WASHINGTON, D.C., November 5, 2024 – Voters in Michigan have elected Kimberly Thomas and reelected Kyra Harris Bolden to serve as associate justices on the Michigan Supreme Court. Justice Bolden has already proven in her time on the court that she is committed to protecting the rights of all people. Thomas has spent her career fighting for marginalized groups, including as a nonprofit legal defender.  

Jake Faleschini, Justice Program Director for the Alliance for Justice Action Campaign, issued the following statement: 

“Given how important state courts have become for resolving major questions that affect everyone’s rights, health, and safety, today’s result is a fantastic one for the people of Michigan. AFJ Action was proud to support Justice Kyra Harris Bolden and Kimberly Thomas. From voting rights to consumers’ rights to gun violence prevention, the Michigan Supreme Court has been advancing the cause of justice for all Michiganders and we trust this result will ensure it can continue that important work.” 

CONTACT
Zack Ford, Press Secretary
(202) 464-7370 / zack.ford@afjac.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 21, 2024 – Georgia Supreme Court Justice Andrew Pinson has won reelection to his seat, defeating challenger John Barrow. While there were four seats under consideration in Tuesday’s election, Barrow was the only challenger to any of the incumbents. Competitive judicial elections are rare in Georgia because the secretary of state’s control over the elections allows them to effectively curtail efforts to challenge incumbents they wish to keep in power. Barrow called out Pinson’s role in helping defend a six-week abortion ban and was accused of ethical violations for implying as a judicial candidate how he’d rule in such cases. 

While the outcome is not surprising given the incumbent advantage and the way “judicial ethics” were weaponized to protect Justice Pinson, the race sparked important conversations about the importance of state supreme court elections. As the conservative supermajority on the U.S. Supreme Court rules against cherished rights and freedoms, state supreme courts can be an important stopgap — one that voters in many states can directly impact. 

Jake Faleschini, Justice Program Director at Alliance for Justice Action Campaign, issued the following statement: 

“The outcome in the Georgia Supreme Court race is disappointing, but this race opened a Pandora’s Box that won’t so easily be closed. How else should voters be expected to select a justice but for their understanding of the law and the way it protects them? The U.S. Supreme Court has specifically upheld the free speech rights of judges who are forced to run in elections. Our state constitutions can be more protective of our rights than the U.S. Constitution, and Barrow had every right to talk about his values on the campaign trail. 

“Georgia’s supreme court may not have become a safer place for reproductive rights, but we are encouraged by the discourse around this race. Voters deserve justices who care about the integrity of the law and not just a partisan agenda. This was only one election out of the 33 states holding supreme court elections across the country this year, and we look forward to state supreme court races where these vital issues receive the attention and scrutiny they deserve. Sunlight, as they say, is the best disinfectant.” 

CONTACT
Zack Ford, Press Secretary
(202) 464-7370 / zack.ford@afjac.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 10, 2024 – State supreme courts have always played a huge role in determining our rights and freedoms, but in the wake of massive U.S. Supreme Court decisions sending issues like reproductive freedom and access to democracy back to states, their role is in the national spotlight more than ever. A new report from the Alliance for Justice Action Campaign highlights the increasing focus on state court elections and some of the major cases these courts are handling. 

“State of Justice 2024: State Supreme Courts and the Future of Democracy” examines Wisconsin and Pennsylvania’s state supreme court elections in 2023, the first and second most expensive state court races in U.S. history. It also highlights several of the significant appointments and 30 notable major decisions that defined 2023 for state courts.  

The report also outlines the 2024 state supreme court elections, which include 82 races in 33 states, several of which could shift the balance of those state courts, and seven more expected vacancies in six other states. The report also previews 2025, in which there are expected to be elections for four seats in two states and four vacancies in three other states. 

