The Committee for a Fair Judiciary (Committee) is a left-of-center organization that advocates for a left-progressive judiciary by leveraging connections with Congress, particularly the Senate, and the Executive branch. ¹ The organization’s advocacy includes opposition to judicial nominations of originalist conservatives. ²

The Committee trains liberal activists and stakeholders on how to engage decision makers about the political stakes surrounding judicial nominations and motivate them to advocate for a more left-of-center judiciary.

Overview

Founded by Robert Raben in Washington, D.C. and granted tax-exempt status in 2012, the Committee for a Fair Judiciary operates with limited funding and significant connections with Congress and the Federal bureaucracy. ³ It promotes liberal appointments to the judiciary while opposing conservative nominations to the judiciary. ⁴

Management of the Committee for a Fair Judiciary is vested externally in the Raben Group,⁵ a 70-person lobbying and public relations firm owned and operated by Raben. ⁶

No grants to outside organizations were made in 2017 and donations are not publicly disclosed as the Committee operates primarily through the activities of its leadership and its management company.

Finances

The Committee received $252,451 ⁷ in contributions and grants in 2017 and reported expenses of $134,093 ⁸ and net assets of $118,358. ⁹ The organization reported paying $133,00 ¹⁰ in management fees, including $45,000 to Robert Raben, owner of the management company hired to manage the organization. ¹¹

Leadership

Robert Raben, a former Assistant Attorney General in the Clinton administration, is chairman and founder of the Committee for a Fair Judiciary. After leaving government, Raben founded the Raben Group, a lobbying and public relations firm in Washington, D.C. with a left-of-center client base that includes the American Immigration Lawyers Association, Amnesty International USA, Center for Reproductive Rights, the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, Planned Parenthood, and multiple major corporations. ¹²

Raben serves on the boards of several left-of-center organizations including the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, the UnidosUS Action Fund, and My Brothers’ Keeper Alliance. He has served on the boards of the liberal judicial policy groups American Constitution Society and Alliance for Justice. In addition, he founded Hispanics for a Fair Judiciary, the Friends of the Museum of the American Latino, and Green 2.0. ¹³

Joe Onek serves as vice-chairman of the Committee for a Fair Judiciary and as a Principal in the Raben Group. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Center for Law and Social Policy. ¹⁴

Judith Lichtman, a board member, is a senior and former president of the National Partnership for Women and Families, a left-of-center advocacy group focusing on legislation related to women and families. ¹⁵

Christopher Kang, a board member, is co-founder and chief counsel of left-of-center Demand Justice and served a Deputy Counsel to President Barack Obama and as Special Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs where he helped select, vet, and confirm judicial nominations. In the past he was National Director of the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans and worked for Democratic Senate Whip Richard Durbin (D-IL). ¹⁶

Michael Zubrensky, a board member, works as chief counsel for the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a left-of-center advocacy group. He previously served as an Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights and legal policy in the Justice Department. ¹⁷

1. Committee for a Fair Judiciary Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990) Line I, 2017
2. “Committee for a Fair Judiciary.” Committee for a Fair Judiciary. Accessed October 29, 2019. http://www.fairjudiciarycommittee.org/.
3. guidestar.org. Accessed October 29, 2019. https://www.guidestar.org/profile/45-2827319.
4. “Committee for a Fair Judiciary.” Committee for a Fair Judiciary. Accessed October 29, 2019. http://www.fairjudiciarycommittee.org/.
5. Committee for a Fair Judiciary Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990) Schedule O, Supplemental Information, 2017
6. “About.” The Raben Group. Accessed October 29, 2019. https://rabengroup.com/about/.
7. Committee for a Fair Judiciary Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990) Part I line 8, 2017.
8. Committee for a Fair Judiciary Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990) Part I line 18, 2017.
9. Committee for a Fair Judiciary Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990) Part I line 22, 2017.
10. Committee for a Fair Judiciary Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990) Part IX line 11a, 2017.
11. Committee for a Fair Judiciary Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990) Part IV, 2017.
12. “Clients.” The Raben Group. Accessed October 29, 2019. https://rabengroup.com/clients/.
13. “Robert Raben.” The Raben Group. Accessed October 29, 2019. https://rabengroup.com/people/robert-raben/.
14. “Joe Onek.” The Raben Group. Accessed October 29, 2019. https://rabengroup.com/people/joe-onek/.
15. “Judith L. Lichtman.” Judith L. Lichtman. Accessed October 29, 2019. http://www.nationalpartnership.org/about-us/staff-board/judith-lichtman.html.
16. “Christopher Kang.” Demand Justice. Accessed October 29, 2019. https://demandjustice.org/christopher-kang/.
17. “Mike Zubrinsky.” LinkedIn. Accessed October 29, 2019. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-zubrensky-1969ba119/