Annotations for People: Martinez-wilmer

This is news from Latino USA. I'm Maria Martin. An association of Latino attorneys is lobbying the President to name a Hispanic to the nation's highest court. From Miami, Emilio San Pedro reports.

The Latino community is the second largest and fastest-growing minority group in the United States, but a Latino has never served on the United States Supreme Court. That's the premise on which the Hispanic National Bar Association, the HNBA, based its campaign to President Bill Clinton to appoint a Latino to the Supreme Court. HNBA National President Carlos Ortiz says that not only is it important to have a Latino on the Supreme Court for the sake of equal representation, but also, he says a qualified Latino Justice could bring a unique perspective to the court.

We feel that with a new perspective on that court, that the arguments that could be made by and between the judges that have to make them in order to arrive at a decision that will impact upon the 250 million Americans that have to follow the Supreme Court's law, that Hispanics can greatly contribute to the development of that new law, and then the administration of justice.

The short list of seven potential nominees was presented to President Clinton on March 21st. They include Joseph Baca, a Justice on the New Mexico Supreme Court, Texas Attorney General Don Morales, and Wilmer Martinez, former President and General Counsel of MALDAEF, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund. For Latino USA, I'm Emilio San Pedro.