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Non-profit

Demand Justice

Website:

demandjustice.org
Location:

Washington, DC
Tax ID:

86-3689961
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(4)

Budget (2022):

Revenue: $4,760,610
Expenses: $5,712,363
Assets: $3,841,503
Type:

Judicial Advocacy Group
Formation:

2018
Former Project of:

Sixteen Thirty Fund
Former Executive Director:

Brian Fallon
Budget (2023):

Revenue: $709,454
Expenses: $1,857,877
Total Assets: $2,349,007

Contact InfluenceWatch with suggested edits or tips for additional profiles.

Demand Justice is a left-of-center advocacy group created in early 2018 that aims to shift the political leanings of America’s courts to the left by supporting the appointment of liberal judicial nominees and opposing right-of-center nominees. The organization acts primarily through media campaigns concerning nominated and unconfirmed judicial nominees. 1 The group is notable for its activities opposing the confirmations of Supreme Court Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett 2 and endorsing “court packing,” or adding seats to the Supreme Court to be filled by Demand Justice’s political allies. 3 4

On May 5, 2021, Demand Justice and Demand Justice Initiative both registered in Washington, D.C. as nonprofit corporations, indicating that the organizations were no longer merely projects housed by the Sixteen Thirty Fund and the New Venture Fund, respectively, and were pursuing separate nonprofit status. 5 6 The beneficial owner of both organizations was listed as Ezra Reese, a high-profile left-leaning lawyer formerly with the law firm Perkins Coie, and the organizations’ D.C. business address was listed as 1010 Vermont Avenue NW, Suite 300.  5 6

Following President Donald Trump’s second election in November 2024, Demand Justice re-committed itself to opposing his administration and its judicial nominees. The group also warned that President Trump could have the opportunity to make more than 300 judicial appointments during his second term. 7 8 Demand Justice interim executive director Maggie Jo Buchanan argued that her organization had “no evidence […] that we will see that the administration can be trusted to put forward nominees that will prioritize people over the law.” 9

Supreme Court Nominations

In June 2018, Demand Justice began an advertisement campaign called “Ditch the List” that targeted potential Supreme Court nominees to replace outgoing Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy. The campaign specifically focused on Amy Coney Barrett, then a judge on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, and Brett Kavanaugh, then a judge on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. 10

Brett Kavanaugh Confirmation (2018)

Demand Justice, in anticipation of the announcement of President Trump’s July 2018 nominee to fill Justice Anthony Kennedy’s vacated seat on the Supreme Court, launched a campaign to pressure Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) to vote against any nominee from Trump’s shortlist of candidate judges. Demand Justice claimed that Sen. Collins must vote against any nominee in order to preserve her stance supporting abortion access. 11

Following President Donald Trump’s nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, Demand Justice organized protesters to line the halls outside the room where a number of U.S. senators met on September 4, 2018, to conduct confirmation hearings. The protesters dressed as handmaids, referencing the 1985 dystopian novel A Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, in which women are denied basic freedoms.

In April 2019, Demand Justice sent a letter to Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) requesting he seek out documents from the National Archives that the group claimed would reveal Kavanaugh’s preexisting stance on Roe v. Wade, prior to his confirmation to the Supreme Court. A 27-page memo was included in the letter from Demand Justice and other pro-abortion groups. 12

Demand Justice has paid for digital advertisements on Facebook demanding George Mason University prevent Justice Brett Kavanaugh from co-teaching a summer course in 2019. The group demanded the university issue an apology for allowing Kavanaugh to teach the course. 13

2019 Supreme Court Shortlist

On October 15, 2019, Demand Justice released a list of 32 lawyers and judges it recommended as possible nominees for the Supreme Court should a Democratic candidates become president after the 2020 election. Of the 32 lawyers listed, none had any corporate ties as partners at major law firms. 14

Only eight of the 32 had any judicial experience, with the rest having, at most, experience clerking for federal or state judges. 15 Demand Justice argued that it was looking to increase left-of-center judicial activism; all its choices were advocates for left-of-center agendas. Listed candidates included U.S. District Judge Carlton Wayne Reeves, who once compared President Trump to segregationist George Wallace. Another candidate was Fordham University professor Zephyr Teachout, a left-wing perennial candidate in New York and reportedly a friend of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). Pundits such as Judicial Crisis Network’s Carrie Severino and Mike Davis, a former clerk to Justice Neil Gorsuch, criticized the “far left” nature of the candidates and questioned their viability and credentials. 16

Amy Coney Barrett Supreme Court Confirmation (2020)

During the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Demand Justice ran an advertisement that claimed Barrett and other “far-right Supreme Court” justices would help President Donald Trump “steal” the 2020 election.” 17

According to Politico, Demand Justice paid for a 7-figure ad buy to oppose Barrett’s confirmation in September 2020. 18

Confirmation of Kentanji Brown Jackson (2022)

