Alliance for Justice (AFJ) is a progressive judicial advocacy group in the United States. Founded in 1979 by former president

Nan Aron Nan Aron (born 1948) is an American lawyer and the founder and president of Alliance for Justice (AFJ), a liberal judicial advocacy group in the United States. Staunchly progressive, Aron has been a noted opponent of conservative judicial nominee ...

, AFJ monitors federal judicial appointments. AFJ represents a coalition of 100 politically leftist groups that have an interest in the federal judiciary. The Alliance for Justice presents a modern liberal viewpoint on legal issues. According to the organization, "AFJ works to ensure that the federal judiciary advances core constitutional values, preserves human rights and unfettered access to the courts, and adheres to the even-handed administration of justice for all Americans."

Judicial advocacy

AFJ launched the Judicial Selection Project in 1985 to monitor the federal judicial appointment system. According to AFJ's founder, Nan Aron, the organization wanted to guard against the ideological impact of Ronald Reagan's federal judicial nominees. AFJ objects to judicial nominees who oppose abortion or who promise to exercise

judicial restraint Judicial restraint is a judicial interpretation that recommends favoring the status quo in judicial activities; it is the opposite of judicial activism. Aspects of judicial restraint include the principle of stare decisis (that new decisions s ...

. The organization provides background on prospective nominees to the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...

and the

Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations, a ...

. AFJ played a role in the defeat of

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

nominee

Robert Bork Robert Heron Bork (March 1, 1927 – December 19, 2012) was an American jurist who served as the solicitor general of the United States from 1973 to 1977. A professor at Yale Law School by occupation, he later served as a judge on the U.S. Court ...

's nomination to the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

in 1987. In 2001, the organization supported the nomination of

Roger Gregory Roger L. Gregory (born July 17, 1953) is an American lawyer who serves as the Chief United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Background Gregory was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania but grew u ...

, a

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

nominee and the first African-American judge in the

Fourth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (in case citations, 4th Cir.) is a federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Maryland ...

in 2001. In 2013, AFJ supported President

Barack Obama's Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

three nominees for the

United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (in case citations, D.C. Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. It has the smallest geographical jurisdiction of any of the U.S. federal appellate cou ...

Member organizations

AFJ reports a membership of over 120 organizations. On its website, as of January 7, 2021, AFJ lists the following member groups: *

Abortion Care Network Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

Advancement Project The Advancement Project is a politically liberal American nonprofit organization that focuses on racial justice issues. The organization has a national office in Washington, D.C., as well as a California-specific office based in Los Angeles. Org ...

Advocates for Youth Advocates for Youth is a nonprofit organization and advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., United States, dedicated to sexuality education, the prevention of HIV and of sexually transmitted disease, teenage pregnancy prevention, youth access ...

AIDS United AIDS United is a national non-profit organization based in Washington, DC, that is dedicated to ending the AIDS epidemic in the United States. History and mission AIDS United was born out of a merger between two Washington, DC-based organization ...

*Alliance for Safe Traffic Stops *

Alliance for the Great Lakes The Alliance for the Great Lakes is the largest and oldest citizens' environmental organization dedicated to the protection of North America's Great Lakes. Its mission is to conserve and restore the world's largest freshwater resources using pol ...

*Alliance for Youth Organizing *Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund *

Americans United for Separation of Church and State Americans United for Separation of Church and State (Americans United or AU for short) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that advocates for the disassociation of religion and religious organizations from government. The separation of church ...

Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) is a New York-based national organization founded in 1974 that seeks to protect and promote the civil rights of Asian Americans. By combining litigation, advocacy, education, and organiz ...

Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law is a national legal-advocacy organization representing people with mental disabilities in the United States. Originally known as The Mental Health Law Project, the Center was founded as a national public-in ...

Bend the Arc Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice is a progressive Jewish political organization that blends advocacy, community organizing, and leadership training. The organization advocates for a more equal and just society, focusing strictly on do ...

