The impossibility of a representative nine member court

[wuushew]

All groups that comprise less than 11% would be over-represented in the current system. African Americans and Latinos exceed the 1/9th of a whole judge threshold.

Would a representative court also try to represent different faiths or other characteristics? The overall gender profile in the U.S. is something like 49/51 so to over-represent females would equal an error of almost a entire justice. Should the error in creating a representative court come out of white male/judeo-christian membership?





Population by Race and Hispanic Origin
for the United States: 2000
Percent
Number of total
Race and Hispanic or Latino (in thousands) population
RACE
Total Population............................ 100.0
One race....................................... 97.6
White........................................... 75.1
Black or African American................. 12.3
American Indian and
Alaska Native.................................. 0.9
Asian............................................. 3.6
Native Hawaiian and
Other Pacific Islander........................ 0.1
Some other race.............................. 5.5
Two or more races............................ 2.4
HISPANIC OR LATINO
Total population............................. 100.0
Hispanic or Latino............................. 12.5
Not Hispanic or Latino........................87.5
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000.

What would your ideal court be?

[AlphaCat]

1. A question:

Where, when, and how was the number of judges on the Supreme Court decided?