Alliance for Justice Action Campaign President Rakim H.D. Brooks issued the following statement: 

“For too long, state courts have not received the attention they deserve, even within the states they serve. As we saw in 2023’s elections, however, races for seats on these courts are becoming significant political battlegrounds as state courts tackle vital issues core to the future of our democracy. This new report, a hallmark of our state courts advocacy, speaks to the major role state courts are playing in shaping our lives and the role we must play in monitoring who sits on these courts and what actions they take. We hope reports like this make it easier for voters to learn about their own courts and how they can get involved in this year’s many races.” 

Click here to read the full report: State of Justice 2024: State Supreme Courts and the Future of Democracy. 

WASHINGTON, D.C., November 7, 2023 – Today Pennsylvania voters elected Judge Dan McCaffery as the commonwealth’s next Supreme Court justice. With the support of workers and reproductive freedom advocates, McCaffery is poised to help the court uphold the law by preserving access to abortion, gun safety measures, and the right of every Pennsylvanian to have their vote fairly counted. The Alliance for Justice Action Campaign contacted hundreds of thousands of voters in Pennsylvania to let them know what was at stake in this election and to encourage them to vote for McCaffery. 

Alliance for Justice Action Campaign President Rakim Brooks issued the following statement: 

“In the wake of challenges to the 2020 election and the Dobbs decision, our state courts are more important than ever. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court heard over a dozen cases attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Thankfully, they rejected them all. The election of Dan McCaffery will help ensure the court will continue to protect the liberties of all people, including their access to the polls and to abortion. With significant cases on these matters on the horizon, Pennsylvania voters ensured that they will be handled with the care and consideration their constitution demands.” 

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 4, 2023 – The Alliance for Justice Action Campaign offers its sincere congratulations to Janet Protasiewicz on winning today’s election to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. With over $42 million spent, this race made history as the most expensive state supreme court race in American history. 

Protasiewicz’s win will put liberals back in control of the state’s highest court at a crucial time. It could soon be faced with questions related to abortion access, the state legislature’s heavily gerrymandered maps, and the integrity of the 2024 election. Having fair-minded justices like Protasiewicz will make a difference for protecting democracy, justice, and equal rights. 

Jake Faleschini, AFJ Action Legal Director for State Courts, issued the following statement: 

“AFJ Action was proud to support Janet Protasiewicz for the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Her victory may end up being a saving grace for democracy in a state where Republican lawmakers have rigged legislative maps, undermined fair elections, and gutted the power of the elected governor. Let this election be a warning for just how determined conservatives are to steal power and impose minority rule. We held them off today, but we saw their true colors and we know they won’t stop in Wisconsin. Protasiewicz proved the will of the people can prevail, and we hope that she has the courage to protect the rights of the people in return.” 

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 31, 2023 – Today the Alliance for Justice Action Campaign issued its inaugural 2023 State of the State Supreme Courts report, an in-depth look at the current developments in state supreme courts across all 50 states. 

State courts hear the majority of court cases in the United States, with 95% of all lawsuits being filed in state courts. With the U.S. Supreme Court refusing to uphold important protections for abortion, voting rights, and other core democratic freedoms, state supreme courts are becoming an even more important buttress for justice. 

AFJ Action’s new report reviews all of 2022’s 30 state supreme court elections and the impact they had on the landscape of these courts. It also previews the important races happening this year in Wisconsin (next week) and Pennsylvania (in November) and in another 32 states in 2024. At least 76 seats across the country will hang in the balance as voters go to the polls, and it is essential that they are just as informed about these state courts races as they are about the presidential and congressional ones. 

To drive home the impact of state courts, the report also highlights recent notable state supreme court cases, some of which have been essential to protecting people’s freedoms and some of which have restricted those rights. 

The report builds on the State Courts Justice Project, launched by Alliance for Justice last year as a hub of information about the highest courts in all 50 states. 