In March 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to replace Attorney General Merrick Garland on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Jackson, a former law clerk to Justice Stephen Breyer, had previously been listed on Demand Justice’s Supreme Court shortlist. 19 A former public defender, Jackson was confirmed to the U.S. District Court in Washington D.C. in 2013. 20

President Joe Biden later nominated Jackson for the Supreme Court vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Stephen Breyer. In March 2022, Axios reported that Demand Justice had announced a $1 million ad campaign in support of Jackson’s confirmation. Axios also reported that tax documents from Demand Justice and the Demand Justice Initiative anticipated a combined budget of roughly $11.7 million in 2022, and that the organizations were willing to spend far more than $1 million, reportedly because political groups on both sides of the aisle were “looking to milk the [confirmation] process for every ounce of political advantage” in the 2022 midterm elections. 21

Other Advocacy

Judicial Confirmations in First Trump Administration

In May 2018, Demand Justice launched its first media campaign against Thomas Farr, at the time President Donald Trump’s nominee for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. 22

Demand Justice posted a video on its Twitter page on February 27, 2019 criticizing Neomi Rao, at the time President Trump’s nominee for the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. The video accused Rao of holding “far right conservative” views against feminism and asserted that holding such views should disqualify her from holding a position in any court. 23

In March 2019, Demand Justice released its “grades” of Senate Democrats, rating their performance in halting the appointment of Trump-appointed federal judges. 24 The report led to further advertisement campaigns against Democratic Senators with low approval ratings. 25

“Rise Up for Roe”

On August 1, 2018, Demand Justice announced the start of its “Rise Up for Roe” tour beginning August 11 in Washington, D.C. It also targeted New York City, Boston, Denver, Maine, Virginia, Los Angeles, Iowa, Texas, Nevada, and Arizona. 26

Tour speakers included Symone Sanders, Brittany Packnett, Alyssa Mastromonaco, then-Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), former Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm, Jessica Valenti, Karine Jean-Pierre, actress Alyssa Milano, National Women’s Law Center president Fatima Goss-Graves, then-NARAL Pro-Choice America president Ilyse Hogue, National Domestic Workers Alliance political director Jess Morales-Rocketto, Planned Parenthood vice president Dawn Laguens, Jess McIntosh, Daily Kos writer Rebecca Buckwalter-Poza, and then-president of Center for American Progress Neera Tanden. 26

The tour was funded by Demand Justice, NARAL Pro-Choice America, and Planned Parenthood Action Fund. 27

The Atlantic Op-Ed

In August 2019, Demand Justice co-founders Brian Fallon and Christopher Kang wrote an op-ed in The Atlantic that outlined their philosophy and opinions towards judicial nominations. It is an advice piece to Democrats outlining how they should approach judicial nominations in a post-Donald Trump era. Fallon and Kang argued that Republicans have long appointed corporate firm lawyers tied to special interest groups to prominent positions in the federal judiciary and that such lawyers sided with businesses over the public interest through championing various legal agendas, such as getting rid of restrictions on political contributions during elections and battling unions. 28

Fallon and Kang urged Democrats to vehemently oppose all Trump administration judicial nominees, and demanded that the Democrats eventually institute a strict no-corporate partner policy for judicial nominees, which they claimed would allow for many more judges and justices similar in practice to liberal icon Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.28

Facebook Advertisements

In 2020, Demand Justice spent between $196,500 and $263,916 in Facebook advertisements. (The exact figure is unknown due to the way Facebook reports its advertisements on a “minimum-maximum” range.) 29

