Rev. Al Sharpton Archives - Coastal Network

OPINION Dear friends, I’m not a big fan of Rev. Al Sharpton, but take a look at this opinion piece in today’s USAToday. In it, he highlights two huge Delaware issues. First, law firm Skadden Arps, which has its claws in our Chancery Court Chancellor Andre Bouchard. Sharpton points out that Skadden is a “majority-white” firm giving holidays instead of creating diversity opportunities at the firm. As I see it folks, they’ve proven to be a lot of talk, with no action in Delaware, while cashing in millions from our courts and giving nothing back in return. Delaware Governor John Carney and the non-diverse Board of Pardons, which includes Bouchard, pardoned a man who was involved in Michigan’s Governor kidnapping plot, likely based on race. Read the USAToday piece below and let me know what you think, folks! Sincerely Yours, Judson Bennett CoastalNetwork.com It’s not just the Supreme Court. The entire legal system has a crippling diversity problem. To rebuild our justice system more equitably, we must look beyond the Supreme Court and look to where legal talent is grown, educated, and trained. Al Sharpton, Opinion contributor Oct. 20, 2020 As Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation to the Supreme Court appears all but certain, it is more urgent than ever that we recognize the underlying issues plaguing our nation’s justice system are inextricably tied to the staggering lack of equitable racial representation within America’s legal and judicial institutions. From law schools to elite “white shoe” firms, from courthouses to parole boards, the cornerstones of our justice system are disproportionately white, and therefore not representative of the American people. To that end, to truly rectify the injustices of centuries past, we must begin by addressing the persistent inequities in representation at every level of the legal field. If confirmed, Judge Barrett will be the court’s seventh white justice, leaving just one Black and one Hispanic jurist on the same court that upheld “separate but equal” treatment of Americans based on race until the 1950s. In the past few decades, the Supreme Court has also made decisions granting law enforcement qualified immunity from prosecution, eroding education funding for schools in low-income neighborhoods, and eviscerating the Voting Rights Act — all of which are critical legal doctrines that disproportionately impact the lives of American minorities for the worse. But the Supreme Court is just the tip of the iceberg. From law schools to court rooms According to an analysis by the Center for American Progress, as of August 2019, 80% of federal judges were white, while just 10% were Black and 6.6% Hispanic. Moreover, as of 2015, nearly 83% of all federal law clerks were white — an extension of the fact that most law schools are also severely lacking in racial diversity. And despite efforts at many of those top universities to admit more law students of color, in 2019, only 12.7% of law students were Hispanic and just 7.8% were Black. Additionally, equity partners at many law firms are also predominantly white, with fewer than 8% being people of color nationally, according to a 2019 report by National Association for Law Placement, Inc. Instead of declaring holidays such as Juneteenth as paid days-off for their majority white attorney groups, firms like Skadden Arps — who led the charge on that front — would do well to create meaningful opportunities for Black and Hispanic lawyers so they can enter the pipeline for prestigious clerking jobs and judgeships. The results of this state of affairs should shock no one. Without ever being given the opportunity to rise through the ranks of the legal field, communities of color have effectively been denied representation in our nation’s judiciary, and the consequences have been dire. According to the NAACP, 1-in-3 Black boys born today can expect to be sentenced to prison, compared to 1-in-6 Latino boys and just 1-in-17 white boys. In fact, if Black and Hispanic Americans were incarcerated at the same rates as whites, our country’s prison population would decline by almost 40%. Inequality in practice Meanwhile, glaring evidence of the benefits of being white in such a monochromatic justice system can be seen all over. One notable case came just weeks ago when the country learned of a shocking conspiracy to kidnap Michigan’s Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, allegedly planned by anti-government extremists, several of whom had criminal pasts. Stacey Abrams: Beat Trump and rewrite democracy rules to build an America that serves its people One of the accused, Barry Croft Jr., had just been pardoned in 2019 by Gov. John Carney of Delaware — a state where Black people make up 60% of the prison population, but just 15% of all judges on the state’s supreme, superior, and chancery courts, and not one person of color on the Board of Pardons. That Croft walked free is hardly surprising when you consider white adults are about three-and-a-half times less likely than Black adults to be released into supervised probation. Combined, these data points are a scathing indictment of America’s justice system, and no court, university, law firm or other legal entity is immune from the charge. Lacking representation is a foundational flaw that exists in every pillar of our nation’s legal structures — a flaw so deep that it has sown seeds of distrust in minority communities for decades. As a result of the unending body of evidence that people of color receive unequal treatment under the law, 87% of Black Americans believe they are treated less fairly than their white neighbors. But for our nation’s judicial institutions to be legitimate, the public needs to trust them, and for that trust to exist, those institutions must reflect America’s diversity. As we work to rebuild our justice system more equitably, we must break down the barriers that have disenfranchised people of color from leading within it. We must look beyond the Supreme Court and look to where legal talent is grown. Al Sharpton is a civil rights activist, founder of the National Action Network, and host of MSNBC’s PoliticsNation. Follow him on Twitter: @TheRevAl

“Citizens for Pro-Business Delaware” has been posting a series of ads in the Delaware News Journal implicating law firms like Skadden Arps in what this activist group sees as unethical and suspicious behavior both locally and nationwide, especially involving what I see as its shady billing practices with TransPerfect, under the direction of Delaware’s Chancellor Andre Bouchard, who was once a partner at Skadden.