: Jewish Action *Beneficial State Foundation *Business and Professional People for the Public Interest *California Women's Law Center *

Center for Biological Diversity The Center for Biological Diversity is a nonprofit membership organization known for its work protecting endangered species through legal action, scientific petitions, creative media and grassroots activism. It was founded in 1989 by Kieran Suckl ...

Center for Constitutional Rights The Center for Constitutional RightsThe Center for Constitutional Rights
(CCR) is a Center for Inquiry The Center for Inquiry (CFI) is a US nonprofit organization that works to mitigate belief in pseudoscience and the paranormal, as well as to fight the influence of religion in government. History The Center for Inquiry was established in 199 ...

Center for Law and Social Policy The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) is an American organization, based in Washington, D.C., that advocates for policies aimed at improving the lives of low-income people. History The Center for Law and Social Policy was founded ...

Center for Reproductive Rights The Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) is a global legal advocacy organization that seeks to advance reproductive rights, such as abortion. The organization's stated mission is to "use the law to advance reproductive freedom as a fundamental huma ...

Center for Science in the Public Interest The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit watchdog and consumer advocacy group that advocates for safer and healthier foods. History and funding CSPI is a consumer advocacy organization. Its f ...

Children's Defense Fund The Children's Defense Fund (CDF) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that focuses on child advocacy and research. It was founded in 1973 by Marian Wright Edelman. History The CDF was founded in 1973, citi ...

*Clearinghouse on Women's Issues *Closing the Women's Wealth Gap *Community Catalyst *Community Partners *

Compassion & Choices Compassion & Choices is a nonprofit organization in the United States working to improve patient autonomy and individual choice at the end of life, including access to medical aid in dying. Its primary function is advocating for and ensuring acc ...

*Comprehensive Health Education Foundation *Conservation Campaign *

Consumer Action Consumer Action is a nonprofit, consumer education and advocacy center, serving consumers in the United States. Founded in 1971, the mission of Consumer Action is to help individual consumers assert their rights in the marketplace and to advance ...

*Culture Project *Dallas Women's Foundation *

Defending Rights & Dissent Defending Rights & Dissent (DRAD) is a national not-for-profit advocacy organization in the United States, dedicated to defending civil liberties, exposing government repression, and protecting the right of political dissent. DRAD was formed as th ...

Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund The Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF), located in Berkeley, California, and Washington, DC, USA is a national cross-disability civil rights law and policy center directed by individuals with disabilities and parents who have chi ...

*Dream Corps *

Drug Policy Alliance The Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) is a New York City–based nonprofit organization that seeks to advance policies that “reduce the harms of both drug use and drug prohibition, and to promote the sovereignty of individuals over their minds and b ...

Earthjustice Earthjustice (originally Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund) is a nonprofit public interest organization based in the United States dedicated to litigating environmental issues. Headquartered in San Francisco, it has 14 regional offices across the Un ...

*Equal Justice Society *

Equal Rights Advocates Equal Rights Advocates (ERA) is an American non-profit women's rights, gender justice/women's rights organization that was founded in 1974. ERA is a legal and advocacy organization dedicated to advancing rights and opportunities for women, girls, a ...

Equality Federation Equality Federation is a social justice, advocacy and capacity building organization serving and supporting state-based lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) advocacy organizations in the United States. History In 1997, a group of stat ...

Every Child Matters Every Child Matters (ECM) is a UK government initiative for England and Wales, that was launched in 2003, at least partly in response to the death of Victoria Climbié. It is one of the most important policy initiatives which has been introduce ...

*Faith in Action Network *Food Research & Action Center *Forests Forever * Free Press *

Friends of the Earth Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) is an international network of environmental organizations in 73 countries. The organization was founded in 1969 in San Francisco by David Brower, Donald Aitken and Gary Soucie after Brower's split with ...