Month (2020)Min. Amount SpentMax. Amount SpentIssue
October$300$399Court Packing
October$800$899Court Packing
October$2,500 $3,000 Court Packing
October$3,000 $3,500 Court Packing
October$0$100Court Packing
October$0$100Court Packing
October$400$499Court Packing
October$0$100Senate Judiciary Committee
October$200$299Senate Judiciary Committee
October$0$100Senate Judiciary Committee
October$0$100Senate Judiciary Committee
October$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$3,500 $4,000 Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$300$399Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$400$499Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$500$599Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$2,500 $3,000 Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$0$100Amy Barrett Nomination
October$0$100Amy Barrett Nomination
October$0$100Amy Barrett Nomination
October$0$100Amy Barrett Nomination
October$0$100Amy Barrett Nomination
October$0$100Amy Barrett Nomination
October$100$199Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$100$199Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$3,500 $4,000 Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$100$199Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October$0$100Amy Barrett Nomination
October$0$100Amy Barrett Nomination
October$0$100Amy Barrett Nomination
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$800$899Supreme Court Protest
September$500$599Supreme Court Protest
September$2,500 $3,000 Supreme Court Protest
September$1,000 $1,500 Supreme Court Protest
September$2,000 $2,500 Supreme Court Protest
September$100$199Supreme Court Protest
September$700$799Supreme Court Protest
September$100$199Supreme Court Protest
September$200$299Supreme Court Protest
September$100$199Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$100$199Supreme Court Protest
September$300$399Supreme Court Protest
September$600$699Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$500$599Supreme Court Protest
September$400$499Supreme Court Protest
September$500$599Supreme Court Protest
September$1,500 $2,000 Supreme Court Protest
September$400$499Supreme Court Protest
September$600$699Supreme Court Protest
September$4,000 $4,500 Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$600$699Supreme Court Protest
September$100$199Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$200$299Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Court Packing
September$100$199Court Packing
September$0$100Court Packing
September$0$100Court Packing
September$0$100Court Packing
September$800$899Amy Barrett Nomination
September$0$100Amy Barrett Nomination
September$2,000 $2,500 Amy Barrett Nomination
September$0$100Amy Barrett Nomination
September$300$399Amy Barrett Nomination
September$400$499Amy Barrett Nomination
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$300$399Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$700$799Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$2,000 $2,500 Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$1,000 $1,500 Supreme Court Protest
September$100$199Supreme Court Protest
September$300$399Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$500$599Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$200$299Supreme Court Protest
September$200$299Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$2,500 $3,000 Supreme Court Protest
September$200$299Supreme Court Protest
September$1,000 $1,500 Supreme Court Protest
September$100$199Supreme Court Protest
September$1,500 $2,000 Supreme Court Protest
September$1,500 $2,000 Supreme Court Protest
September$2,000 $2,500 Supreme Court Protest
September$200$299Supreme Court Protest
September$100$199Supreme Court Protest
September$900$999Supreme Court Protest
September$1,000 $1,500 Supreme Court Protest
September$100$199Supreme Court Protest
September$100$199Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$1,000 $1,500 Supreme Court Protest
September$1,500 $2,000 Supreme Court Protest
September$100$199Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$1,500 $2,000 Supreme Court Protest
September$1,500 $2,000 Supreme Court Protest
September$500$599Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Supreme Court Protest
September$300$399Supreme Court Protest
September$1,000 $1,500 Supreme Court Protest
September$1,000 $1,500 Supreme Court Protest
September$3,000 $3,500 Supreme Court Protest
September$100$199Supreme Court Protest
September$600$699Supreme Court Protest
September$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
September$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
September$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
September$600$699Ruth Bader Ginsburg
September$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
September$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
September$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
September$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
September$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
September$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
September$0$100Ruth Bader Ginsburg
June$0$100Supreme Court Protest
June$0$100Supreme Court Protest
June$0$100Supreme Court Protest
June$100$199Supreme Court Protest
June$0$100Supreme Court Protest
May$0$100Supreme Court Protest
May$0$100Supreme Court Protest
May$100$199Supreme Court Protest
May$0$100Supreme Court Protest
May$0$100Supreme Court Protest
