NAWJ Webinar - Understanding and Addressing Caste Discrimination in U.S. Courts

June 12, 2025
3:00 PM ET / 2:00 PM CT / 1:00 PM MT / 12:00 PM PT

Understanding and Addressing Caste Discrimination in U.S. Courts

Join the National Association of Women Judges for a timely and essential panel discussion on caste discrimination, featuring leading scholars, advocates, and practitioners. The panelists will provide critical insights into recognizing, litigating, and adjudicating caste discrimination cases. The session will highlight developments such as the Fresno Resolution and the ABA’s stance on caste equity, offering practical guidance for both attorneys and judges.

Caste discrimination, while long recognized internationally, is an emerging frontier for U.S. courts, attorneys, and advocates. This panel, hosted by the National Association of Women Judges, will equip legal professionals with the knowledge to recognize caste discrimination, frame claims effectively, and evaluate these complex cases from the bench.

Panelists will explore the foundations of caste as a social and legal category, share real-world examples of caste bias in the U.S., and discuss practical strategies for litigating and adjudicating these claims. The discussion will also highlight key developments, including the landmark Fresno City Resolution and the American Bar Association’s resolution recognizing caste discrimination as a form of prohibited bias.

Through this session, attorneys will gain practical tools for identifying and addressing caste-based harms, and judges will deepen their understanding of how to weigh and evaluate evidence of caste discrimination under existing legal frameworks.

Learning Objectives:

1. Educating attorneys on how to id caste discrimination and approach cases
2. Educate judges on how to weigh and evaluate caste discrimination
3. Discussion of recent developments (the landmark Fresno Resolution and the ABA resolution)

REGISTER HERE

Resources:

Click here to access a compiled packet of materials, including the following:

• Washington Post exposé articles on Governor Newsom’s veto of SB403
• Politico article on SB403
• Union-Tribune article I authored
• Full text of the ABA resolution on caste discrimination
• Full text of SB403
• Professor Brown’s article
• Governor Newsom’s veto
• Cisco case order citing Newsom’s veto
• HAF’s (Hindu American Foundation) complaint against the California Civil Rights Department and related Cisco case order
• Recent Ninth Circuit case involving caste
• Book recommendation written by one of the panelists

Featuring:

Read Professor Kevin Brown Bio

Read Tarina Mand Bio

Read Thenmozhi Soundararajan Bio

Read Tanuja Jain Gupta Bio