The Courts Are Not Lost: A Roadmap to Fighting Back
Session Type(s): Panel, Virtual Only Session, Streamed Session
Starts: Tuesday, Jun. 27 1:00 PM (Central)
Ends: Tuesday, Jun. 27 2:00 PM (Central)
Room: Virtual
Dobbs decimated abortion access. Bruen devasted gun safety protections. And more cases on the Supreme Court docket this term threaten LGBTQ rights, affirmative action, student debt relief, and more. The ultraconservative 6-3 majority on the Court is poised to attack our rights at every turn. But there are real solutions to fight back to protect our rights: reform SCOTUS, fill federal and state courts with fair-minded judges, fight for policies that hold the line at state houses and ballot boxes across the country, and win elections in 2024 that will determine the future of our courts. This session will discuss how we advance these critical solutions, and lessons learned from the reproductive rights movement’s response to overturning Roe.
Moderator
Keith Thirion
Keith Thirion is an experienced campaigner, advocate, and organizer. As the VP of Strategy at Alliance for Justice, he oversees the Justice, Bolder Advocacy, and Outreach & Membership teams, shaping organizational strategy and working with the program teams to maximize AFJ’s impact. He also directs organizational strategies and leads coalitions in campaigns to increase visibility of the courts and judicial nominations, focusing on the importance of the courts in protecting civil rights and constitutional protections. He previously served as Director of Advocacy & Programs and then Acting Director of Equality Maryland, where he played a lead role in passing the state transgender anti-discrimination law and directed the campaign to deny opponents signatures for a repeal referendum. He also directed EQMD’s public education and advocacy programs. He also worked for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network directing Virginia field campaigns to advance clean energy policies and counter the power of the commonwealth’s biggest polluters. Keith began organizing on multiple ballot initiative campaigns, including Proposition 8 in Los Angeles, and as an Organizing Fellow with the National LGBTQ Task Force.
Other sessions: Federal Judges 101: Advocating for Good Judges from Pipeline to Confirmation
Panelists
Shwetika Baijal
Shwetika Baijal is the Senior Director of Campaigns at Planned Parenthood Action Fun and Planned Parenthood Votes. She co-manages a team of 11 public affairs experts who support all elements of public affairs across all 50 states, and she runs multi-million dollar Planned Parenthood Votes’ independent expenditure program to help elect sexual and reproductive health champions across the country and up and down the ballot.
Her background in politics prior to her current role includes Senator Cory Booker’s 2020 presidential campaign, many years as a political consultant in the San Francisco Bay Area with 50+1 Strategies, and campaigns in Virginia and Hawaii. She lives in Washington DC and spends her free time watching movies, learning to swim, and reading.
Other sessions: State Courts Are Political: How to Protect and Transform our State Judiciaries
Cedric Lawson
Cedric Lawson (he/him) is Field Director at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and The Leadership Conference Education Fund. The Leadership Conference is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the civil and human rights of all persons in the United States. Mr. Lawson guides a team of field managers that actively organize coalition members and local partners regarding the following issue areas: census, education equity, fighting hate and bias, and justice reform. Cedric has engaged in fair courts, judicial/executive branch nomination campaigns, and Supreme Court case mobilizations for the past nine years. Cedric has held field leadership roles in numerous Supreme Court and lower court vacancy support and opposition campaigns. Collaboratively with organizing partners at Alliance for Justice and People for the American Way, Cedric led the field mobilization for the Confirm Jackson campaign to advance the confirmation of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Before joining The Leadership Conference and The Education Fund, Cedric was the development director of the United States Student Association and its foundation as well as a field organizer for various local candidate campaigns. Cedric is also a founding member of Black Youth Project 100. Cedric started his career in Wisconsin in electoral organizing and state legislative advocacy.
Other sessions: Federal Judges 101: Advocating for Good Judges from Pipeline to Confirmation
Meg Simons
Meg has been in the fight for fair courts for over seven years. They have worked with coalition partners to lead the digital organizing efforts for four Supreme Court fights and dozens of lower court judicial nominations fights.