May$0$100Supreme Court Protest
May$0$100Supreme Court Protest
May$0$100Supreme Court Protest
April$400$499Supreme Court Protest
April$800$899Supreme Court Protest
April$200$299Supreme Court Protest
April$0$100Supreme Court Protest
April$0$100Supreme Court Protest
April$9,000 $1,000 Supreme Court Protest
April$0$100Supreme Court Protest
April$7,000 $8,000 Supreme Court Protest
April$0$100Health Care
April$100$199Health Care
April$0$100Health Care
April$0$100Health Care
April$0$100Health Care
April$0$100Health Care
April$0$100Supreme Court Protest
April$500$599Supreme Court Protest
April$0$100Supreme Court Protest
April$0$100Supreme Court Protest
April$0$100Supreme Court Protest
April$0$100Health Care
April$0$100Health Care
April$0$100Health Care
April$0$100Health Care
April$0$100Health Care
April$0$100Health Care
April$0$100Health Care
April$30,000 $35,000 Court Packing
April$2,000 $2,500 Court Packing
April$800$899Court Packing
April$1,000 $1,500 Court Packing
April$0$100Court Packing
April$25,000 $30,000 Court Packing
April$5,000 $6,000 Court Packing
April$3,000 $3,500 Court Packing
April$1,500 $2,000 Court Packing
April$6,000 $7,000 Court Packing
April$400$499Court Packing
April$10,000 $15,000 Court Packing
April$500$599Court Packing
April$0$100Court Packing
April$10,000 $15,000 Court Packing
April$900$999Court Packing
April$100$199Covid-19
April$400$499Covid-19
April$0$100Covid-19
April$0$100Covid-19
April$200$299Supreme Court Protest
April$0$100Supreme Court Protest
April$300$399Supreme Court Protest
April$0$100Supreme Court Protest
April$200$299Supreme Court Protest
April$0$100Supreme Court Protest
April$0$100Supreme Court Protest
April$0$100Supreme Court Protest
April$0$100Supreme Court Protest
April$0$100Prison Release
April$500$599Prison Release
April$600$699Prison Release
April$100$199Prison Release
April$0$100Prison Release
April$0$100Prison Release
April$0$100Prison Release
April$0$100Prison Release
April$0$100Prison Release
April$0$100Court Packing
April$0$100Court Packing
April$0$100Court Packing
April$0$100Court Packing
April$0$100Court Packing
April$0$100Court Packing
April$0$100Court Packing
April$0$100Supreme Court Protest
April$200$299Supreme Court Protest
April$0$100Supreme Court Protest
April$0$100Supreme Court Protest
April$0$100Supreme Court Protest
April$0$100Supreme Court Protest
April$0$100Supreme Court Protest
March$300$399Supreme Court Protest
March$0$100Supreme Court Protest
March$0$100Supreme Court Protest
March$0$100Supreme Court Protest
March$300$399Supreme Court Protest
March$200$299Supreme Court Protest
March$0$100Supreme Court Protest
March$0$100Supreme Court Protest
March$200$299Supreme Court Protest
March$300$399Supreme Court Protest
March$0$100Supreme Court Protest
March$0$100Supreme Court Protest
February$0$100Susan Collins Protest
February$0$100Susan Collins Protest
February$0$100Susan Collins Protest
February$0$100Susan Collins Protest
February$0$100Susan Collins Protest
February$0$100Susan Collins Protest
February$0$100Susan Collins Protest
February$0$100Susan Collins Protest
February$0$100Susan Collins Protest
February$0$100Susan Collins Protest
February$0$100Susan Collins Protest
February$0$100Susan Collins Protest
February$0$100Susan Collins Protest
February$0$100Susan Collins Protest
February$0$100Susan Collins Protest
February$0$100Susan Collins Protest
February$0$100Susan Collins Protest
February$0$100Susan Collins Protest
February$0$100Susan Collins Protest
February$0$100Susan Collins Protest
January$0$100Susan Collins Protest
January$1,000 $1,500 Susan Collins Protest
January$400$499Susan Collins Protest
January$200$299Susan Collins Protest
January$0$100Susan Collins Protest
January$400$499Susan Collins Protest
January$100$199Susan Collins Protest
January$0$100Susan Collins Protest
January$0$100Susan Collins Protest
January$0$100Susan Collins Protest
January$0$100Susan Collins Protest
January$0$100Susan Collins Protest
January$0$100Susan Collins Protest
January$0$100Susan Collins Protest
January$0$100Susan Collins Protest
January$0$100Susan Collins Protest
January$2,000 $2,500 Susan Collins Protest
January$1,500 $2,000 Susan Collins Protest
January$1,500 $2,000 Susan Collins Protest
January$100$199Susan Collins Protest
January$100$199Susan Collins Protest
January$200$299Susan Collins Protest
January$0$100Susan Collins Protest
January$0$100Susan Collins Protest
January$0$100Susan Collins Protest
January$0$100Susan Collins Protest
January$0$100Susan Collins Protest
January$0$100Susan Collins Protest
January$0$100Susan Collins Protest
January$0$100Court Packing
January$0$100Court Packing
January$0$100Court Packing
January$0$100Court Packing
January$0$100Court Packing
January$0$100Court Packing
January$1,000 $1,500 Supreme Court Protest
January$1,000 $1,500 Supreme Court Protest
January$0$100Supreme Court Protest
January$0$100Supreme Court Protest
January$0$100Supreme Court Protest
January$0$100Supreme Court Protest
January$0$100Susan Collins Protest
January$0$100Susan Collins Protest
January$0$100Susan Collins Protest
January$0$100Susan Collins Protest
January$0$100Susan Collins Protest
January$0$100Susan Collins Protest
January$0$100Susan Collins Protest
January$0$100Susan Collins Protest
January$0$100Susan Collins Protest
January$0$100Susan Collins Protest
January$0$100Susan Collins Protest
January$0$100Susan Collins Protest
January$0$100Susan Collins Protest
January$0$100Susan Collins Protest
Total:$196,500 $263,916

