Justice at Stake Campaign

The Justice at Stake Campaign (JAS) is a Washington, DC-based nonpartisan campaign whose stated objective is to keep U.S.courts fair and impartial. The group was founded in 2000, in response to the rapidly changing nature of judicial selection. In particular, its reports have called attention to rising expenditures by special interests on state Supreme Court elections. The group has commissioned polls showing that many Americans fear these expenditures could affect the ability of judges to rule neutrally in cases involving campaign contributors.

Justice at Stake has developed a national network of 50 partners. JAS has received grants from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Herbert Block Foundation, the JEHT Foundation, theJoyce Foundation, the Moriah Fund, the Open Society Institute, and the Public Welfare Foundation.

Justice at Stake is a 501(c)(3) organization governed by a board of directors. The chair of the board is The Honorable Roger Warren, former president of the National Center for State Courts. JAS does not support or oppose individual judges seeking election or nomination to the bench.

Justice at Stake's Work

Justice at Stake's main focus is on protecting judicial independence. The organization works to ensure that judges are free to decide cases fairly and impartially, relying only on the facts and the law. Justice at Stake partners are supporting projects to keep politics and special interests out of the courtroom and to protect what the late Chief Justice Rehnquist called one of the "crown jewels" of our democracy.

Justice at Stake’s work falls into several categories:

"Educating Americans About Their Courts and Judges":
• Giving informational presentations on judicial independence and discussing actions groups can take to protect it
• Publicizing state voter guides
• Publishing reports on a variety of topics relating to fair and impartial courts

"Reducing Special Interest Pressure and Improving Judicial Campaigns":
• Monitoring special interest pressure on the courts
• Encouraging states to consider public financing of judicial elections and merit-based selection of judges
• Compiling national databases of state disclosures of campaign and interest group contributions

"Protecting Courts and Judges from Partisan Attacks":
• Rapid response to intimidation and impeachment threats
• Educating political leaders and the public on the unique role of the courts
• Protecting court budgets from political attacks

"Defending the Courts That Defend Our Rights":
• Calling attention to attacks on the power of the courts to uphold the Constitution
• Building a network of judges who can speak up on behalf of the courts
• Developing new messages and coalitions to defend the courts

Reports and Issue Briefs

"Courting Danger" [http://www.justiceatstake.org/files/JASCourting2ndEd.pdf]
How the war on terror has sapped the power of U.S. courts to protect citizens' constitutional liberties.

"Brown v. Board of Education and Attacks on the Courts: Fifty Years Ago, Fifty Years Later" [http://www.justiceatstake.org/files/BrownandthecourtsGuideFINAL.pdf]
How the "Brown" decision triggered a tidal wave of attacks on the Supreme Court, and how the attacks on the courts continue today.

"Courts...or Calculators" [http://www.justiceatstake.org/files/SentencingBrief.Final.pdf]
How politicians are grabbing for the gavel from courts of law, and how a new Supreme Court case could trigger an end run around the Constitution.

"The New Politics of Judicial Elections 2004" [http://www.justiceatstake.org/files/NewPoliticsReport2004.pdf]
The most comprehensive collection of data and analysis about the 2004 state Supreme Court elections. This report summarizes television advertising data in these campaigns, outlines campaign finance information, and tracks electioneering efforts by special interest groups. This edition includes a special focus on Illinois, West Virginia, Alabama and North Carolina.

"The New Politics of Judicial Elections 2002"
Money and television ads in the 2002 state Supreme Court elections.

"The New Politics of Judicial Elections" [http://www.justiceatstake.org/files/JASMoneyReport.pdf]
Report on the 2000 races.

Justice at Stake Partners

Alabama Appleseed Center for Law and Justice

American Bar Association
American Board of Trial Advocates
The American Judges Association

American Judicature Society

Appleseed Foundation
The Association of Trial Lawyers of America
Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law
The Campaign Legal Center (*campaign reform issues only)
Campaigns for People
Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice
Citizen Action/Illinois
Citizens for an Independent Judiciary

Committee for Economic Development

Common Cause
The Constitution Project
Democracy North Carolina
Democracy South/Georgia Project
DRI - The Voice of the Defense Bar
The Fund for Modern Courts
The Greenlining Institute
The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform
The National Association of Women Judges
The National Bar Association
Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System
Institute on Money in State Politics
Interfaith Alliance
Kansas Appleseed Center for Law and Justice
Kansas League of Women Voters

Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
League of Women Voters Safeguarding U.S. Democracy Program (www.lwv.org/fairandimpartialcourts)
Michigan Campaign Finance Network
Michigan League of Women Voters
Minnesota League of Women Voters
Missourians for Fair and Impartial Courts
National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA)

National Center for State Courts

National Judicial College

National Voting Rights Institute
North Carolina Center for Voter Education

Ohio Citizen Action
Ohio League of Women Voters
Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice
Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts
Protestants for the Common Good
Public Campaign
Tallahassee League of Women Voters
Texans for Public Justice
Wisconsin Citizen Action
Wisconsin Democracy Campaign

ee also

Geri Palast