The United States Justice Foundation (USJF) engages in litigation that supports originalist interpretation of the United States Constitution and advocates for right-of-center viewpoints in the justice system by educating and informing the public on major issues. The organization sponsors conferences and publishes studies while contributing legal defense resources on cases that involve right-of-center principles. ^{1 2}

USJF advocates for and litigates seeking originalist interpretations of the Constitution with past cases on issues involving race and gender-based admissions to K-12 schools and an amicus brief supporting President Donald Trump’s appeal to the Supreme Court claiming absolute presidential immunity from criminal prosecution. ^{3 4}

Advocacy

United States Justice Foundation posted and supported an opinion piece in The Hill in 2021 titled “DC Statehood is bad policy and Worse Politics.” ⁵

USJF published a report titled “Judicial Coup: Democrats’ Dangerous Scheme to Overthrow United States Supreme Court” that put forth the position that “packing” the court by adding additional Justices would violate separation of powers and provides a history of changes made to the court since the nation’s founding. ⁶

USJF commended President Donald Trump for the nomination of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh praising him as an “All-American jurist.” ⁷

USJF lobbying expense for 2020, and 2021 totaled $571,131 (13.6 percent of total expenses). ⁸

Legal Action

The United States Justice Foundation filed suit against the city of Oakland to block Measure S, a measure passed by voters to allow noncitizen residents who are the parents, legal guardians, or legally recognized caregivers of a child residing in Oakland to vote for school board as a violation of the California Constitution. ^{9 10}

USJF published a report evidencing potential bias by National Public Radio (NPR) followed by filling a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging NPR’s political coverage did not meet the requirements for a press exemption and as a result their coverage should be treated as a contribution to the Democratic Party. ¹¹

United States Justice Foundation supported a legal complaint against MSNBC and the President Joe Biden campaign for failure to qualify for exemption from political regulations and was thus an illegal coordination of in-kind support. ¹²

The U.S. District Court found in favor of James V. Lacey and the United States Justice Foundation ordering President Biden’s State Department to pay $80,000 in attorney fees for wrongfully withholding documents relating to Hunter Biden’s activities in Ukraine in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case. ¹³

Financials

United States Justice Foundation raised $13,153,565 from 2018 through 2022 from gifts, grants, contributions, and fees. ¹⁴

$3,975,155 in revenue was generated through the Richard Norman Company and ForthRight Strategy direct mail campaigns offset by $543,877 in campaign expense. ¹⁵

People

James Lacey is founder, president and CEO of United States Justice Foundation and author of “Taxifornia.” Lacey was a member of the board of directors of the American Conservative Union for thirty-eight years. ¹⁶

J.D. Hayworth is chairman of the board of advisors of USJF, and a seven-term Republican member of Congress for Arizona’s 6^th Congressional District. Hayworth is a television and radio host and guest host for Mark Levin and Laura Ingram and has been a stand-in anchor for MSNBC’s “Scarborough Country” and CNN’s “Crossfire.” ¹⁷

1. “About.” US Justice Foundation, December 1, 2020. Accessed February 10, 2025. https://usjf.net/about/.
2. Warta, Tamara. “Understanding the United States Justice Foundation.” LoveToKnow, May 3, 2023. Accessed February 10, 2025. https://www.lovetoknow.com/life/lifestyle/united-states-justice-foundation
3. “Search Results for ‘Impeachment.’” US Justice Foundation, January 25, 2022. Accessed February 10, 2025. https://usjf.net/?s=impeachment.
4. USJF. Accessed February 10, 2025. USJF. Accessed February 10, 2025. https://www.usjf.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/USJFDevelopmentBoise-230414-Final.pdf.
5. Keith Naughton, opinion contributor. “DC Statehood Is Bad Policy and Worse Politics.” The Hill, April 24, 2021. Accessed February 10, 2025. https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/550096-dc-statehood-is-bad-policy-and-worse-politics/.
6. USJF. Accessed February 10, 2025. https://usjf.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/FINAL-USJF-Supreme-Court-Packing.pdf.
7. “News – Page 2.” US Justice Foundation, January 25, 2022. Accessed February 10, 2025. https://usjf.net/category/news/page/2/.
8. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990) 2022 Part II-A, line 2.
9. KTVU FOX 2. “Conservative Group Sues Oakland Allowing Non-Citizens to Vote in School Board Races.” KTVU FOX 2 San Francisco, December 16, 2022. Accessed February 10, 2025. https://www.ktvu.com/news/conservative-group-sues-oakland-allowing-non-citizens-to-vote-in-school-board-races.
10. USJF. Accessed February 10, 2025. https://usjf.net/2022/12/15/united-states-justice-foundation-files-complaint-against-the-city-of-oakland-in-superior-court/
11. “NPR Exposed”. US Justice Foundation. Accessed February 10, 2025. https://usjf.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/NPR-Report-July-2024-Final-w-Redline-Edits-Accepted-8-15-24.pdf
12. “MSNBC’s Systemic Bias & Express Advocacy.” US Justice Foundation, April 6, 2022. Accessed February 10, 2025. https://usjf.net/2021/02/09/msnbcs-systemic-bias-express-advocacy/.
13. “USJF Scores Victory in Its FOIA Litigation against State Department.” US Justice Foundation, May 4, 2023. Accessed February 10, 2025. https://usjf.net/2023/05/04/usjf-scores-victory-in-its-foia-litigation-against-state-department/.
14. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990) 2022 Part II, Line 1.
15. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990) 2022 Part I Supplemental Information, lines 2b 1, 2.
16. “About Our Team.” US Justice Foundation, March 7, 2024. Accessed February 10, 2025. https://usjf.net/about-our-team/.
17. Coats, Cameron. “Former Congressman JD Hayworth Comes Back to Arizona Am.” Radio Ink, November 16, 2023. Accessed February 10, 2025. https://radioink.com/2023/11/14/former-congressman-jd-hayworth-comes-back-to-arizona-am/.