Balls and Strikes Blog

In September 2021, Demand Justice launched “Balls and Strikes,” an online blogging project focusing on Supreme Court related issues from a left-leaning perspective. 30 The blog featured articles from many left-leaning contributors and legal scholars and featured a data-tracker for the political leanings of various federal courts and progress on new judicial nominations. Contributors to Balls and Strikes included prominent left-leaning journalists like editor-in-chief Jay Willis, Elie Mystal, Adam Cohen, and Madiba Dennie. 31 Some of the blog’s first articles advocated for packing the Supreme Court and attacked Justice Samuel Alito’s rulings related to public sector unions. 32 33

Alito Flag Controversy

In May 2024, Demand Justice was one of several left-of-center advocacy groups, along with Accountable.US, the Center for American Progress (CAP), MoveOn, and the Revolving Door Project, to sign a letter sent to then-Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin (D-IL) requesting that Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito recuse himself from any cases involved with the January 6, 2021 riot at U.S Capitol due to claims of several flags being flown at Judge Alito’s home that allegedly had connections to the rioters. 34

Maggie Jo Buchanan, then Demand Justice’s interim executive director, released a statement claiming, “this is not how the Supreme Court is meant to function and the public’s trust in the Court will only continue to degrade if nothing is done to hold justices accountable for unethical behavior.” In addition, Demand Justice also announced it would begin a six-figure ad campaign calling for Justice Alito’s recusal from future 2020-election-related cases. In a response released to Sen. Durbin and other Senate Democrats, Justice Alito stated that he refused to recuse himself from such cases, claiming that his wife was responsible for flying the controversial flags at their home and that they were unaware of their connection to the Capitol riot. 34

Response to Second Trump Administration

In response to President Donald Trump’s election to a second term in 2024, Demand Justice re-committed much of its efforts and website information to opposing his administration’s actions, particularly President Trump’s judicial nominations. Demand Justice claimed that President Trump’s second election represented the victory of “[far]-right forces” that have “spent decades focusing on our federal judiciary culminating in stacking the Supreme Court with individuals opposed to basic freedoms.” The Demand Justice website also argued that it was the first Trump administration that “politicized” the courts “in the eyes of the public” and that the “MAGA movement, restored to power, seeks a bench devoted to politics over the rule of law.” 7

In a March 2025 article in The Guardian, Demand Justice further warned against the impacts of President Trump’s second administration on the judiciary, claiming the president “could reshape [the] judiciary with 300 judge appointments.” The article cited a Demand Justice analysis that found 54 existing and known future judicial vacancies across the country that were without a nominee as of March 2025 and nearly 250 judges who would become eligible for senior status by the end of 2028. This represented more than a quarter of all active judges, including more than 60 on the circuit courts. The interim executive director at Demand Justice warned in the article that Trump was attempting a “rightwing takeover” of the judiciary. 8

In February 2025, Carrie Severino, a conservative judicial advocate and president at Judicial Crisis Network, criticized Demand Justice in a National Review article. Severino noted the group’s interim executive director, Maggie Jo Buchanan had said, “We have no evidence . . . that we will see that the [Trump] administration can be trusted to put forward nominees that will prioritize people over the law.” Severino condemned such a blatant disregard for the rule of law in favor of prioritizing “people.” 9

Campaign Activism

2018 Midterm Election

During the recount of the 2018 Florida U.S. Senate election, an email by Demand Justice (available here) urged supporters of then-U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) to “help out in a variety of roles in the recount process, including observing at polls, data processing, and logistics organization.” 35

According to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings, during the 2018 midterm elections Demand Justice spent nearly $317,000 on electioneering communications supporting three vulnerable Democratic Senate incumbents. The politicians supported by the project included then-U.S. Senators Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-IN), and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), who received $110,000, $100,000, and $100,000, respectively. Demand Justice also spent nearly $101,000 opposing then-U.S. Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV), who lost reelection, and over $7,000 against U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), who was elected36

2020 General Election

In 2019, Demand Justice ran a digital advertisement thanking 2020 presidential candidate Julian Castro for his support of a “police overhaul” measure to prevent courts from protecting police officers from civil lawsuits for “brutality or misuse of deadly force.” 37

In March 2019, Demand Justice aired ads attacking Republican Senators up for reelection in 2020 for their support of federal circuit court Judge Chad Readler during his confirmation process 38

The day before the 2020 general election, Demand Justice announced an initiative to pack the Supreme Court, calling justices appointed by President Trump “far-right” and claiming that they were prepared to help Republicans steal the election. 4 Demand Justice stated that it wanted to add four additional seats to the Supreme Court, adopt term limits, enact a “code of ethics,” and add judges to the lower courts. 39

Following the 2020 general election, Demand Justice began campaigning and lobbying for then-President-elect Joe Biden to fill judicial vacancies with liberal judges. Its goal was to take advantage of the Democratic control of the Senate by appointing as many liberal judges as possible while also making up for lost opportunities to do so during President Barack Obama’s presidency. 40

Justice Accountability Initiative

In 2025, Demand Justice launched an initiative aimed at documenting and responding to perceived threats to judicial independence in the United States. As part of this effort, the organization released a comprehensive tracker cataloging over 1,700 actions it characterized as undermining the rule of law. These included statements and decisions from the Trump administration, members of Congress, affiliated political networks, and the judiciary. 41

The tracker’s release was accompanied by a targeted print and digital advertising campaign in the Washington Post, highlighting polling data from 2026 Senate battleground states. The polling indicated cross-partisan concern regarding judicial integrity and political influence over the courts. The group stated that it intends to use both the tracker and polling data to apply pressure on lawmakers, regardless of party affiliation, during upcoming Senate confirmation votes. The group highlighted its intention to use these initiatives in the upcoming confirmation of Emil Bove, a former attorney for President Trump nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. 42

Court Packing

In March 2019, former U.S. Attorney General in the Obama administration Eric Holder expressed his support for a future Democratic president “packing” the U.S. Supreme Court by adding additional favorable justices to it. Holder told the Yale Law National Security Group that the next Democratic president should “seriously consider adding two seats to the Supreme Court.” 43

