According to a survey done by the State Court System, 68% of judges here in New York are white. Breaking that down a bit more: 15% of judges, when asked, did not want to comment on their race.

Less than 13% percent identify as Black.

The disparity is back in the spotlight as Senate Confirmation Hearings for SCOTUS nominee Ketanji Brown are set for next week. She is the first Black woman to ever be nominated for the U.S. Supreme Court by a president.

The executive office here in New York is also taking steps to diversify the state's court benches.

Gov. Kathy Hochul selected Judge Shirley Troutman to fill a vacancy on the State Court of Appeals back in November.

Confirmed this past January, Troutman is just the second Black woman to have a place on the state's highest court. 

She's from Buffalo, her parents moved from the segregated south for better education opportunities. Troutman found them too, getting her first degree from The University at Buffalo before moving onto Albany Law School.

She's served on the Appellate Division of the State Supreme Court's Fourth Judicial Department. Troutman also served on the state's Supreme Court, Erie County Court and Buffalo City Court.

She's been a judge for nearly three decades, and as our Casey Bortnick learned sitting down with her recently, her passion was sparked long before the

Troutman spoke about her thoughts on what the potential confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown could mean for the judicial system moving forward in part two of our interview, shown below: