Washington, D.C.— People For the American Way is excited to announce that today it is making its Confirmed Judges, Confirmed Fears project data more accessible to wider audiences with a new user-friendly web tool allowing users to sort case information by judge and issue area. Since 2017, the Confirmed Judges, Confirmed Fears blog series has been covering troubling votes and decisions by Trump appellate judges, including Supreme Court justices. The series has focused on showing how extreme Trump’s judges are by documenting cases in which dissents occurred and Trump judges split from their colleagues. We have now written about more than 200 rulings, affecting legal rights in dozens of key areas including voting rights, LGBTQ+ equality, racial equity, reproductive rights, the rights of working people, checks and balances on presidential power, repealing the New Deal, and more. The online tool will allow users to see at a glance highlighted bad rulings in each issue area or to sort bad rulings by judge, for a clearer picture of that judge's individual impact on important rights.
"Ruling by ruling, Trump judges are chipping away at our fundamental rights, and this tool allows users to see that in very clear and stark terms," said PFAW Executive Vice President of Policy and Program Marge Baker. "It’s designed to enhance people's understanding of individual judges' records as well as what's happening to our courts overall. We hope people will use this tool to gain awareness of the damage being done to our rights, and then to hold Republican senators, as well as President Trump, accountable for nominating and confirming these judges to the bench."
The tool is especially timely as presidential primary candidates gather for another debate tonight. The next president will face an enormous responsibility to repair the damage that the Trump administration and Trump judges have done to our justice system. This tool brings that damage into sharp focus.
In conjunction with the tool's public debut today, a new blog post in the Confirmed Judges, Confirmed Fears series, by PFAW Senior Director of Outreach and Public Engagement Diallo Brooks, shows how the tool can be used to explore Trump judges' devastating effects on racial justice and equity. Another post provides a thorough how-to for new users.
The need for the tool arose when the volume of disturbing cases documented in the Confirmed Judges, Confirmed Fears series grew so large that it became impossible to be navigated or analyzed easily. As noted, the tool only includes cases in which there were dissents, not every case ruled on by Trump appellate judges. Rather, it provides a way to sort cases highlighted in the Confirmed Judges, Confirmed Fears series. These include the most egregious rulings by these judges.
The tool can be used to find bad rulings by Trump appellate judges in the 25 issue areas below:
- Abuse of Government Authority
- Age Discrimination
- Corporations and Consumers
- Criminal Justice
- Death Penalty
- Education
- Environment
- Freedom of Speech and Press
- Gun Safety
- Health Care
- Housing
- Immigration
- LGBTQ+ Rights
- Money in Politics
- Native American/Indigenous People's Rights
- Persons with Disabilities
- Privacy
- Racial and Ethnic Equity
- Religious Liberty
- Repealing the New Deal
- Reproductive Rights
- Sexual Harassment and Assault
- Voting Rights
- Women's Rights
- Workers and Employment
Judges included in the tool as of its launch today are:
- Bridget Bade
- Amy Coney Barrett
- Mark Bennett
- Joseph Bianco
- Stephanos Bibas
- Elizabeth Branch
- Michael Brennan
- John K. Bush
- Joel Carson
- Daniel Collins
- Kyle Duncan
- Allison Eid
- Kurt Engelhardt
- Ralph Erickson
- Neil Gorsuch
- Britt Grant
- Steven Grasz
- James Ho
- Gregory Katsas
- Brett Kavanaugh
- Jonathan Kobes
- Joan Larsen
- Kenneth Lee
- Paul Matey
- Eric Miller
- Eric Murphy
- John Nalbandian
- Ryan Nelson
- Kevin Newsom
- Andrew Oldham
- Michael Park
- David Porter
- Marvin Quattlebaum
- Neomi Rao
- Chad Readler
- Julius Richardson
- Allison Rushing
- Michael Scudder
- Amy St. Eve
- David Stras
- Richard Sullivan
- Amul Thapar
- Don Willett
Appellate judges' records will be added to the tool as they are confirmed. Judges are not included in the tool unless a case or cases they have ruled on has been analyzed in Confirmed Judges, Confirmed Fears. New issue areas may be added as needed.
About People For the American Way
People For the American Way is a progressive advocacy organization founded to fight right-wing extremism and build a democratic society that implements the ideals of freedom, equality, opportunity and justice for all. We encourage civic participation, defend fundamental rights, and fight to dismantle systemic barriers to equitable opportunity. Learn more: https://www.pfaw.org.