Justice at Stake Campaign
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Justice at Stake Campaign (JAS) is a Washington, DC-based nonpartisan campaign working to keep our courts fair and impartial. Justice at Stake works with its partners [see below] to educate Americans and work for reforms to keep politics and special interests out of the courtroom, so judges can do their job protecting our Constitution, our rights and the rule of law. 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.
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[edit] 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 our courts
• Protecting court budgets from political attacks
Defending the Courts That Defend Our Rights:
• Calling attention to attacks on the power of our 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 our courts
[edit] Reports and Issue Briefs
Courting Danger [1]
How the war on terror has sapped the power of our courts to protect our constitutional liberties.
Brown v. Board of Education and Attacks on the Courts: Fifty Years Ago, Fifty Years Later [2]
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 [3]
How politicians are grabbing for the gavel from our 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 [4]
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 [5]
Our report on the 2000 races.
[edit] 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
