Friend — Our environmental laws need judges who will enforce them, and our democracy needs judges who work for the people, not just the wealthy and powerful.

The Supreme Court’s recent decisions have only raised the stakes. By rolling back basic protections for LGBTQ+ individuals, striking down affirmative action policies that promote racial equality, and continuing their assault on environmental protections, the Court’s right-wing majority has proven that they are badly out-of-step with the American people and the law.

That’s why, earlier this year, we called on LCV members to urge their senators to confirm judges who will advance a healthy, just, and equitable environment and democracy. Today, I’m happy to say that our movement has made a real impact, Friend.

Since we last wrote to you, LCV members have flooded Senate offices with messages demanding action. And over the past few months, the Senate has confirmed 39 judges to lifetime seats on federal Circuit and District Courts. That total includes incredible advocates for equality, democracy, and our environment. I wanted to tell you about a few of them:

• Nancy Abudu is a leading voting rights lawyer, a top litigator for the Southern Poverty Law Center, and is now the first Black woman to serve on one of the most powerful courts in the Deep South. She was confirmed to serve on the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
• Dale Ho was the lead voting rights advocate at the ACLU and has a distinguished track record of fighting for a more fair and equitable democracy for all communities, especially those who have been historically disenfranchised. He was confirmed to serve on the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.
• Julie Rikelman served as the top litigator for the Center for Reproductive Rights and fought for the right to access abortion. In addition, her lived experience as a refugee who fled anti-Semetic persecution will add a crucial perspective to our judiciary. She was confirmed to serve on the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

TELL YOUR SENATORS: CONTINUE TO PRIORITIZE JUDICIAL CONFIRMATIONS

These and other nominees put forward by President Biden have demonstrated a deep commitment to equity and justice throughout their careers. Many of his nominees are public defenders, workers’ rights lawyers, and voting rights lawyers — and a majority are women and people of color who will bring critical representation to majority white, male courts staffed by judges with corporate and prosecutor backgrounds.

Friend, while there’s still a lot of work to do to reverse the right wing’s capture of our federal judiciary, these pro-environment, pro-democracy judges’ impact will be felt for decades to come. I’m so grateful for your support for our efforts to advance democracy and achieve environmental justice.

Onward,

Doug Lindner
Senior Director of Judiciary & Democracy
League of Conservation Voters

P.S. There’s still so much work to be done to confirm as many pro-democracy, pro-environment judges as possible. You can help today by demanding that senators continue to prioritize judicial confirmations, by sharing this graphic about the need to rebalance our courts, and by making a TRIPLE MATCHED gift to power our campaigns.