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Non-profit

State Court Justice Project

Website:

www.afj.org/statecourts/
Location:

Washington, DC
Tax ID:

52-1009973
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Budget (2020):

Revenue: $5,142,561
Expenses: $5,477,838
Assets: $13,824,890
Type:

Project of Alliance for Justice
CEO:

Rakim Brooks

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The State Court Justice Project is a project of the left-of-center judicial policy advocacy group Alliance for Justice. 1 Alliance for Justice is a legal policy coalition best known for its Judicial Selection Project, which supports the nomination of left-of-center judges to the federal judicial system. 2 The State Court Justice Project is the state court analog to the Judicial Selection Project. The project seeks to elect judges that will weaken voter integrity laws and overrule congressional redistricting maps created by state legislatures. 3

Finances

Alliance for Justice, the parent organization to the State Court Justice Project, receives funding from numerous notable left-of-center contributors, including Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, the Open Society Foundations, the Ford Foundation, and the California Endowment. 4

In 2019, the Alliance for Justice received $7,771,021 in contributions, 5 $8,404,547 in total revenue, 6 made $5,560,037 in expenditures, 7 and possessed $11,881,214 in net assets. 8

Operations

The State Court Justice Project documents how judges are elected to state supreme courts, tracks when each state supreme court judge’s term expires, and tracks the party alignment of all state court judges. 9 The State Court Justice uses this data to highlight upcoming state supreme court elections and urges individuals to elect and nominate judges whose views align with the left-of-center positions of Alliance for Justice. 10

In 2022, Alliance for Justice ran a campaign to develop support for the State Court Justice Project, claiming that the federal judiciary has “been captured by the far-right” and that as a result “the fight” for left-of-center issues must shift to the state courts. 11 The campaign also highlighted the fact that 60% of state supreme court justices were aligned with the Republican Party as an impetus for creating the State Court Justice Project. 12

In an article published by Alliance for Justice, the organization stated that the State Court Justice Project was created in 2022 in response to the result of the 2020 presidential election, 13 and that the State Court Justice Project must be used as a tool to elect state supreme court judges that will weaken voter integrity laws and overrule congressional districting maps opposed by the Alliance for Justice. 14

Leadership

Rakim Brooks is the president of the Alliance for Justice and State Court Justice Project. 15  Prior to joining the Alliance for Justice, Brooks was a campaign manager for the ACLU’s Systematic Equality Campaign, 16 a project of the ACLU that seeks to advance policies that benefit some groups over others based on race and gender classifications. 17

References

  1. State Court Justice Project” Alliance for Justice. https://www.afj.org/statecourts/
  2. “Judicial Nominations” Alliance for Justice. https://www.afj.org/our-work/judicial-nominations/
  3. Adelsberg, Jackie. “The Role of State Courts in Protecting Our Democracy” Alliance for Justice. June 23, 2022. Accessed November 5, 2022.
    https://www.afj.org/article/the-role-of-state-courts-in-protecting-our-democracy/
  4. Data compiled by FoundationSearch.com subscription service, a project of Metasoft Systems, Inc., from forms filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Queries conducted December 20, 2017.
  5. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Alliance for Justice. Part I, line 8. 2019.
  6. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Alliance for Justice. Part I, line 12. 2019.
  7. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Alliance for Justice. Part I, line 18. 2019.
  8. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Alliance for Justice. Part I, line 22. 2019.
  9. “State Court Justice Project” Alliance for Justice. https://www.afj.org/statecourts/
  10. “State Court Justice Project” Alliance for Justice. https://www.afj.org/statecourts/
  11. “Alliance for Justice” Twitter. June 23, 2022. Accessed November 5, 2022. https://twitter.com/AFJustice/status/1540058930084192256
  12. “Alliance for Justice” Twitter. June 23, 2022. Accessed November 5, 2022. https://twitter.com/AFJustice/status/1540058930084192256
  13. Adelsberg, Jackie. “The Role of State Courts in Protecting Our Democracy” Alliance for Justice. June 23, 2022. Accessed November 5, 2022.
    https://www.afj.org/article/the-role-of-state-courts-in-protecting-our-democracy/
  14. Adelsberg, Jackie. “The Role of State Courts in Protecting Our Democracy” Alliance for Justice. June 23, 2022. Accessed November 5, 2022.
    https://www.afj.org/article/the-role-of-state-courts-in-protecting-our-democracy/
  15.  “Rakim Brooks” Alliance for Justice. https://www.afj.org/team_member/rakim-brooks/
  16. “Rakim Brooks” Alliance for Justice. https://www.afj.org/team_member/rakim-brooks/
  17. “Systematic Equality” ACLU. https://www.aclu.org/news/topic/systemic-equality-addressing-americas-legacy-of-racism-and-systemic-discrimination
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: October 1, 1974

    • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2020 Dec Form 990 $5,142,561 $5,477,838 $13,824,890 $1,933,277 N $4,587,236 $223,502 $173,541 $291,016
    2019 Dec Form 990 $8,404,547 $5,560,037 $13,827,097 $1,945,883 N $7,771,021 $339,319 $112,526 $256,122 PDF
    2018 Dec Form 990 $5,618,274 $5,699,201 $10,514,876 $2,196,011 N $5,269,234 $206,004 $79,868 $249,411 PDF
    2017 Dec Form 990 $6,078,620 $5,029,169 $9,351,053 $846,399 N $5,298,084 $463,290 $78,613 $254,832 PDF
    2016 Dec Form 990 $7,325,400 $4,316,897 $8,145,098 $864,667 N $7,072,413 $220,835 $33,634 $256,741
    2015 Dec Form 990 $4,027,732 $4,501,534 $5,327,676 $965,281 N $3,418,052 $403,213 $40,302 $219,059 PDF
    2014 Dec Form 990 $3,668,517 $4,450,942 $6,135,139 $1,166,030 N $3,295,379 $216,052 $28,288 $397,856 PDF
    2013 Dec Form 990 $5,084,034 $4,264,390 $6,526,653 $900,844 N $4,851,550 $92,494 $22,021 $391,170 PDF
    2012 Dec Form 990 $3,909,980 $4,109,755 $5,418,437 $733,000 N $3,747,507 $143,107 $62,223 $339,884 PDF
    2011 Dec Form 990 $3,657,461 $3,785,279 $5,454,143 $716,803 N $3,495,271 $122,636 $83,375 $416,126 PDF

    Additional Filings (PDFs)

    State Court Justice Project


    Washington, DC