The Supreme Court has been in the national spotlight this year with the historic confirmation of Ketanji Brown Jackson and a slew of decisions by the Trump Court’s conservative supermajority attacking our rights. But it’s not just the Supreme Court that impacts our freedoms.
Federal lower courts consider thousands of cases that impact every aspect of our lives. They’re the judges who will interpret recent cases while laying the groundwork for a federal judiciary that works for all of us.
The Trump Administration and their Senate allies flooded the federal judiciary with judges who adhere to extreme, ultraconservative ideologies and lack qualifications. Among Trump’s nominees now serving lifetime tenures on the federal bench are judges with records that show hostility to the rights of women, LGBTQ people, people of color, immigrants, and workers. Many are hostile to common-sense health and safety regulations that protect the air we breathe and the water we drink, ensure safe products for consumers and provide protection from workplace hazards for employees.
Now is the time to take back our courts. Tell your Senator to take action and prioritize filling every lower court vacancy before the end of 2022.
Here’s What You Can Do:
- Sign our petition calling on the Senate to take back our courts by filling every lower courts vacancy by the end of 2022.
- Call your Senators and tell them to fill every vacancy!
- Share our campaign with your friends and family.
- Spread the word on social media using the hashtags #FillEverySeat and #CourtsMatter.
- For more information about these nominees and their records, check out Alliance for Justice’s Judicial Nominee reports at afj.org
Call Script
Hi, my name is [name], and I’m a constituent from [city]. I’m calling because the state of our judiciary is alarming and concerning. The end of term for the Supreme Court was filled with controversial decisions that will have a lasting effect on the American people. Gun safety, separation of church and state, the government’s ability to fight climate change, and of course abortion rights were all significantly weakened by the radical decisions the Trump Court released this term. To mitigate the harm done by this activist court, we must ensure lower courts are filled with diverse judges committed to equal justice. Please prioritize filling every judicial vacancy this year with nominees who will protect the rights of all of us, not just the wealthy and powerful.
After you’ve called, ask 5 friends to call!
Speak Out in the Media: LTEs and Op-Eds
Write a Letter to the Editor
Tips:
- Be clear, timely, concise: Before submitting your piece, check your paper’s guidelines on length. Use the above key talking points and sample Letter to the Editor text to get your point across concisely but remember to connect these issues to your local area.
- Include a Call to Action: Be sure your letter makes a clear ask of your senators, such as calling for them to support President Biden’s nominee. Talk about the importance of protecting health care, civil rights, workers, LGBTQ+ equality, and more for millions and maintaining a fair and independent Supreme Court, not one beholden to politicians.
- Be Current: Check your newspaper so you can respond to a recent article or a recent event in your area. When submitting your piece, make sure you refer to the article specifically by name and date. This will make it much more likely that your piece is published.
- Maximize your letter’s impact: If your letter is printed, send a copy to your senators’ offices! And remember, Senators often search for the issues that their constituents care about in local papers.
Sample Letter to the Editor
Please consider signing and submitting the draft Letter to the Editor below regarding the importance of filling all federal judiciary vacancies before the end of 2022. Most publications have a 150-to-200-word limit for letters to the editor, so each example below is under that word count.
Word Count: 192
To the Editor,
The Senate is in recess this week, and they need to hear loud and clear: our country’s judicial system is in crisis and they need to act now. . The end of term for the Supreme Court was filled with controversial decisions that will have a lasting effect on the American people. With no concern for how their decisions will harm the American people, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority repeatedly decided against the best interest of those whom they are supposed to serve. Gun safety, separation of church and state, the government’s ability to fight climate change, and of course abortion rights were all significantly weakened by the radical decisions the Trump Court released this term.
In light of the Supreme Court’s hyper-partisan end of term decisions, the Senate must rescue our courts by filling every federal judicial vacancy with nominees committed to equal justice and protecting our rights. Lower courts are our next line of defense against this activist court and they must be prioritized via votes being held in the full Senate on all pending nominees. There are over 100 judicial vacancies currently, and we need Senators [A] and [B] to do their part to ensure the Senate moves to fill every one of them by the end of 2022 with judges that will protect our rights throughout all levels of the federal court system.
Sincerely,
NAME
CITY