Diversity on the bench is a huge issue that has the potential to improve a variety of aspects of the process. It's still going to be a very narrow demographic, which is part of the point that Ms. Hendel made. Regardless of the pool, we're talking about a very narrow demographic of very privileged individuals. We're talking about a piece of legislation that's attempting, really, only to secure basic competency, understanding of legal concepts like the definition of consent, the way in which the rape shield provisions work, and the need to interrogate our own social assumptions about gender and sex. The shift in the appointments process should be celebrated, but I don't think in any way it should be considered an alternative to an initiative like this.
On April 11th, 2017. See this statement in context.