Fueled by dark money groups, Republicans have completely taken over the federal judiciary. For decades, Republicans have hijacked the federal judiciary, installing far-right extremist judges hell-bent on rolling back civil rights protections, reproductive justice, workers’ rights, LGBTQ equality, and more. As president, Donald Trump’s ramped up the GOP attack on our courts, with help from his chief enabler, Mitch McConnell. Together, Trump and McConnell successfully confirmed over 200 judges to the federal judiciary, including three Supreme Court justices. These judges are overwhelmingly white, male, and young. Many of them were rated “unqualified” to serve as judges. And although Trump has mercifully left office, his judges will be on the bench for the rest of their lives, working to overturn any progressive legislation passed throughout the country.
Every single issue we care about comes down to the courts. Conservatives understand how important the courts are in blocking progress and protecting conservative interests. That’s why they want to get and keep control of the judiciary to ensure they can achieve their preferred outcomes in court -- by turning the judiciary into a partisan circus.
Why does this matter? Because an overwhelmingly conservative judiciary has already led to unfettered money influencing our democratic processes, the gutting of the Voting Rights Act which has led to historic voter suppression, rollbacks of critical environmental regulations, attacks on reproductive rights, and ongoing assaults on workers and immigrants. To unrig our courts, we need to pass bold, structural reform in these four areas:
This may seem complicated, but we can do this with a simple legislative vote and with no constitutional amendments. Keep reading for more on Indivisible’s Court Reform Agenda and what other immediate steps President Biden can take to unrig our courts.
Our democracy is rigged to favor the white and wealthy. In addition to the court reform, we need bold, structural reforms to fix every aspect of our democracy, such as passing H.R. 1 and making D.C. the 51st state. Read about the rest of our democracy reform priorities, and then call your representatives and demand they support our democracy agenda.
Unrigging the courts is a complex problem, but there are several immediate steps we can take to address the problem. Along with our partners in the Unrig the Courts coalition, we are calling for the following solutions, which can be achieved through simple legislation, with no constitutional amendment required:
It's simple: none of the progressive issues that Democratic candidates and congressional leaders are discussing today will become law unless we do something about the filibuster. Read more about why the filibuster is a Jim-Crow relic and then call your Senator and demand they eliminate the filibuster.
Separately from Congress, President Biden will also play a huge role in ensuring we have fair, equitable courts that represent the needs of the people. As president, Biden is solely responsible for nominating judges to the federal judiciary and the Supreme Court. Until we pass our court reform agenda, these judges will serve for life, so it’s critical that he nominates people who, unlike Trump’s nominees, will follow the law and not party affiliation. It’s also critically important that Biden improve diversity on the bench -- not just racial diversity, but professional diversity as well. In other words, we want to see Biden pick civil rights attorneys, public defenders, environmental law experts, and other types of lawyers who are usually overlooked for federal judgeships.
Our partners Demand Justice are leading the way in providing criteria for the judges President Biden should be appointing. They say:
“Instead of elevating corporate lawyers, the next president must nominate judges who understand the impact of the law on all Americans because they have fought for justice and equality; represented plaintiffs, workers, or indigent defendants; or studied the law from that vantage point.”
Additionally, President Biden is putting together a bipartisan court reform commission that will explore ways to fix our broken judicial system, including court expansion. It is critical that the right voices make it onto the commission, meaning people who understand how our federal judiciary has been undermined over the years and recommend reforms to address the problems. Members of this commission must:
For more information on the courts commission, read this letter we signed onto with our court reform partners.