As Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell stated, “the judiciary may be the most important instrument for social, economic and political change.” The fairness and independence of this most important instrument must be preserved. Fair courts and independent judges help ensure the protection of vital rights and freedoms.

One of the core missions of Alliance for Justice is to ensure that the nation’s federal judiciary remains fair and independent.  However, it is equally important that wronged parties have access to a courtroom to seek redress, for otherwise our laws have little meaning.

The Nonprofit Advocacy Project and Foundation Advocacy Initiative are premised on the belief that nonprofit organizations have a unique and necessary role to play in the process of generating and supporting sound, effective, and just public policy. In the case of issues such as environmental protection, healthcare, immigration, reproductive freedom, civil rights, consumer rights, workers’ rights and others, nonprofit organizations are often the only voices standing up for the public interest against well-funded corporate special interests.

The current administration has continued a decades-long effort by the hard right to reposit broad authority in the executive branch.  From warrantless domestic surveillance to the broad assertion of executive privilege to thwart congressional inquiries, this administration has asserted its authority to act outside the knowledge and consent of the other branches of our government, thereby upsetting the constitutional balance of power.  

A vital objective of Alliance for Justice’s work to ensure a fair and independent judiciary and to safeguard access to our courts is the protection of individual rights and liberties. We monitor the views of nominees on these issues, and we spotlight judicial decisions that implicate rights and liberties in order to educate the public on how dramatically judicial selection can affect their rights. In addition, we closely watch legislation that might affect the ability of individuals to go into court to enforce their rights.

Justice Watch is designed to bring to light and dramatize the extent and depth of the politicization of justice under the Bush administration. With Justice Watch, we pull together stories from around the country from both the mainstream media and the blogosphere so that we all can maintain our vigilance in countering these scandalous and possibly illegal actions.