*Great Plains Action Society *Harmon, Curran, Spielberg & Eisenberg, LLP *Houston in Action *

Human Rights Campaign Foundation The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is an American LGBTQ advocacy group. It is the largest LGBTQ political lobbying organization within the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., the organization focuses on protecting and expanding rights for LGB ...

International Center for Research on Women The International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) is a non-profit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, with regional offices in New Delhi, India, Nairobi, Kenya, and Kampala, Uganda. ICRW has project offices in Mumba ...

*Jewish Social Justice Roundtable *

Jobs with Justice Jobs With Justice (JWJ) is a labor rights organization in the United States, focused on the vision that all workers should be able to collectively bargain. It was founded in 1987 and is made up of individuals and affiliated organizations. As of 2 ...

*Justice in Aging *

Juvenile Law Center Juvenile Law Center, founded in 1975, is a non-profit public interest law firm for children in the United States. History Juvenile Law Center was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1975 by four Temple University Beasley School of Law gr ...

Lambda Legal Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, better known as Lambda Legal, is an American civil rights organization that focuses on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities as well as people living with HIV/ AIDS ( PWAs) through i ...

*Latino Community Foundation *

Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, or simply the Lawyers' Committee, is a civil rights organization founded in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy. At the time, Alabama Governor George Wallace had vowed to resist cou ...

* League of Conservation Voters Education Fund *Legal Aid Association of California *Legal Aid at Work *Little Lobbyists *Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy * MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger *Methodist Healthcare Ministries *

Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) is a national non-profit civil rights organization formed in 1968 by Jack Greenberg to protect the rights of Latinos in the United States."MALDEF" entry in ''Los Angeles A to Z: An E ...

*Mi Familia Vota *Muslim Advocates * NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation *

National Abortion Federation The National Abortion Federation (NAF) is the professional association of abortion providers. NAF members include private and non-profit clinics, Planned Parenthood affiliates, women's health centers, physicians' offices, and hospitals who together ...

*National Association of Consumer Advocates *National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities *

National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) is an American criminal defense organization. Members include private criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, active U.S. military defense counsel, law professors, judges, and defe ...

* National Center for Law and Economic Justice *

National Center for Lesbian Rights The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) is a non-profit, public interest law firm in the United States that advocates for equitable public policies affecting the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, provides free legal ...

National Center for Transgender Equality The National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) is a nonprofit social equality organization founded in 2003 by transgender activist Mara Keisling in Washington, D.C. The organization works primarily in the areas of policy advocacy and media ...

*National Center for Youth Law *

National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy The National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP) is a progressive advocacy and watchdog group that monitors charitable spending in the United States. It was established in 1976 and is based in Washington, D.C. It advocates for a greater fo ...

National Council of Jewish Women The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization. Founded in 1893, NCJW is self-described as the oldest Jewish women’s grassroots organization in the United States, now comprised by over 180,000 members. As of ...

National Education Association The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the United States. It represents public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college stude ...

*National Employment Lawyers Association *National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association *

National Immigration Forum The National Immigration Forum is an immigrant advocacy non-profit group, based in Washington, DC. It was founded by Phyllis Eisen and Rick Swartz . The Forum uses its communications, advocacy and policy expertise to advocate for immigration, refu ...

National Immigration Law Center The National Immigration Law Center (NILC) is a center in the United States that "engages in policy analysis, litigation, education and advocacy, to achieve hevision" of "a society in which all people—regardless of race, gender, immigration or ec ...

* National Korean American Service & Education Consortium * National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty *

National Lawyers Guild The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) is a progressive public interest association of lawyers, law students, paralegals, jailhouse lawyers, law collective members, and other activist legal workers, in the United States. The group was founded in 193 ...

National Legal Aid & Defender Association The National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA) is the oldest and largest national, nonprofit membership organization devoted to advocating equal justice for all Americans and was established in 1911. History The Fourteenth Amendment ...

National LGBTQ Task Force The National LGBTQ Task Force is an American social justice advocacy non-profit organizing the grassroots power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community. Also known as The Task Force, the organization supports act ...

