The Voting Behavior of Minority Judges in the US Courts of Appeals: Does the Race of the Claimant Matter?

The diversification of the federal courts has led to a number of studies focusing on the voting behavior of African American and, to a lesser extent, Latino judges. Despite expectations that minority judges will vote differently from their White colleagues, extant research demonstrates mixed results. Perhaps one reason for this outcome is that they fail to account for the conditional role that coracial and coethnic claimants might have on behavior. This study examines the voting behavior of minority judges in the U.S. Courts of Appeals. Focusing on employment discrimination claims between 2001 and 2009, this analysis demonstrates that minority judges are not monolithic in their voting behavior. While African American judges are more likely to vote in favor of Black claimants, Latino judges are less likely to vote in favor of the claimant more generally. In all, the findings have important implications for substantive policy outcomes.