Brian Fallon, the Democratic political operative who led Demand Justice at the time, supported the idea, saying: “More and more Democrats are becoming convinced that we cannot resign ourselves to the third branch of government being captive to partisan Republican forces for the next 30 years.” 44 45

On June 11, 2019 Demand Justice purchased advertisements supporting an op-ed written by former Iowa Attorney General Bonnie Campbell (D) promoting the idea of packing the Supreme Court. The op-ed was written in response to anti-abortion legislation that was passed in several states that was believed to be initiated after the confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court 46

In response to the number of conservative judges appointed under the first Trump administration and the lack of open seats, Demand Justice again advocated for court packing at both the lower levels and the Supreme Court following the Democratic Party’s victories in the 2020 general election. 47

In April 2021, backed by Demand Justice and other left-wing groups, congressional Democrats introduced the Judiciary Act, legislation that would to pack the Supreme Court by expanding the number of justices on the court from nine to 13, which would give liberal justices the majority. Demand Justice executive director Brian Fallon praised the proposal, saying that the bill represents “a new era where Democrats finally stop conceding the Supreme Court to Republicans, 48

In September 2021, Demand Justice announced the launch of a $1.5 million campaign bolstering its existing advocacy for court-packing bill. The campaign reportedly involved a dedicated in-house team of six staffers working with Becky Bond, a former Bernie Sanders presidential campaign strategist. The campaign would also organize an in-person lobbying day scheduled for October 2021 49

Reports indicated that, in preparation for the campaign, Demand Justice had also hired Democratic campaign strategist Alexa Sousa as its organizing director and had recruited more than 400 volunteers to meet with Democratic lawmakers and pressure them to support the Judiciary Act. 49

In July 2024, Demand Justice announced a $10 million media offensive against the Supreme Court in an attempt to draw attention to the potential impacts that a second Trump administration might have on the federal judiciary if elected. The $10 million initiative included a plan which outlined how it would conduct opposition research on potential Supreme Court and lower court nominees and advocate for ethics rules for the high court. Demand Justice has also promised to mobilize demographics it said would be most affected by the Court’s decisions, including women and young people, and to call out what Politico correspondent Heidi Przybyla referred to as “a network of far-right judicial activists that laid the groundwork for the conservative supermajority on the Supreme Court.” 50

Following the election of President Donald Trump to a second term, Demand Justice expressed four central objectives related to the judiciary during Trump’s second term: “Keeping our Lower Courts Fair and Free;” “[Requiring] Justices to Abide by Meaningful Ethics Rules;” “[Depoliticizing] the Supreme Court by Creating Term Limits for Justices;” and “[Rolling] Back Judicial Overreach.” Each of these objectives is part of Demand Justice’s campaign “to ensure MAGA influences do not further damage our courts during the immediate crisis facing our democracy.” 51

Capital Research Center’s Parker Thayer cited this anti-Supreme Court attack plan as further evidence that Demand Justice was “finding new ways” during Trump’s second administration “to undermine the Supreme Court with conspiracy theories and insinuations, while steadily building support for court packing, a policy that was unthinkably radical just a few years ago.” 52

Attacks on Democratic Senators

In September 2019, Demand Justice resumed an attack ad campaign against Democratic senators, this time taking out “five-figure” advertisements against U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-DE). In a news release, it claimed that Coons had voted for 18 judicial nominees who did not support the final decision of landmark civil rights case Brown v. Board of Education. Sean Coit, a spokesman for Senator Coons’s office, responded that Coons “has not voted for any nominee who opposes Brown v. Board, nor would he.” He added that the Senator “has opposed unqualified Trump nominees […] and has supported some whom he believes are qualified for their positions.” These attacks as Senator Coons stood for reelection in the 2020 election. 53

Executive director of Demand Justice Brian Fallon asserted that the group would invest heavily in Delaware should Senator Coons continue voting for Trump nominations. “If that’s a record he’s proud of and feels like he can defend then he has nothing to worry about from our ads,” he said. 54

Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) suggested that Demand Justice was being politically short sighted in their ads against Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), saying,“[i]f you’re going to have a strategy to muscle you better understand the people enough to know that it’ll work.” He offered that most Senators do not respond to outside pressure when making a decision on how to cast their votes 55

Politico‘s Report on Sixteen Thirty Fund

In November 2019, Politico released a report on the Sixteen Thirty Fund and its $114 million efforts to help Democratic candidates win elections in 2018 and to attack Justice Brett Kavanaugh by funding Demand Justice. Politico highlighted how the spending was “fueled by massive anonymous donations” and explained that the donors can remain anonymous due to federal laws protecting “social welfare” groups. The report also mentioned Sixteen Thirty’s connections to Arabella Advisors and noted that Arabella was “founded by former Clinton administration appointee Eric Kessler.” 56

A few days later, the Washington Post published an editorial about Politico’s report, decrying the ability of dark money groups to “push causes and issues before voters” without disclosing “what special interests might lurk behind” their ads and campaigns. After detailing what Politico learned about Sixteen Thirty’s spending and activities, the Post called on Congress to “change the law and force social welfare groups to identify their donors in full.” 57

