Alliance for Justice plays a leading role in research, education, and advocacy around the nomination process for Supreme Court justices. This work has been a core part of our mission for decades, throughout Democratic and Republican administrations.
Under the Biden Administration, AFJ is continuing this role, advocating for the confirmation of Supreme Court nominees with a demonstrated commitment to equal justice like Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Additionally, with our Building the Bench program, AFJ is developing a cadre of qualified candidates for federal judgeships at all levels. Read more here.
AFJ has also played a central role in recent Supreme Court nomination fights previous to Justice Jackson’s confirmation:
After Republicans ignored what they said in 2016 – when they blocked Merrick Garland in an election year – to confirm Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a right-wing ideologue, on the Supreme Court, AFJ was on the front lines of the fight to oppose her confirmation. After this fight, progressives are galvanized like never before on the issue of our courts, and AFJ is ready to channel that energy into fighting for a fair court system under the Biden Administration.
In 2018, AFJ was a leader in the broad and inclusive campaign to oppose Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation. Since then, AFJ has continued to pay attention, tracking the harmful impact of his first year on the Court. To read more about his tenure as a justice and the fight against his confirmation, click here.
In 2017, AFJ worked to oppose the confirmation of Justice Neil Gorsuch. AFJ brought Alphonse Maddin, the “frozen trucker” to Washington to share his story of how despite clear federal law, Gorsuch would have forced him to choose between his life or his job when his truck broke down in subzero temperatures. Gorsuch’s record on a lower court showed that he was a judge who favored the interests of the wealthy and powerful over the rights of everyday people, and he has continued to do so on the Court. To learn more about Gorsuch, click here.
In 2016, President Obama nominated Judge Merrick Garland to fill the seat left vacant by Justice Antonin Scalia’s death. AFJ compiled an in-depth report on Garland’s background and advocated for his confirmation. The Republican-led Senate, however, staged a historic obstruction of the nomination, refusing to even hold a hearing for Garland.