Federal Judge Alan Gold recently announced his imminent transition to senior status, renewing a fervent dialogue that is just over a year old – the failure of U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and then U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez to appoint even one black woman lawyer to serve on Florida’s Federal Judicial Nominating Commission.

The JNC will soon begin the process of selecting Gold’s replacement on the bench. But black women lawyers will have no say in that process.