Eliminating
Implicit Bias
By Julia L. Ernst
At the Association of American Law Schools 2020 Annual Meeting
in January, several sessions highlighted the importance of eliminating
implicit bias and fostering an atmosphere of diversity and inclusion
for both people and viewpoints in law schools and throughout the
legal profession. These aspirations have gained prominence in many
legal spheres. As one example, in 2018, the Washington Supreme
Court took judicial notice of implicit bias in State v. Gregory,1
striking down capital punishment in that state as discriminatory
against African Americans.
Pam Smith, left, and Kathy Frelich, right, with the North Dakota
Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing, provided a
training on hearing loss and working with those who are deaf or
hard of hearing.
Anyone interested in testing the strength of their own implicit bias
can take free on-line assessments at https://implicit.harvard.edu.
Many people have expressed surprise to see their results, despite
their best efforts to remain neutral. Although implicit bias exists in
all of us, people can successfully overcome its effects by recognizing
and taking conscientious measures to surmount it. And employers
can take leadership roles in doing so, by implementing systemic
mechanisms to counteract implicit bias and foster greater diversity,
equality, and inclusion. For example, the National Consortium on
Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts provides tools to address
this issue (http://www.national-consortium.org/).
Teri McMurtry-Chubb, visiting Distinguished Professor of Law with
the UIC John Marshall Law School, headlined the Symposium on
Implicit Bias in the legal profession.
SBAND is on the vanguard of these initiatives. For example, during
its 2018 Annual Meeting, Michael Roosevelt with the California
Judicial Council presented on “Implicit Bias, Decision-Making and
What Can Be Done About It” for a standing-room-only audience.
In August 2018, SBAND hosted a free state-wide ethics program
on “Implicit Social Cognition: The Pros and Cons of Autopilot”
by Alicia Summers from the Capacity Building Center for Courts.
At the 2019 Annual Meeting, Dr. Artika Tyner, director of the
Center on Race, Leadership, and Social Justice at the University of
St. Thomas School of Law, presented on “Leadership Strategies for
Advancing Diversity.”
Last fall, nearly 100 people participated in a Symposium on Implicit
Bias in the Legal Profession cohosted by the SBAND Women
Lawyers Section and UND School of Law. The speakers brought to
light unconscious stereotypes all of us hold, despite our best efforts to
eschew discrimination. Teri McMurtry-Chubb, visiting distinguished
professor of law with the UIC John Marshall Law School in
Chicago, headlined the symposium with a talk titled “The Practical
Implications of Unexamined Assumptions.” She discussed her
six-year-long empirical study exploring incorrect assumptions many
students bring into the law school classroom based on race, gender,
class, sexual orientation, and other categorizations. As her research
demonstrates, these inaccurate beliefs frequently lead to flawed
legal arguments and other problems. But when law schools engage
students to reflect conscientiously about issues of power and privilege,
the students are much better prepared to interact competently with
people from diverse populations.
Professor McMurtry-Chubb also shared stories about discrimination
she faced while working in a law firm, highlighting that
Nearly 100 people participated in the Symposium, cohosted by the SBAND Women Lawyers Section and UND School of Law.
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