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Graphic featuring protesters behind the scales of justice, reading ''The Rush: Bolder Action Now: Fill Every Seat'' [[link removed]]

As we move into 2023 and focus on the goals ahead, we encourage you to reflect on the significant progress we achieved in 2022. Read AFJ’s End of Year Report for 2022 [[link removed]] to learn more about the AFJ’s work and the phenomenal nominations and confirmations of last year, including Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation to the Supreme Court.

Last week, the Supreme Court issued an investigative report [[link removed]] that revealed it did not determine who leaked the Dobbs opinion overturning Roe v. Wade last year. Check out this op-ed [[link removed]] written by AFJ’s Kimberly Humphrey [[link removed]] , Legal Director, Federal Courts that discusses how this recently released report demonstrates what we already know: this Supreme Court thinks it is above the very rule of law it was created to protect. Although the justices were interviewed during the investigation, they, unlike all other interviewees, did not have to sign an affidavit. This report serves as a stark reminder that there is no code of ethics that is binding on the Supreme Court justices like there is for all other federal judges.

“This huge gap in the investigation speaks to how invincible the justices see themselves. They wanted to know who the leak was—so long as they weren’t treated as suspects themselves. They are used to their power being truly supreme—with no accountability to anyone—and if the investigation pointed the finger at one of them, it would severely undermine that perception.”
Until we reform the Supreme Court, marginalized communities watching their hard-won civil rights be overturned and denied by the Court will continue to pay the price.

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Labeled Images of Judge Charnelle Bjelkengren and Orelia Merchant during their confirmation hearings over a marble background. [[link removed]]

The Good News
The 118th Congress is back in action this week. The Senate began a new session on Monday, January 23rd and the Senate Judiciary Committee held its first nominations hearing of 2023 on Wednesday, January 25th. Alliance for Justice supported two candidates who appeared at the hearing – Judge Charnelle Bjelkengren and Orelia Merchant.

Judge Charnelle Bjelkengren [[link removed]] (E.D. Wa.) is a lifetime public servant with extensive experience on the bench – both as an administrative law judge and as a superior court judge. If confirmed, she would be the first woman of color to serve on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington as well as the first Black woman to serve on a federal District Court in the state of Washington.

Orelia Merchant [[link removed]] (E.D.N.Y.) has served as Chief Deputy Attorney General for State Counsel in the New York State Attorney General’s Office since 2019. She previously served in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York from 2002 to 2019 and served as Assistant Regional Counsel for the United States Environmental Protection Agency from 1998 to 2002.

This week, the White House also renominated 20 nominees from 2022, bringing the total number of pending nominees up to 54. Many of these renominated nominees already passed through the Senate Judiciary hearing process in 2022 – which means that they won’t have to do so again this year but they will need to be voted out of the Committee.
This is a promising start to what we hope will be a spring full of confirmations – but it is critical we keep pressure on the Senate to prioritize confirmations. With so many vacancies, time is still of the essence!

What's Next
Dark blue and green graphic with information on the event Holding Court: Allow Me to Retort with Elie Mystal: Thursday, February 2, 1PM ET. On Twitter Spaces. Go to twitter.com/AFJustice on 2/2 to join. [[link removed]]

Join Alliance for Justice for the next installment of our event series Holding Court: Justice Conversations with AFJ [[link removed]] . On February 2nd at 1pm Eastern, AFJ President Rakim Brooks will be in conversation with Elie Mystal about Mystal’s new book Allow Me to Retort: A Black Guy’s Guide to the Constitution . We’ll be holding this via Twitter spaces. You don’t need a Twitter account to join day-of, just go to www.twitter.com/afjustice [[link removed]] - but if you have one you can sign up for a reminder here [[link removed]] to join us when it starts.

Donate today to help us keep up The Rush. [[link removed]]
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