National Parks Conservation Association The National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) is the only independent, nonpartisan membership organization devoted exclusively to advocacy on behalf of the National Parks System. Its mission is "to protect and enhance America's National Pa ...

National Partnership for Women and Families The National Partnership for Women & Families is a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)3 organization based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1971, the National Partnership works on public policies, education and outreach that focuses on women and familie ...

*National Veterans Legal Services Program *

National Women's Law Center The National Women's Law Center (NWLC) is a United States non-profit organization founded by Marcia Greenberger in 1972 and based in Washington, D.C. The Center advocates for women's rights and LGBTQ rights through litigation and policy initiati ...

Native American Rights Fund The Native American Rights Fund (NARF) is a non-profit organization that uses existing laws and treaties to ensure that U.S. state governments and the U.S. federal government live up to their legal obligations. NARF also "provides legal representa ...

Natural Resources Defense Council The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is a United States-based 501(c)(3) non-profit international environmental advocacy group, with its headquarters in New York City and offices in Washington D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Bo ...

*North Texas Dream Team *Peak Grantmaking *

People's Action People's Action is a national progressive advocacy and political organization in the United States made up of 40 organizations in 30 states. The group's stated goal is to "build the power of poor and working people, in rural, suburban, and urban ...

Planned Parenthood Federation of America The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reven ...

PolicyLink PolicyLink is a national research and action institute dedicated to advancing economic and social equity. It focuses on policies affecting low-income communities and communities of color. It is a nonprofit organization based in Oakland, California, ...

*Public Advocates *

RAICES The Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES) is a nonprofit organization based in Texas that aims to provide legal services for immigrants. , it was the largest legal aid group of its kind in Texas. RAICES also runs ...

*Rockefeller Philanthropies Advisors *

Secular Coalition for America The Secular Coalition for America is an advocacy group located in Washington D.C. It describes itself as "representing the interests of atheists, humanists, freethinkers, agnostics, and other nontheistic Americans." The Secular Coalition has chap ...

*Secular Woman *

Service Employees International Union Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is a labor union representing almost 1.9 million workers in over 100 occupations in the United States and Canada. SEIU is focused on organizing workers in three sectors: healthcare (over half of member ...

*Shriver Center on Poverty Law *

SIECUS The Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States, or simply SIECUS, is a national, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., dedicated to advancing sex education through advocacy, policy, and coalition building. SIECUS ...

Sierra Club Foundation The Sierra Club Foundation is an American nonprofit charitable organization focused on environmental efforts. It is the independent fiscal sponsor of the charitable programs of the Sierra Club, a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The or ...

*Southern California Grantmakers *

Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white su ...

*States United to Prevent Gun Violence *Texas Council on Family Violence *Texas Women's Foundation * The Arc *The Climate Project *The Impact Fund *

Tides Center Tides Foundation is an American public charity and fiscal sponsor working to advance progressive causes and policy initiatives in areas such as the environment, health care, labor issues, immigrant rights, LGBTQ+ rights, women's rights and human ...

Transgender Law Center The Transgender Law Center (TLC) is the largest American transgender-led civil rights organization in the United States. They were originally California's first "fully staffed, state-wide transgender legal organization" and were initially a fisca ...

*UFW Foundation *

Violence Policy Center The Violence Policy Center (VPC) is an American nonprofit organization that advocates for gun control. Organizational background According to Josh Sugarmann, its founder, the VPC approaches violence, and firearms violence in particular, as a p ...

Younger Women's Task Force The Younger Women's Task Force (YWTF) is an affiliate organization of the American Association of University Women. Founded in 2004, YWTF is committed to promoting and implementing programs and policies for the benefit, empowerment, and growth of ...

, Greater Lafayette Chapter *

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control Legal advocacy organizations in the United States Progressive organizations in the United States Organizations established in 1979 1974 establishments in California 501(c)(3) organizations