Attacks on Judge Thomas Griffith

In March 2020, Demand Justice filed an ethics complaint against D.C. Circuit Court Judge Thomas Griffith for his decision to retire from his position on September 1, 2020. Demand Justice alleged that Judge Griffith had apparently taken a bribe from then-Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to step down in exchange for a “promise of future employment, such as a prestigious professorship, or future income or any bonuses that could have come with an agreement for future employment.” Since the group claimed that this decision to step down was “particularly suspicious,” it attempted to use this argument to obstruct the confirmation of Griffith’s successor, Judge Justin Walker. 58

On May 1, D.C. Circuit Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan released an order stating that Demand Justice had not met the requirements to file a proper complaint against Judge Griffith as it had not verified the charges against him, nor had it attempted to clarify said charges within the 6-week period between its filing and chief judge Srinivasan’s decision. 58 In addition, on May 5, National Public Radio (NPR) released a report on Griffith including quotes from him explaining that he made his decision for entirely personal reasons back in June 2019, and had informed his colleagues he would be retiring to care for his wife due to her “debilitating chronic illness.” 59 58

However, Judge Srinivasan’s order had also requested U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts transfer the unverified complaint to another circuit for review. He called on rule 26 of the Rules for Judicial-Conduct and Judicial-Disability Proceedings which state that transfers may be used “where the issues are highly visible and a local disposition may weaken public confidence in the process.” 60 In addition, his order asserted rule 5 of the Proceedings by “identifying” the complaint himself due to Demand Justice’s lack of verification. Rule 5 states “when a chief judge has information constituting reasonable grounds for inquiry into whether a covered judge has engaged in misconduct or has a disability, the chief judge may conduct an inquiry, as he or she deems appropriate, into the accuracy of the information even if no related complaint has been filed.” 60 However, Chief Judge Srinivasan’s order noted that his “identification” had been made “without any inquiry by this court into the statements contained in the unverified correspondence or the questions posited by the organization in the correspondence about the possibility of judicial misconduct.” 60 On May 8, Chief Justice Roberts denied the transfer request, affirming that Chief Justice Srinivasan’s “identification” did not fit the prerequisites under Rule 5 as it did not reflect “a determination of probable cause or provide sufficient indicia to infer such a finding.” 61

In November 2023, it was reported by Politico that a former employee of the organization had allegedly stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars from the group before being fired the year prior in October 2022. According to the group’s 2022 990 form, roughly $291,609 was noted within its expenses as attributed to “loss,” 62 however Politico also states that it is unknown how much of the losses were attributed to the theft. 62 The 990 form also discloses that in 2022, “the organization discovered misuse of organization funds by its former finance director.” 62 According to Demand Justice spokesperson Colin Diersing, “the matter has been referred to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and Demand Justice is working to recover the funds.” 62

Leadership

As of September 2025, Josh Orton is the president of Demand Justice. He previously worked as a top advisor for then-Vice President Kamela Harris and was a former aide to former Sen. Russ Reingold (D-WI) and late Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV). He also worked on Sen. Bernie Sanders‘ (I-VT) 2020 presidential campaign as its policy director. Prior to this, Orton worked as the Top Nomination Strategist at Reproductive Freedom For All (then-called NARAL Pro-Choice America). 63 64 65

Maggie Jo Buchanan was the previous interim executive director of Demand Justice, a position she took following the departure of Brian Fallon in 2023 and until Orton’s appointment as president in 2025. 66 8 Buchanan is the former southern director of Young Invincibles. Previously, she was an associate director at the Center for American Progress, served as a senior legislative aide in the U.S. House of Representatives, and held numerous other policy and political positions. She has been quoted or had her work featured in publications that include the Washington Post, Politico, The Guardian, Vox, and Houston Public Radio. 67 She received her B.A. in Anthropology from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and her J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law. 68

Brian Fallon

Brian Fallon is the co-founder and former executive director of Demand Justice and a board member of its 501(c)(3) “sister,” Demand Justice Initiative. In 2021, he earned total compensation of $158,570. 69  According to his LinkedIn profile, he founded Demand Justice in February 2018, although a Buzzfeed article claims that the organization was launched in May of that same year. 70 71 Prior to Demand Justice, Fallon previously served as president of Barracks Row Media, a Washington, D.C. public relations firm. He previously worked as a political commentator for CNN, and served as a senior adviser for the political action committee Priorities USA, which provided critical funding to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. Beginning in April 2015, Fallon also served as the Hillary Clinton campaign’s press secretary. Prior to joining Clinton’s campaign, Fallon was a spokesperson for former attorney general Eric Holder in the Department of Justice under President Obama, as well as communications director for Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) (D-N.Y.) from 2007-2010. 72 73

In August 2018, Fallon lambasted Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer after the Senator agreed with then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to “fast-track” the confirmations of 15 Trump-nominated judges. 74 Sen. Schumer justified the cooperation as a way to allow more time for vulnerable Democratic Senators in the 2018 midterm elections to campaign in their home states; particularly when the specific judges were deemed likely to succeed anyway with bipartisan support.75

