The Alliance for Justice (AFJ) is a progressive judicial advocacy group in the United States. Founded in 1979 by Nan Aron, AFJ monitors federal judicial appointments. AFJ represents a coalition of 135 politically liberal groups that have an interest in the federal judiciary. The Alliance for Justice presents a modern liberal viewpoint on legal issues.
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Judicial advocacy
AFJ launched the Judicial Selection Project in 1985 to monitor the federal judicial appointment system. According to AFJ's founder, Nan Aron, the organization wanted to guard against the ideological impact of Ronald Reagan's federal judicial nominees. AFJ objects to judicial nominees who oppose abortion or who promise to exercise judicial restraint. The organization provides background on prospective nominees to the American Bar Association and the Senate Judiciary Committee.
AFJ played a role in the defeat of Ronald Reagan nominee Robert Bork's nomination to the Supreme Court of the United States in 1987. In 2001, the organization supported the nomination of Roger Gregory, a Bill Clinton nominee and the first African-American judge in the Fourth Circuit in 2001. In 2013, AFJ supported President Barack Obama's three nominees for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Member organizations
AFJ reports a membership of over 130 organizations. As of 2025, member groups include:
Advancement Project
Advocates for Youth
AIDS United
Alliance for the Great Lakes
Americans for Financial Reform
Autistic Self Advocacy Network
Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
Bend the Arc
Beyond Toxics
CenterLink
Center for Constitutional Rights
Center for Reproductive Rights
Center for Science in the Public Interest
Compassion & Choices
Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund
Drug Policy Alliance
Earthjustice
Equal Rights Advocates
Equality Federation
Faith in Action
Food & Water Watch
Free Press
Friends of the Earth
Human Rights Campaign Foundation
Innocence Project
International Center for Research on Women
Jobs with Justice
Juvenile Law Center
Lambda Legal
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
League of Conservation Voters Education Fund
MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
Mi Familia Vota
Move to Amend
National Abortion Federation
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
National Center for Lesbian Rights
National Center for Transgender Equality
National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy
National Council of Jewish Women
National Education Association
National Immigration Forum
National LGBTQ Task Force
National Parks Conservation Association
National Partnership for Women and Families
National Women's Law Center
Native American Rights Fund
Natural Resources Defense Council
New Pennsylvania Project
Next Up
People's Action
PFLAG
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
PolicyLink
Race Forward
Reproductive Freedom for All
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors
Service Employees International Union
SIECUS
Sierra Club Foundation
Southern Poverty Law Center
The Arc
Texas Freedom Network
Tides Center
Transgender Law Center
Violence Policy Center
Younger Women's Task Force
YWCA