Demand Justice is a left-of-center advocacy group created in early 2018 that aims to influence the political leanings of America’s courts by supporting the appointment of liberal judicial nominees and opposing right-of-center nominees. The organization acts primarily through media campaigns against nominated and unconfirmed judicial nominees. Demand Justice was established as a project of Sixteen Thirty Fund, a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization characterized as “dark money” by critics which hosts a number of similar advocacy groups advocating for a left-wing policy agenda. 3
On May 5, 2021, Demand Justice and Demand Justice Initiative both registered in Washington, D.C. as nonprofit corporations, indicating that the organizations were no longer merely projects housed by the Sixteen Thirty Fund and the New Venture Fund, respectively, and were pursuing separate nonprofit status. 11
Following the Trump administration’s nomination of judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, Demand Justice organized protesters to line the halls outside the room where a number of U.S. senators met on September 4, 2018, to conduct confirmation hearings. The protesters dressed as handmaids, referencing the 1985 book “A Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood, where women are denied basic freedoms. Demand Justice released a statement which read: 25
The tour is funded by Demand Justice, NARAL Pro-Choice America, and Planned Parenthood Action Fund.34 Among these radicals is U.S. District Judge Carlton Wayne Reeves, who once compared President Trump to segregationist George Wallace. Another is Fordham University professor Zephyr Teachout, a multiple-time election loser for Attorney General of New York and a friend of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). 44 however Politico also states that it is unknown how much of the losses were attributed to the theft. 44 The 990 form also discloses that in 2022, “the organization discovered misuse of organization funds by its former finance director.” 44 According to Demand Justice spokesperson Colin Diersing, “the matter has been referred to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and Demand Justice is working to recover the funds.” 44
Supreme Court Judge Alito Flag Controversy
In May 2024, Demand Justice was one of several left-of-center advocacy groups, along with Accountable.US; the Center for American Progress (CAP); MoveOn; and the Revolving Door Project; to sign a letter sent to Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) requesting Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito recuse himself from any cases involved with the January 6, 2021 storming of the U.S Capitol due to claims of several flags being flown at Judge Alito’s home that allegedly have connections to January 6. Maggie Jo Buchanan, Demand Justice’s managing director, released a statement claiming, “this is not how the Supreme Court is meant to function and the public’s trust in the Court will only continue to degrade if nothing is done to hold justices accountable for unethical behavior.” 45 In addition, Demand Justice also announced it would begin a six-figure ad campaign calling for Judge Alito’s recusal from future election-related cases. 45 In a response released to Sen. Durbin and other Senate Democrats, Judge Alito stated he that he refused to recuse himself from such cases, claiming that his wife was responsible for flying the controversial flags at their home and that they were unaware of their connection to January 6. 45
Campaign Activism
2018 Midterm Election
During the recount of the 2018 Florida U.S. Senate election, an email by Demand Justice (available here) urged supporters of Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson to “help out in a variety of roles in the recount process, including observing at polls, data processing, and logistics organization.” “If you are a lawyer or have legal training and live in Florida or can travel to Florida, please sign up,” the email added.44 68
In 2021, Demand Justice received $1,982,613 from its former fiscal sponsor, Sixteen Thirty Fund. 69
Between April and June 2018, Demand Justice received more than $2.5 million from the Open Society Policy Center, a 501(c)(4) lobbying group founded by George Soros, for general support. Open Society Policy Center gave Demand Justice another sum of $87,000 between October and December of that year to support their advocacy efforts on judicial nominations. 74 According to his LinkedIn profile, he founded Demand Justice in February 2018, although a Buzzfeed article claims that the organization was launched in May of that same year. 75 3 Prior to Demand Justice, Fallon previously served as president of Barracks Row Media, a Washington, D.C. public relations firm. He previously worked as a political commentator for CNN, and served as a senior adviser for the political action committee Priorities USA, which provided critical funding to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. Beginning in April 2015, Fallon also served as the Hillary Clinton campaign’s press secretary. Prior to joining Clinton’s campaign, Fallon was a spokesperson for former attorney general Eric Holder in the Department of Justice under President Obama, as well as communications director for Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) from 2007-2010. 3 Prior to Demand Justice, Kang oversaw vetting and selection of judicial nominees in the Obama administration, including those of Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor. 85 Kang is also a member of Demand Justice Initiative’s board. in 2021, he received total compensation of $164,895. 74
Arkadi Gerney is chairman of Demand Justice’s board. 3 Herwig left the organization in 2021 to serve as Senior Counsel for the White House Counsel’s Office. 90 In May 2023 it was announced she would be leaving her position to serve a different role within the Administration. 91 Prior to Demand Justice and the Biden Administration, Herwig’s career included serving as chief of staff and senior counsel at the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Policy under the Obama Administration, the chief nominations counsel for Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and counselor to former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch. 91
Demand Justice was also incorporated by lawyer Ezra Reese, of the Elias Law Group. 94
Shannon Wurthman serves as the digital and social media strategist at Demand Justice. Prior to joining Demand Justice, Wurthman worked for Free Speech for People and Run the World Digital, two left-of-center nonprofits. Wurthman also worked as the deputy digital director of the Greater Philadelphia area for the Hillary for America campaign as well as a volunteer for the Obama for America campaign.98 Psaki has previously served under the Obama administration and for John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign.
Paige Herwig serves a senior counsel under the Biden administration. 99 Demand Justice praised her nomination for how she will influence judicial nominations. 0){
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