As a big skeptic about Bouchard’s integrity, having followed his decisions for over 4 years now, I am definitely for transparency and unbiased decisions in the Chancery Court. I frankly think Bouchard is a terrible representative of Delaware’s respected equity court and should be replaced now before it gets any worse. The Chancery Court is operating under a cloud of darkness as things are now. As I see it, folks, when you have a Chancellor who ignores obvious conflicts of interest and condones the appearance of impropriety, it must be fixed!

The Citizens group also harps on diversity. I don’t believe that someone should be appointed a judge or Chancellor, simply because they come from a certain background. That said, I do believe that regardless of their race or background, the most qualified candidate should be appointed, and right now the system is failing because we are only getting a select group from a very small pool of candidates.

Regardless, in my view, I am sure that Skadden Arps will eventually succumb to the pressure and find a few Ivy League, liberal African American Lawyers to fulfill the public demand for diversity, as will eventually the State of Delaware. Diversity is indeed a good thing, but personally, I believe, as do most of my friends and readers, that the best person for the job should be hired. That is my objective view and this old dog is not going to change his mind.

Please read the article below and tell me what you think. Thank you and best regards.

See the press release below:

June 08, 2020 01:36 PM Eastern Daylight Time

WILMINGTON, Del.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Today, Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware, a grassroots advocacy group, announced the latest in its series of print ads in the Delaware News Journal highlighting the conflicts of interest and failures of transparency that plague the Chancery Court and elite Delaware law firms like Skadden Arps.

The ad shines a light on Skadden Arps’ history of ethically dubious behavior both in Delaware and internationally, including their direct role in the Ukraine voter suppression scandal, the appalling lack of diversity in the firm’s Wilmington office.

The ad, in part, reads, “over the past 3 years, Skadden Arps has named 38 new partners, only 2 of whom are African-American. Of 66 attorneys in Skadden’s Wilmington office, there is just one Black partner and one Black associate.”

The ad comes on the heels of a letter penned by civil right activist Reverend Al Sharpton to Robert Saunders, the head of Skadden Arps’ Wilmington, DE office, calling for more diversity at the firm and others like it.

Skadden Arps has also been subject to criticism over the egregiously non-transparent billing practices practiced by Bob Pincus and Jennifer Voss in their role in the TransPerfect case, which has now cost the company over $14 million in unexplained fees.

Said Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware Campaign (CPBD) Manager Chris Coffey, “Over the past year, our members have been calling for Delaware to make progress in diversifying its court system, but to no avail. We said from the beginning we weren’t going to be afraid of calling out those we see responsible for perpetuating a rigged system the only helps a select few, and this ad campaign shows how serious we are about that.

“The inequities in Delaware’s justice system, caused by a court system run by mostly white judges is a direct result of firms like Skadden Arps denying opportunities to people of color. We can’t possibly expect the judges in our courts to accurately reflect the racial, ethnic, gender, and socioeconomic diversity of this state if they aren’t given the opportunity to gain the relevant experience.

“Lacking diversity in our justice system is a national and systemic issue. But in a state that’s home to the country’s busiest corporate courts, where judges are handpicked to join an old boys’ club from top firms like Skadden, it’s critical we end the status quo, and Skadden needs to answer for their role in this corrupt system.”

I’ve been venting my frustration about Delaware Courts and the unbridled abuse in what looks to be a corrupt system full of bias and from my view, quite a bit of cronyistic behavior.

Specifically, the way the TransPerfect case was handled by its leader Chancellor Andre Bouchard was particularly disconcerting. I feel it exposed weaknesses in Delaware’s Courts. Improvements are definitely needed. While the call to action I’ve clearly made to the Delaware legislators has largely been ignored, it’s hard to reasonably argue that the change needs to start at the top.

Now we’re seeing the Chancery Court’s flaws being pointed out on a national level by people across the political spectrum. There’s a YouTube video that came to my attention, which I’ve linked to below, “Rev. Al Sharpton Advocates for Diversity on Delaware’s Courts in Wilmington.”

Watch the video and you’ll hear that there are more voices now complaining about Delaware Courts and our Chancery Court. I’ve been fed up for years and now many others are too.

I will say that I find it downright embarrassing that it has come to this. Do we really need Rev. Al Sharpton trotting in on his high-horse to save America’s First State? Has it really come to this?! It’s bringing embarrassment to the state of Delaware.

I believe this is about the “Good Old Boys Club” in Delaware: They are blind and deaf when it comes to anything but serving their own needs. While they’ve ignored disaster happening around them, they can no longer keep their heads in the sand.

Delaware Courts are broken. Why not take a leadership role, Chancellor Bouchard, and do something here?!

If you don’t listen now, who knows who will be next, demanding change in our once great state?!

Let me know your thoughts on this big Delaware issue, folks.

