The Equal Justice Society is a left-of-center organization working to expand the legal perception of discrimination to include “unconscious and structural bias” and reverse a racist “imbalance in our courts.” ¹ The organization’s litigation efforts include collaborating with legal scholars to combat “implicit bias and structural racism” ² across the criminal justice system and bias in environmental and educational spheres. ³

Activities

The Equal Justice Society’s legal program is working to replace what it coins the “Intent Standard,” a legal requirement used to prove biased intent for anti-discrimination claims, to address implicit bias and racism. ⁴ The organization believes that replacing the Intent Standard with an “impact standard” will better-addresses racism and restore the protections of the Fourteenth Amendment. ⁵

The Equal Justice Society launched the National Implicit Bias Network in 2017 to advance the understanding of what it considers implicit bias and racism. The network serves as an educational outreach platform and originally began with a founding membership of 40 individuals ranging from attorneys to scholars. ⁶

The program’s legal issue areas include the broader criminal justice system, environmental and health impacts, transportation policing, and educational discipline policies. ⁷ In 2022, the organization joined Stand Up America, a left-of-center advocacy group, and 150 other organizations in applauding U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for advocating for left-progressive voting legislation. ⁸ The press release praised Sen. Schumer and his Democratic colleagues for trying to “pave the way for voting rights protections.” ⁹

Finance

The organization’s tax returns for 2019 demonstrate total revenue of more than $1,352,000 and total expenses of just over $1,353,000. Total revenue the prior year reached just shy of $748,000 and expenses were more than $1.2 million. ¹⁰ The organization’s total revenue drastically fluctuated in recent years as it reported about $900,000 in total revenue in 2017 compared to more than $1.85 million in 2016. ¹¹

The Equal Justice Society has received tens of thousands of dollars in grants from the left-of-center Carnegie Corporation, including $20,000 in 2004, $50,000 in 2006, and $50,000 in 2008. ¹² The organization also received funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the California Endowment to create the National Implicit Bias Network. ¹³

Leadership

Eva Paterson is the president and co-founder of the Equal Justice Society. She earned a bachelor’s in political science from Northwestern University and a law degree from the University of California, Berkeley. She has worked as a litigator for more than four decades and, in addition to receiving dozens of awards, presented before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judicial Conference and the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. ¹⁴

1. “Our Mission.” Equal Justice Society, July 6, 2011. https://equaljusticesociety.org/aboutus/mission/.
2. “Legal Program.” Equal Justice Society, December 15, 2021. https://equaljusticesociety.org/law/.
3. “About.” Equal Justice Society, December 16, 2021. https://equaljusticesociety.org/aboutus/.
4. “Intent Standard.” Equal Justice Society, July 17, 2020. https://equaljusticesociety.org/law/intentdoctrine/#:~:text=What%20is%20the%20intent%20standard,prove%20an%20anti%2Ddiscrimination%20claim.
5.  “Legal Program.” Equal Justice Society, December 15, 2021. https://equaljusticesociety.org/law/.
6. “Implicit Bias.” Equal Justice Society, October 18, 2017. https://equaljusticesociety.org/law/implicitbias/.
7. “Legal Program.” Equal Justice Society, December 15, 2021. https://equaljusticesociety.org/law/.
8.  Stand Up America. “Over 150 pro-Democracy Groups to Schumer: ‘Do Not Wait Any Longer’ to Change Senate Rules, Pass Voting Rights and Democracy Legislation.” Common Dreams, January 6, 2022. https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2022/01/06/over-150-pro-democracy-groups-schumer-do-not-wait-any-longer-change-senate-rules.
9. Stand Up America. “Over 150 pro-Democracy Groups to Schumer: ‘Do Not Wait Any Longer’ to Change Senate Rules, Pass Voting Rights and Democracy Legislation.” Common Dreams, January 6, 2022. https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2022/01/06/over-150-pro-democracy-groups-schumer-do-not-wait-any-longer-change-senate-rules.
10. Equal Justice Society, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2019
11. Equal Justice Society, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2017
12. Carnegie Corporation of New York. “Equal Justice Society.” Carnegie Corporation of New York. Accessed January 22, 2022. https://www.carnegie.org/grants/grants-database/grantee/equal-justice-society/#!/grants/grants-database/grant/31779.0/.
13. “Implicit Bias.” Equal Justice Society, October 18, 2017. https://equaljusticesociety.org/law/implicitbias/.
14. “Eva Paterson.” Equal Justice Society, September 30, 2021. https://equaljusticesociety.org/aboutus/evapaterson/.