Jake Faleschini, AFJ Action Legal Director for State Courts, issued the following statement:  

“It is more crucial than ever that people across the country understand how their state courts work and how their judges and justices are selected. Unlike the U.S. Supreme Court, many states elect their jurists, handing voters direct control over the rule of law in their state. Dobbs was a wake-up call that we cannot take our rights and freedoms for granted. We all have a role to play in ensuring that our courts are committed to equal rights and justice for all. This report provides a first-of-its-kind look at the landscape of our state courts, and we hope it will be a useful tool in helping voters appreciate the importance of these courts and the role they play in them.” 

Click here to read the full 2023 State of the State Supreme Courts report. 

Read the full report.

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 27, 2023 – As the Wisconsin Supreme Court race enters its home stretch, Alliance for Justice Action Campaign is redoubling its commitment to preserving democracy in the state with an additional five-figure campaign on top of its ongoing efforts to get out the vote and support Janet Protasiewicz on April 4. 

The campaign will feature a video that highlights Protasiewicz’s commitment to equality and justice for all and the importance of flipping the Wisconsin Supreme Court to protect core democratic principles. In contrast, Dan Kelly is an extremist who openly opposes abortion access, who has compared affirmative action and social security to slavery, and who openly worked for the Republican Party to advise on election issues. For years, Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin have been gutting the power of the governor and undermining access to the polls, and Kelly cannot be allowed to rule on anti-democratic cases he may have literally helped devise the legal strategy for in the first place. 

Additionally, the campaign will include roughly $50,000 in voter outreach and education through text messages and banner ads, which will help voters understand that the election is happening, that it’s not too late to register to vote, why it is important to vote, and how to find their polling place or request and cast an absentee ballot.  

Jake Faleschini, AFJ Action Legal Director for State Courts, issued the following statement: 

“The stakes could not be higher in this Wisconsin Supreme Court race, which has already become the most expensive state supreme court race in American history. It is no exaggeration to say that democracy is literally on the line. For the past decade, Wisconsin has been a failed state thanks to the Republican Party gerrymandering the legislature to maintain control even when it has lacked majority support from voters. We cannot allow the Wisconsin Supreme Court to continue to prop up this non-representative power grab with more attacks on voting rights and representation that could impact federal representation as well. AFJ Action is committed to preserving democracy and fighting to seat progressive jurists ready to protect equality and justice for all.” 

WASHINGTON, D.C., February 10, 2023 – In the last week of January, the Washington Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case in which a group of wealthy conservative activists are challenging a capital gains tax passed by the Washington state legislature. In their attempts to defeat the tax, which is expected to bring in about $500 million that will fund early childhood education in the state, one group has admitted to openly attempting to lobby the justices on that court.

In the days leading up to the hearing, the Washington Policy Center (WPC) — a rightwing, Freedom Foundation-aligned think tank in Washington and an amicus filer in the case — informed donors that it planned to run ads directly targeting the justices and their staff at their offices and homes to sway their thinking against the tax. In addition to being an amicus filer, two parties named in the lawsuit also sit on the WPC board. This ad campaign, they admitted to donors, would involve using microtargeting techniques like geo-fencing to ensure the justices, their staff, and their influencers see their materials.

Jake Faleschini, Legal Director for State Courts at Alliance for Justice Action Campaign, issued the following statement:

“It’s astonishing to see conservative groups openly admit that they’re trying to win their cases outside of the courtroom. I’m young enough to remember when conservatives tried to convince the nation that judges just call balls and strikes while they decried rulings they didn’t like as ‘judicial activism.’ Now, conservatives don’t even pretend to care about winning cases on the merits.

“As we’ve learned from recent revelations about anti-abortion groups courting the U.S. Supreme Court, this is not an isolated incident. Conservatives have transformed our federal courts into political institutions and want to do the same with our state courts. This is why public faith in our courts is so low. People from all political backgrounds should come together to condemn these lobbying tactics. If the president and CEO of the Washington Policy Center, who is a member of the Washington State Bar Association, had a hand in these attempted ex parte communications with the justices, then he should be disbarred for ethics violations. The only way to restore trust in our justice system is to make sure the courtroom is a level playing field for all cases.”