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NAACP Protesters Arrested Outside Court
WASHINGTON, Oct. 5th 1998 (UPI) - The Supreme Court police say they have arrested 19 NAACP demonstrators trying to cross police barricades in acts of civil disobedience.
Several hundred NAACP demonstrators were protesting the lack of ethnic minority law clerks chosen by the justices, and police had barricaded the Supreme Court plaza on the first day of the new court term.
Officers said today's arrests were expected and entirely peaceful. Those demonstrators arrested are scheduled to be processed through the Washington courts, and officials said they would probably face a fine.
The NAACP and other minority advocates object to the way the justices choose their law clerks, who do most of the research and write some of the drafts for Supreme Court opinions. Justices choose their clerks from the top law school graduates in the country, but also rely on recommendations from professors and fellow judges.
Only one of the current class of 34 clerks - an Hispanic woman - is a member of an ethnic minority. Neither the court nor the justices would comment on the protest or the ethnic backgrounds of law clerks.
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Copyright 1998 by United Press International.
All rights reserved
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