Courts
Electing the Right Judges to State Supreme Courts is Now More Important Than Ever
With these courts poised to wield significant power in the fight over abortion rights, new efforts are underway to channel funds to critical judicial elections. Here's a rundown of key races. Read more
Jul 15, 2022
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What Can Donors do to Build Support for Court Expansion?
Facing another decade or more of a right-wing Supreme Court, most Democratic leaders are still opposed to expanding the court. Here’s how donors can try to change that. Read more
Jun 17, 2022
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Democrats—and Their Donors—Have Failed to Fight Hard on the Courts
The liberal establishment will plead ignorance or powerlessness on the Supreme Court, but Democratic donors and leadership had plenty of chances to fight harder on the courts. They didn't. Read more
May 12, 2022
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State Supreme Courts Might Choose the Next President
As state supreme courts come to wield more power, including potentially to decide election outcomes, Democratic donors need to pay more attention to how to influence these bodies. Read more
Apr 21, 2022
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What We’re Up Against: The Conservative Legal Movement and the Money Behind It
Republicans have captured the judiciary in large part thanks to big investments in a web of influential ideological and political organizations. Here's a closer look at that infrastructure. Read more
Jan 20, 2022
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Hate the Conservative Supreme Court? Thank the Liberal Establishment
The American Constitution Society has long embodied liberal complacency around the courts. But the last few years seem to have finally lit a fire and the ACS is moving in the right direction. Read more
Nov 30, 2021
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American Constitution Society: What Donors Need to Know
While ACS is the largest liberal group focused on the courts, it lacks a strong track record of impact and a compelling vision of jurisprudence. Read more
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Progressive Donors Must Invest Now to Change the Courts
For years, liberals sat on their hands as the right rewrote the Constitution through the courts. A handful of new progressive organizations have found a way to fight back, but they need a lot more funding. Read more
Oct 12, 2021
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Demand Justice: What Donors Need to Know
Demand Justice works to make the federal courts a more salient issue for progressive voters and lawmakers. It combines pragmatism with strong ideals, pushing for ambitious structural changes to the courts. Read more
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The Case for Supporting a Newer, Younger “Federalist Society for the Left”
Many progressives hunger for a more aggressive approach to the courts and to judges. The People's Parity Project is one group taking such an approach—and it's attracting donors. Read more
Sep 22, 2021
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People's Parity Project: What Donors Need to Know
While PPP is still a relatively young organization, it has shown itself to be highly effective in building a network of young lawyers to create a new pipeline of progressive legal talent. Read more
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Shaping the Federal Courts: How Donors Can Make a Difference
Progressive donors hoping to counteract the right’s hostile takeover of the judiciary have a growing set of options for achieving impact, including giving to new groups working in this space. Read more
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Progressive Groups Want Biden to Balance Trumped-Up Federal Courts
Trump and McConnell stacked the federal judiciary with right-wing judges. Progressives want Biden to balance the scales, demanding he ban corporate lawyers and appoint public interest advocates. Read more
Feb 22, 2021
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Progressive Groups are Demanding a Justice Department Investigation of Trump
A coalition of progressive groups wants another independent investigation into Trump's criminal activities, but this time with the power to bring charges. Who's leading the push? Read more
Jan 14, 2021
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On the West Coast, a Legal Group Takes a Community-Driven Approach to Civil Rights
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area works closely with the grassroots to dismantle systems of oppression and racism through litigation and advocacy. Read more
Jan 8, 2021
Take Back the Court Says Only a Bigger, More Progressive SCOTUS Can Save Democracy
The judicial reform group is proposing ambitious changes in the Supreme Court's size in order to promote a more representative and inclusive democracy. How is its effort going? Read more
Jan 7, 2021
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Understanding the ACLU's Expanded Empire
Thanks in part to four years of Trump, the 100-year old civil liberties group is a cash-rich colossus, with affiliates in every state—some of which themselves are sizable organizations Read more
Dec 31, 2020
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A Small Group of Law Students is Working to Unrig the System
People's Parity Project asks law students and legal professionals to rethink the levers they have available to effect change. The organization is attracting more members and attention. Read more
Dec 16, 2020
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ACLU Legal Director Thinks Progressives Can Still Win at the Supreme Court
Despite a Republican stacked judiciary, ACLU's David Cole thinks the courts will self-moderate. Court expansion advocates dispute that view and call for more dramatic remedies. Read more
Dec 10, 2020
