Alliance for Justice (AFJ) is a progressive judicial advocacy group in the United States. Founded in 1979 by current president Nan Aron, AFJ monitors federal judicial appointments. AFJ represents a coalition of 100 politically liberal groups that have an interest in the federal judiciary.
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."
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. The organization provides background on prospective nominees to the American Bar Association and the Senate Judiciary Committee.
AFJ played a role in the defeat of Ronald Reagan nominee Robert Bork's nomination to the Supreme Court of the United States in 1987. In 2001, the organization supported the nomination of Roger Gregory, a Bill Clinton nominee and the first African-American judge in the Fourth Circuit in 2001. In 2013, AFJ supported President Barack Obama's three nominees for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
AFJ reports a membership of over 100 organizations. On its website, AFJ lists the following member groups:
Justice Policy Institute
AIDS United
National LGBTQ Task Force
AARP
Abortion Care Network
Advocates for Youth
Arkansas Center for Health Improvement
Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund
Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
Business and Professional People for the Public Interest
Business and Professional Women Foundation
Campion Foundation
Center for Children’s Law and Policy
Center for Constitutional Rights
Center for Digital Democracy
Center for Inquiry
Center for Law and Social Policy
Center for Partnership Studies
Center for Reproductive Rights
Center for Science in the Public Interest
Children’s Defense Fund
Compassion & Choices
Comprehensive Health Education Foundation
Conservation Campaign
Consumer Action
Consumers Union
Culture Project
Dallas Women’s Foundation
Defending Dissent Foundation
Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund
Drug Policy Alliance
Earth Day Network
Earthjustice
EarthRights International
Education Law Center
Energy Foundation
Equal Justice Society
Equal Rights Advocates
Food Research & Action Center
Foodbank of the Albermarle
Green for All
Harmon, Curran, Spielberg & Eisenberg, LLP
Human Rights Campaign Foundation
Institute for Public Representation
Jewish Social Justice Roundtable
Jobs with Justice
Juvenile Law Center
Lambda Legal
Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
League of Conservation Voters Education Fund
Legal Aid Society
Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center
Legal Momentum
Maine Women’s Lobby
Mental Health America
Methodist Healthcare Ministries
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL) Pro-Choice America
National Abortion Federation
National Association of Consumer Advocates
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
National Center for Law and Economic Justice
National Center for Lesbian Rights
National Center for Youth Law
National Center on Poverty Law
National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy
National Consumer Voice for Long-Term Quality Care
National Council for Research on Women
National Council of Jewish Women
National Education Association
National Employment Lawyers Association
National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association
National Immigration Forum
National Immigration Law Center
National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty
National Lawyers Guild
National Legal Aid & Defender Association
National Low Income Housing Coalition
National Partnership for Women and Families
National Senior Citizens Law Center
National Veterans Legal Services Program
National Whistleblowers Center
National Wildlife Federation
National Women’s Law Center
Native American Rights Fund
Natural Resources Defense Council
New York Lawyers for the Public Interest
Physicians for Human Rights
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
PolicyLink
Progress Michigan
Public Advocates
Secular Coalition for America
Service Employees International Union
Seton Hall Law School Center for Social Justice
Sierra Club Foundation
States United to Prevent Gun Violence
Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
TASH
The Advocacy Fund
The Arc
The City Project
The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, Inc.
The National Parks Conservation Association
Tides Center
Transgender Law Center
UFW Foundation
USAction
Violence Policy Center
Wilderness Society
Women’s Law Project
Women's Way