Here’s the YouTube video featuring Rev. Al Sharpton:

Rev. Al Sharpton Advocates for Diversity on Delaware’s Courts in Wilmington

Look, folks, if you have been paying attention in recent years, you’ll know that I am an advocate against some of the actions I have observed by the law firm of Skadden Arps. Indeed, after I saw, in my opinion, how they dominated the Chancery Court in the recent TransPerfect case, which made countless headlines from the procedures that took place in this Court over the past few years, I am simply amazed? It appears to me from the complaints I have received and the apparent incessant situation I have witnessed, that Skadden has possibly turned TransPerfect into their own monetary printing press! Outrageously, their billing of TransPerfect apparently continues to this day! I cannot understand this?

The Dover Post story below points out flaws in the Delaware courts and shows where change is needed. And chief among the offenders of this is the Skadden Arps firm, which, as I see it, is where these offenders learn their tradecraft and then move through the ranks of the Delaware Chancery Court and upper court system.

And now, on top of all of this, Skadden Aprs and Andre Bouchard’s Chancery Court is now facing racism charges and has been called upon by Reverend Al Sharpton to increase diversity and inclusion efforts. After Tamika Montgomery–Reeves’ move to Delaware’s Supreme Court, the Chancery Court is now back to its all-white status quo.

Sharpton, along with Reverend Dale Dennis, used the occasion of the appointment of Tamika Montgomery-Reeves to the Delaware Supreme Court (the first person of color to be appointed to the state’s high court) to tee off on the problem of diversity in the legal profession. They did so by sending a pointed letter to Biglaw giant Skadden Arps calling them out for their lack of diversity, particularly in their Delaware office.

As an aside, Diversity Claims and Affirmative Action after years of it, are certainly not my priority, however, it is in the news and worth mentioning.

See the Dover Post story below for the changes being demanded at the Chancery Court.

We need more African American judges, pastors say

By Emily Lytle

Originally Published in the Dover Post: Jan. 15, 2020

Pastors and community members rallied outside Legislative Hall Jan. 15.

The Rev. Dale Dennis II of Hoyt Memorial C.M.E in Wilmington led a rally in Dover to advocate for more African American representation in Delaware’s courts. He said he is fighting for his young daughter.

“As a diverse state, we must begin to make sure that people can see themselves as the future and the right-now of America,” Dennis said.

He joined the Rev. Blaine Hackett of St. John Africa Methodist Church, the Rev. Alfred S. Parker Jr., president of Methodist Ministers’ Alliance, and several residents outside Legislative Hall as the Delaware Senate Executive Committee considered Paul Fioravanti Jr.’s nomination to the Court of Chancery Jan. 15.

Fioravanti’s nomination was later confirmed. He will replace Justice Tameeka Montgomery-Reeves who became the first African American judge on the state Supreme Court Jan. 3.

The Rev. Dale Dennis II of Hoyt Memorial C.M.E. led a rally outside Legislative Hall to advocate for African American representation in Delaware’s Courts Jan. 15. Community members and activists held signs outside Legislative hall as an executive committee considered Gov. John Carney’s nomination of Paul Fioravanti Jr. to the Court of Chancery. (PHOTOS: EMILY LYTLE)

“Paul’s litigation experience and judgment will serve our state well on the Court of Chancery, our country’s premier venue for corporate litigation,” Gov. John Carney said in a statement. “I want to thank members of the Delaware Senate for considering and confirming his nomination.”

Hackett believes there needs to be a greater African American presence to speak up for the more than 60% of Delaware’s prison population that is black.

“Black folk, we are being pushed farther under the totem pole,” Hackett said. “We’re out here shedding our blood. We’re out here being beat and incarcerated at levels like no other race. And yet nobody is fighting our cause, championing our cause, very few.”

Four of the 34 justices who serve on the three highest courts in Delaware are people of color.

The rally came after civil rights activist the Rev. Al Sharpton was denied the opportunity to testify about diversity in the state’s courts at the hearing. He has visited Delaware to talk about this over the past several months and wrote to law firm Skadden Arps, calling for elite firms to do their part in advancing people of color in the legal industry.

“To say that I am disappointed I was denied the opportunity to testify before the Delaware State Senate on the matter of [Mr. Fioravanti’s] confirmation would be an understatement,” Sharpton said in a separate statement released to Delaware Business Now. “Diversity transferred is not diversity created or advanced. Delaware must do better. Governor Carney and the State Legislature must do better. I welcome the opportunity to discuss this issue further with them, and will not rest until we address this injustice.”

Representatives from Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware attended the rally and supported the leading pastors.

“It’s disappointing the Senate chose not to hear from Reverend Sharpton, whose moral credibility on issues of racial justice is beyond question, but today’s rally showed just how important this issue is to countless Delawareans,” said Chris Coffey, campaign manager for Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware.

Dennis said this is a change that cannot wait.

“We must continue to make sure that when our children look at our courts, our children see people who look like them and remind them of what their future can be and allow them to know that they can overcome any obstacle and they can achieve anything in the great United States of America,” Dennis said. “But, it starts with us holding our feet to the fire to say that it is absolutely important for us to make sure that our courts are diverse. And it’s time for diversity now.”