Video Transcript
Hi everyone and happy giving Tuesday. I'm just reading the person behind your community's post and I'm sitting here today with our fair Quartz campaign Director Lena's Warren Stein and she is here to talk about why courts matter. We're really excited to have her here today. so Lena protecting our courts is one of the primary issues that the leadership conference focuses on could you please tell us why it's so important to protect our courts. Certainly so the leadership conference is building an America as good as its ideals. It was a fair. What we are trying to do is give real meaning to the words inscribed above the Supreme Court equal Justice under law for too long, the course of an institution that I've often held us back. But now we know just how important words are to recognize and acknowledging our civil and human rights. We've had a number of victories over the year. whether that was Brown versus board of education that struck down the doctrine of separate but equal and other things. But we know that our judiciary is unfortunately under attack as our rights. So this is A.. For the leadership conference because it really impacts everything we do and it really impacts all of your rights. so whether you walk into a court House or you don't, we know that what decisions judges make impact everything from where you can vote whether you can vote for who you might be able to marry whether or not you'd be paid equally whether or not you're even able to be to sue someone for discrimination whether you can be counted in the census. Whether you have access to an equitable education, whether you have clean water to drink or air to breathe, whether you have access to a building whether you're able to access affordable health care, whether you're able to access abortion care whether police will be held accountable and whether or not you're able to organize and work and the list goes on and so really our rights are at risk because right now that you just serious at risk. So for the leadership conference we've noticed especially since the Trump administrations come into office. That with the assistance of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, they have had an agenda to transform the courts and that is because they want to transform our rights and really roll back the victories that we have fought very hard for when it comes to our sibling given rights. We have a long way to go even before the Trump administration, but this is sending us back decades and they know they can't pass laws in the Senate to restrict voting rights or to limit abortion care or to limit. Our access to health care and more broadly, but they're really hoping that the people that they put in these federal judge shifts because these judges serve for life, which means decades to come will rule on decisions that impact our rights for decades to come long after Trump is out of the presidency long after many of our senators are no longer serving as well. And so because for decades to come, we know that this is a very very long a long campaign that we have to be young in order to protect our courts that are really. Is integral because it impacts every single thing we're able to do and all of our sibling human rights and so we need to do the work here at the leadership conference and in partnership with all of you to protect our courts because that's one way that we are able to really protect all of our rights. Absolutely. I don't think people realize just how many of our rights are given to us by court. It's not necessarily Congress for the President. It's quartz so we've seen a lot of troubling nominees coming up these past couple of years They all passed by the Senate, so I was wondering if you could explain to us what makes a judge on qualified for a lifetime appointment. Well, a lot of things makes them like unfit and unqualified for a lifetime appointment. No one is entitled to a judge ship. This is something that really needs to be more deeply. I think understood, especially by the Senate, who continues to confirm a number of these nominees. But many of these nominees have been chosen and they're particularly unfit because of their records they have outstanding. I've seen in a bad way of hostility towards things like voting right they have been at the forefront of restricting people's access to voting. one nominee in particular was working in the Trump administration and actually led the efforts to really dismantle the Affordable Care Act in saying that it's unconstitutional. many have specifically advocated for against excuse me. Marriage equality. Many have argued against educational equity, particularly affirmative action. At higher education institutions as many have actually crafted the policies that make it harder for sexual assault survivors to seek any course or even preventative measures and and many have really throughout their career dedicated themselves to restricting reproductive rights. So these people are picked precisely because of their records of extreme bias, and these deeply held beliefs that we know might infuse their decision and another start only thing that we're seeing is that a number of nominees that this administration has. They have refused to even say that Brown versus board of education was correctly decided They perhaps think that the doctrine of set separate but equal might be acceptable or an open question and we should be beyond that would be it was too late in 1950, - 44 separate but equal and then it's certainly too late in 2019, but another thing that we're we're really seeing and one reason why they're on fit is that this administration has taken significant Diversify the federal judiciary so our Judiciary matters in our trust in the judiciary really matter. so it's really important that judges reflect