The Leadership Conference Statement on Beginning of New Supreme Court Term

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Patrick McNeil, [email protected]

WASHINGTON — Jesselyn McCurdy, executive vice president of government affairs at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, released the following statement as the U.S. Supreme Court begins its 2024-25 term:

“We need a Supreme Court that works for everyone, but the highest court in our nation has failed to live up to its promise to deliver equal justice for all. In recent years, the Court’s extremist majority has overturned the fundamental right to abortion, rolled back affirmative action in higher education, allowed for the criminalization of homelessness, further weakened voting rights, overturned one of the most important principles that has helped public servants implement and enforce our civil rights laws and protections, given presidents broad immunity from criminal prosecution, and more. As the Court begins another term, we know that many more of our civil and human rights are at stake. The Court has already agreed to take on cases important to our communities, including cases that will determine whether all adolescents can access much-needed health care. The damage caused by the extremist majority will reverberate for years to come and has real, devastating consequences for communities across the nation who deserve a Supreme Court that is working for all of us.

“These decisions and many more cases that will come before the Court are not coincidences. They are the result of decades-long manufactured and coordinated efforts designed to benefit the wealthy and powerful — not all of us. And they are happening amidst an ongoing and escalating ethics crisis that is unacceptable and deeply harmful to our democracy. Certain justices have repeatedly failed to live up to their foundational duty to hold themselves to the highest ethical standards. We need to be able to trust that all of our judges and justices are guided by the laws and facts, not influence, money, and power.

“While we await more decisions from the Court, we continue to call on our lawmakers to pass robust judicial ethics reform legislation. And immediately when senators return to Washington next month, they must prioritize the confirmation of judicial nominees who are highly qualified, ethical, demographically and professionally diverse, and committed to our civil and human rights. Time is of the essence to fill as many judicial vacancies as possible with fair-minded judges.

“For decades, our coalition has advocated for fair courts because they are imperative to our rights, our dignity, and our democracy. Critical to this is having a Supreme Court that fairly administers justice instead of siding with corporations and the rich and powerful. In the face of attacks from the extremist few against our hard-won rights, we will continue working with our coalition to defend and advance our civil and human rights, to build a multiracial democracy that works for everyone, and to ensure that the highest court in our nation lives up to its promise of equal justice under law.”

The Leadership Conference recently published a blog on Project 2025 and the project to take over our courts and our rights, in addition to a blog on the need for Supreme Court reform.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 240 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.

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