Brian Fallon criticized Sen. Schumer’s strategy, writing that, “It is hard to think of a more pathetic surrender heading to the Kavanaugh hearings.” 74 Furthermore, Demand Justice chief counsel Christopher Kang proposed that it would have been better if Sen. Schumer continued to delay the judicial nominee approval process. Instead, Kang suggested vulnerable Democratic incumbents skip votes to campaign instead.75

In April 2018, Brian Fallon attended a secret meeting with Democracy Alliance in Atlanta, Georgia to represent Demand Justice, which had not yet been officially launched. 76 77

In 2022, an unknown person leaked an early decision in the Supreme Court case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization showing that the court intended to overturn the previous Roe v. Wade decision, returning abortion as an issue to the states. Fallon tweeted that “SCOTUS leaks are good. Rip the veil off.” 78 He told Vanity Fair that intimidation protests outside the homes of conservative justices were acceptable “as long as they’re peaceful.” 79

In 2023, Brian Fallon stepped down as executive director of Demand Justice to join then-President Joe Biden’s 2024 presidential campaign as a communications director for then-Vice President Kamala Harris. 80 After Vice President Harris replaced President Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee, Fallon became her senior communications advisor. 81 Media headlines suggested he was the frontrunner to become Vice President Harris’s White House Press Secretary had she won the 2024 presidential election. 82

In September 2024, Fallon was a guest on the Politico’s Playbook Deep Dive podcast for an interview about the 2024 election and his role in the Harris campaign. He defended Vice President Harris’s policy shifts on issues like natural gas fracking, immigration, and gun control as related to seeking bipartisan support for polarizing issues. He also said Vice President Harris was committed to the Inflation Reduction Act as an extension of the Green New Deal, and said she backed Medicare reform through the Affordable Care Act. 83

Despite his departure in 2023, Fallon remained on the Demand Justice board of directors. The group also never named a successor to Fallon in the executive director role. 84  Demand Justice, according to its website, was still looking to hire a president as of July 2025. 85

Biden Administration Connections

Biden White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki worked as a communications consultant to Demand Justice among other organizations such as CNN, Lyft, and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace before taking her position in the Biden administration. 86

Paige Herwig serves a senior counsel under the Biden administration. 87 Demand Justice praised her nomination for how she would influence judicial nominations. 88

Funding

Financial Overview

In May 2018, a New York Times article noted that Demand Justice “expects to raise $10 million in its first year.” The article further noted that Brian Fallon, then-executive director of Demand Justice, “said he was more than halfway to this initial fundraising goal. While Demand Justice has not released a list of donors, Fallon spoke at the 2018 Democracy Alliance conference in Atlanta.89

Tax documents in 2021 reportedly showed Demand Justice receiving $7 million in grants and spent roughly $4.2 million on expenses including “legal fees, office expenses, travel expenses, and program expenses.” 90 Demand Justice also reported spending $235,000 on grants, and roughly $2.3 million on employee and officer wages. Demand Justice also reported that it anticipated receiving $7.5 million in grants and spending roughly $3.8 million on employee and officer wages during 2022. 90

In 2021, Demand Justice reported $5,950,317 in total revenue, $1,607,530 in total expenses, and $4,431,889 in total assets. 91 In 2022, it reported $4,760,610 in total revenue, $5,712,363 in total expenses, and $3,841,503 in total assets. 92 In 2023–the most recent year for which it had a publicly available tax return as of July 2025–Demand Justice reported a decrease in funding, with just $709,454 in total revenue, $1,857,877 in total expenses, and $2,349,007 in total assets. 93

Donors

According to Politico and Demand Justice’s 2022 tax records form, the organization reported a total revenue of $4,760,610 that year and it claimed it all came from three anonymous donors. Filings also indicate that one of these donors contributed roughly $3 million and another gave roughly $1.4 million. 62 94

In 2021, Demand Justice received $1,982,613 from its former fiscal sponsor, Sixteen Thirty Fund. 95

Between April and June 2018, Demand Justice received more than $2.5 million from the Open Society Policy Center, a 501(c)(4) lobbying group founded by George Soros, for general support. Open Society Policy Center gave Demand Justice another sum of $87,000 between October and December of that year to support their advocacy efforts on judicial nominations. 76 96

In 2018 and 2020 the New Venture Fund, which housed the 501(c)(3) wing of Demand Justice, received two grants from the Sandler Foundation totaling $1 million that were earmarked specifically for Demand Justice. 97 98

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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: December 1, 2021

    • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2022 Dec Form 990 $4,760,610 $5,712,363 $3,841,503 $504,802 N $4,750,610 $0 $0 $351,550 PDF
    2021 Dec Form 990 $5,950,317 $1,607,530 $4,431,889 $140,356 N $5,949,860 $0 $0 $323,465

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