The legal profession has long been captured by powerful interests, favoring corporate and state power over ordinary people. As a result, we have a legal system built to serve those same interests, rather than the everyday people most in need of justice. This capture reaches all the way to the highest levels of the legal system, including state courts. Multiple studies have shown that state benches are dominated by former corporate attorneys and prosecutors, while judges with pro-people experience, such as public defenders, legal aid, civil rights, labor, and plaintiffs’ attorneys are significantly underrepresented.
State courts account for approximately ninety percent of all legal actions and often handle the cases most intimately impacting people’s lives. The disparities of who judges these cases have significant impacts on the people appearing in state courts, with the most overrepresented backgrounds also being those shown to lead to pro-corporate and pro-state outcomes, at the expense of the people that these entities harmed. To ensure that all people get a fair shake when they are facing down powerful entities in court, it is necessary that we start building pro-people state courts.
That is why PPP is excited to launch its State Courts Fellows program .
As PPP has seen through state courts campaigns run through its chapters, dedicated organizers campaigning around pro-people state courts can have a tremendous impact in a relatively short time. The PPP State Courts Fellows program is open to 2Ls in Arizona and North Carolina, with an anticipated three-semester commitment. The fellowship will start in January 2025 and finish in May 2026.
These Fellows will be the beneficiaries of significant investment from PPP: they will receive a stipend of $3,000 per semester, participate in yearly retreats alongside PPP Leadership Fellows, attend a customized quarterly speaker series, receive a dedicated mentor and significant career support, and build organizing and advocacy skills and connections to like-minded individuals both on and beyond their individual campuses.
A significant amount will also be asked of Fellows: each will be expected to dedicate fifteen hours per week during the academic year (except during finals periods) to conducting research and leading organizing efforts to increase the professional and demographic diversity of their state courts in coordination with PPP staff.
To join the first cohort of State Courts Fellows, please submit this application by 11:59 p.m. ET on 10/22/24. All applicants also need to send a resume and two letters of recommendation (which can be sent directly by your recommenders) to Steve Kennedy, PPP’s Organizing & Network Director, at steve@peoplesparity.org.