Justice at Stake Campaign
Encyclopedia
The Justice at Stake Campaign (JAS) is a Washington, D.C.
-based non-partisan group whose stated objective is ensuring that courts in the United States
are fair, impartial, and independent
, and that judge
s rely only on the facts and the law.
Founded in 2000, the group is a noted opponent of judicial elections, and its reports have called attention to rising expenditures
and interest group contributions to candidates for state supreme court
s, in state
s in which justices are chosen in elections. The group has commissioned polls showing that many Americans believe 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 and has received grants from the Carnegie Corporation of New York
, the Herbert Block Foundation, the JEHT Foundation
, the Joyce 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 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 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
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.
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
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
-based non-partisan group whose stated objective is ensuring that courts in the United States
Courts of the United States
Courts of the United States include both the United States federal courts, comprising the judicial branch of the federal government of the United States and state and territorial courts of the individual U.S...
are fair, impartial, and independent
Judicial independence
Judicial Independence is the idea that the judiciary needs to be kept away from the other branches of government...
, and that judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
s rely only on the facts and the law.
Founded in 2000, the group is a noted opponent of judicial elections, and its reports have called attention to rising expenditures
Campaign finance
Campaign finance refers to all funds that are raised and spent in order to promote candidates, parties or policies in some sort of electoral contest. In modern democracies such funds are not necessarily devoted to election campaigns. Issue campaigns in referendums, party activities and party...
and interest group contributions to candidates for state supreme court
State supreme court
In the United States, the state supreme court is the highest state court in the state court system ....
s, in state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
s in which justices are chosen in elections. The group has commissioned polls showing that many Americans believe 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 and has received grants from the Carnegie Corporation of New York
Carnegie Corporation of New York
Carnegie Corporation of New York, which was established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 "to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding," is one of the oldest, largest and most influential of American foundations...
, the Herbert Block Foundation, the JEHT Foundation
JEHT Foundation
The JEHT Foundation was a grant-making nonprofit foundation based in New York City. The Foundation’s name was an acronym that stood for the core values that underlay the Foundation's mission: "Justice, Equality, Human dignity and Tolerance." The Foundation's programs reflected these interests and...
, the Joyce Foundation
Joyce Foundation
The Joyce Foundation is a charitable foundation based in Chicago in the United States and operating principally in the Great Lakes region.The Foundation primarily funds organizations in the Great Lakes region .-Programs:* Education: Focuses on public schools in Chicago, Cleveland, and Milwaukee;...
, the Moriah Fund, the Open Society Institute
Open Society Institute
The Open Society Institute , renamed in 2011 to Open Society Foundations, is a private operating and grantmaking foundation started by George Soros, aimed to shape public policy to promote democratic governance, human rights, and economic, legal, and social reform...
, and the Public Welfare Foundation.
Justice at Stake is a 501(c)(3) organization governed by a board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
. The chair of the board is Roger Warren, former president of the National Center for State Courts
National Center for State Courts
The National Center for State Courts is a non-profit organization charged with improving judicial administration in the United States and around the world...
. JAS does not support or oppose individual judges seeking election or nomination
Nomination
Nomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to an office, or the bestowing of an honor or award.In the context of elections for public office, a candidate who has been selected by a political party is normally said to be the nominee of that party...
to the bench.
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
Political Parties
Political Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchical Tendencies of Modern Democracy is a book by sociologist Robert Michels, published in 1911 , and first introducing the concept of iron law of oligarchy...
Attacks:
• Rapid response to intimidation
Intimidation
Intimidation is intentional behavior "which would cause a person of ordinary sensibilities" fear of injury or harm. It's not necessary to prove that the behavior was so violent as to cause terror or that the victim was actually frightened.Criminal threatening is the crime of intentionally or...
and impeachment
Impeachment
Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....
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.pdfHow the war on terror
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
has sapped the power of U.S. courts to protect citizens' constitutional liberties.
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 , was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 which...
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
Supreme court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of many legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, instance court, judgment court, high court, or apex 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
Gavel
A gavel is a small ceremonial mallet commonly made of hardwood, typically fashioned with a handle and often struck against a sound block to enhance its sounding qualities. It is a symbol of the authority and right to act officially in the capacity of a chair or presiding officer. It is used to call...
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
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
and North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
.
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 JusticeAmerican Bar Association
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
American Board of Trial Advocates
The American Judges Association
American Judicature Society
American Judicature Society
The American Judicature Society is an independent, nonpartisan, national organization of judges, lawyers, and interested members of the public whose mission is to improve the American justice system - to "secure and promote an independent and qualified judiciary and fair system of justice." ...
Appleseed Foundation
Appleseed Foundation
Appleseed is a non-partisan, nonprofit network of 16 public interest justice centers in the United States and Mexico.- History :...
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
Committee for Economic Development
The Committee for Economic Development is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan think tank based in Washington, DC. Its membership consists of some 200 senior corporate executives and university leaders...
Common Cause
Common Cause
Common Cause is a self-described nonpartisan, nonprofit lobby and advocacy organization. It was founded in 1970 by John W. Gardner, a Republican former cabinet secretary under Lyndon Johnson, as a "citizens' lobby" with a mission focused on making U.S. political institutions more open and...
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
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights under Law, often simply The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights or Lawyers' Committee, is a civil rights organization that was founded in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy.-Origins: 1963-1973:...
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 Center for State Courts
The National Center for State Courts is a non-profit organization charged with improving judicial administration in the United States and around the world...
National Judicial College
National Voting Rights Institute
National Voting Rights Institute
The National Voting Rights Institute was a non-partisan, non-profit advocacy organization based in Boston, which described itself as committed to making real the promise of American democracy that meaningful political participation and power should be accessible to all regardless of economic or...
North Carolina Center for Voter Education
Ohio Citizen Action
Ohio citizen action
Ohio Citizen Action is Ohio’s largest environmental organization. The organization focuses on environmental health, and also tracks political corruption in the state.-Overview:...
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