our life experiences and backgrounds and so much more right. now. we see that about 20 percent of the federal judiciary is staffed by judges who were nominated by Trump and and nearly 80 percent of them are men in nearly 90 percent of them are White. That really makes it hard for particularly community. Who are deeply impacted, especially their civil and human rights to trust the judiciary when they walk in, but one thing that we talked a little bit about judges. But one thing to note is that there's a real agenda by the Senate Majority Leader and Trump to really transform the court. But both the Supreme Court, which many people have been very active on and thank you but also those lower cords so so many of them and have really been confirmed by the Senate and right now, we have 40 - eight Summit The court right before the Supreme Court often where most cases and there have been 40 - eight Circuit court judges have been confirmed in Trump's not even three years in office compared that to 50 - five during Obama's entire eight years in office. This is very much their agenda. They are very happy to not pass legislation because again they think this is gonna pay dividends for decades to come. Tom hasn't even nominated a single African-American First Circuit court seat and Courts and really haven't been judges of color or perhaps only one woman in one color on them and that is really really really devastating. and we've also seen that a lot of these nominees really left the qualifications and experience and temperament that one would want in order to be assured anyone who walks in the courtroom that they would be receiving a fair hearing wearing something that we've seen a lot is that a lot of these nominees don't even have courtroom experience. It's hard to imagine that they're sitting on the second Circuit seat Having presided over a court or pick a jury, it's kind of argued the case right. Yeah absolutely well. That was that is devastating news but it can be badly and I is there anything good or any wins this year that are worth mentioning. There is an honestly. my favorite news is all of you because really people have and I'm sure those of you who are tuned in are paying attention to this. We have seen more and more. People get involved in this we in Trump and McConnell are not here by because it's some sort of coincidences decades in the making, but you all all the work that you're doing is really really important because we will win when we're all educated and we're able to access the right to vote. but then we're also able to have judges who really reflect our communities in our values. So hopefully we really can live up to the day where equal Justice under law has meaning for everybody in this country. So that's my favorite win, but I will. That there are some other things. The Senate hasn't confirmed. absolutely everybody they're having some nominees who really we have fought very hard to make sure that they weren't confirmed and and so some of them didn't move forward. Some of them didn't make news, which is okay and because I think that's okay. But there are some that have so, for example, last year, a nominee named Thomas Barr, who was nominated to the Eastern District of North Carolina to a seats that have been through. Most longest held open they could see in the entire country. I don't know dozen years or even more not a single African-American had served in that very predominantly African-American jurisdiction and this President nominated somebody who has a history of leading efforts on voter suppression. That's apalling. it is unacceptable, but one thing we were able to do with our coalition members which is the benefit of the leadership conference. We really are a force multiplier really defeat that nomination and say we this is unacceptable for North Carolinians. It's unacceptable for federal. Cherry Thomas does not receive a lifetime nomination on our watch and there are some others too as well. so I think you know the best news is we're not taking it. We're standing up against this. We have people on our side but I don't want people to spare. We had some win, but this is really a long long and hard fall pipe that we have ahead of us and we're in the trenches right now and we're gonna keep there, but we need everybody there with us and just stay with them awesome and on that note. What is the best? A supporter watching this right now can do to help us fight the buyers in our court well keep speaking up with your voice matters and so many ways whether it's talking to your senators, your friends your family. it's really important that people know about this. But really I mentioned the leadership conference being a force multiplier. your donations to the leadership conference will be multiplied as well. We actually have a match going on right now. so anytime you donate your donation will be matched by someone that is the epitome of a force multiplier that the leadership conference where they stands for so really encourage people. Do that it is really hard for us to be doing this work day in day out, but we know it's probably been harder for you. All who's rights are being restricted in under attack and we really just know that as Dorothy Heights, we still have a long way to go but we have to go there together and so by speaking up by donating the we will get there and we just really appreciate all of the support that those are positive biggest things. Absolutely we can definitely keep up the good fight with support from donors like you again every dollar will be. Before midnight tonight, so be sure to get in your donation before then and thank you for tuning in.
PagesBusinessesNonprofit OrganizationThe Leadership Conference on Civil and Human RightsVideosOur Fair Courts Campaign Director, Lena Zwarensteyn, tells us...