Hon. Hector D. LaSalle submits open letter to Daily News addressing issue of diversity on the bench.

Updated Oct. 19, 2024

The legitimacy of government institutions is dependent upon a confluence of factors designed to assure the public’s trust and confidence that government is representative of and working for all of its citizens.

As Hispanic Heritage Month came to a close this week, this is an opportune moment to highlight both the impact Latinos have had on the administration of justice and their continuing underrepresentation among the New York State judiciary. In my opinion, it is uniquely important that the state judiciary not only strive to be “inclusive” of its entire population, but lead on this most important issue.

According to the 2020 United States census, 19.5% of New Yorkers are of Latino heritage. Between 2010 and 2020, 64.5% of the increase of the state’s population was attributed to people identified as Latino.

However, the New York State Latino Judges Association reported that in October 2020 Latinos made up only 7.45% of the state’s 1,275 judiciary members. Currently, the Office of Court Administration reports a slight improvement in Latino judicial representation with Latinos comprising 8.7% of the judiciary, a modest increase. This improvement, albeit small, is a reminder that the faithful use of data identifying inclusion concerns is a crucial component in examining and curing systemic exclusion from all institutions, including the judiciary.

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