINOIS – Three federal judges in Illinois adopted policies in 2020 that could allow female and minority attorneys extra time to make arguments in various court proceedings.

In recent weeks, at least two Republican U.S. Senators and one conservative nonprofit group have challenged these policies.

A nonprofit called America First Legal first sent a complaint to U.S. Chief Judge Diane Skyes on Jan. 25, claiming that the three Illinois judges with these policies promoted “unlawful judicial race and sex discrimination.”

U.S Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and John Neely Kennedy (R-Louisiana) sent a similar letter to Skyes on Feb. 7, requesting more information about the policies and also calling the clause that could allow more time for women and minority attorneys “both unethical and unconstitutional.”

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Three judges in the Southern District of Illinois – David Dugan, Staci Yandle, and Nancy Rosenstengel – all adopted a standing order in 2020 that states, “A party may alert the Court that, if argument is granted, it intends to have a newer, female, or minority attorney argue the motion.” If that happens, according to the order, the court will “strongly consider allocating additional time for oral argument beyond what the Court may otherwise have allocated were a newer, female, or minority attorney not arguing the motion.”

America First Legal’s complaint that the federal judges are violating the Fifth Amendment’s equal protection guarantee. The group also contends that the policies “unlawfully discriminate, [represent] judicial bias, [and] undermine faith in the judiciary’s integrity.”

Cruz and Kennedy are seeking answers from Skyes as to how many extended oral arguments have been granted under these policies, what processes are in place to evaluate standing orders and what measures the court have taken for reporting potential discrimination.

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“Depriving parties of their right to oral argument based on the sex or race of the attorney undermines the principles of impartiality, fairness, due process, and the equal protection under the law upon which our judicial system is built,” reads the letter co-signed by Cruz and Kennedy.

The American Bar Association reports that around 38% of all lawyers are female as of 2022, and around 14% of all lawyers are of minority races as of 2020.

It’s unclear if Judge Skyes has responded to either of the recent challenges.

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