DESPERATE TIMES CALL FOR DESPERATE MEASURES
We cannot let MAGA judges continue to corrupt the federal legal system and destroy our government’s ability to protect the American people.
QUICK READ: A constitutional democracy is challenged when a lone judge, can unilaterally dismantle a nationalwide policy, as Judge Mizelle did last week and MAGA judges have been doing since day one of the Biden Administration. To prevent ultra-right groups from being able to effectively judge shop, our Members of Congress must streamline the confirmation process, expand the number of judgeships that can be filled by Biden’s diverse nominees, and work hard to consolidate their control of Congress in 2022.
TAKE ACTION NOW:
BACKGROUND
On April 18, a MAGA judge in Tampa, Florida, rated unqualified by the American Bar Association and lacking public health competence, struck down the CDC’s travel mask mandate nationwide—a policy most considered necessary. She improperly limited the statute’s purpose, misread statutory terms, and refused to defer to the agency’s expertise—undermining the CDC’s ability to confront future crises.
Trump-imposed judges, chosen for their abhorrence of the “administrative state,” have used nationwide injunctions to halt Biden’s policies on vaccines, immigration, climate, and January 6 prosecutions from day one.
A constitutional democracy is challenged when a lone judge, can unilaterally dismantle a nationwide policy.
Trump appointed 27% and 30% of the active district court and appellate judges, who decide the thousands of cases annually that will negatively affect litigants for decades.
Biden’s done his best to reshape the courts, filling vacancies almost entily with women and people of color with diverse backgrounds, but he needs years to substantially shift them ideologically.
Reducing MAGA judges’ corrosive effects require:
Streamlining the confirmation process and eliminating deferral to home-state Senators on district court appointments
Creating several hundred new judgeships—needed since 1990 to handle burgeoning caseloads—and filling them with additional diverse judges
Keeping the Senate.
ACTION One: Call the Senate.
Script for Oregon Senators
SEN. MERKLEY: Portland office: 503-326-3386 | D.C. office: 202-224-3753
My name is [--] and I'm a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
A constitutional democracy is challenged when a lone judge can unilaterally dismantle a nationwide policy, as Judge Mizelle did last week and MAGA judges have been doing since day one of the Biden Administration. To reduce MAGA judges’ corrosive effects require:
- Eliminating “blue slips” and filling all open seats with Biden nominees before November
- Co-sponsoring the District Court Judgeship Act (HR.4886) and pushing for its passage, which would create hundreds of new judgeships for Biden to fill
- Working hard between now and November to expand Senate control.
SEN. WYDEN:
Portland office: 503-326-7525 | D.C. office: 202-224-5244
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
A constitutional democracy is challenged when a lone judge can unilaterally dismantle a nationwide policy, as Judge Mizelle did last week and MAGA judges have been doing since day one of the Biden Administration. To reduce MAGA judges’ corrosive effects require:
- Eliminating “blue slips” and filling all open seats with Biden nominees before November
- Co-sponsoring the District Court Judgeship Act (HR.4886) and pushing for its passage, which would create hundreds of new judgeships for Biden to fill
- Working hard between now and November to expand Senate control.
Script for Republican Senators
D.C switchboard: 202-224-3121
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], [state], [zip code].
It is time to create the additional federal judgeships that the U.S. needs to handle caseloads that have been growing by leaps and bounds since 1990, the year of the last federal court expansion. I expect you to support the next court expansion bill on the floor.
ACTION TWO: Call the House.
Script for Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01)
Oregon office: 503-469-6010 | DC office: 202-225-0855
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
A constitutional democracy is challenged when a lone judge can unilaterally dismantle a nationwide policy, as Judge Mizelle did last week and MAGA judges have been doing since day one of the Biden Administration. To reduce MAGA judges’ corrosive effects require:
- Co-sponsoring and pushing for passage of the District Court Judgeship Act (HR.4886), which would create hundreds of new judgeships for Biden to fill
- Working hard between now and November to expand Democratic control of both houses of Congress.
Script for Cliff Bentz (OR-02)
Medford office: 541-776-4646 | DC office: 202-225-6730
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
It is time to create the additional federal judgeships that the U.S. needs to handle caseloads that have been growing by leaps and bounds since 1990, the year of the last federal court expansion. I expect you to support the next court expansion bill on the floor.
Script for Earl Blumenauer (OR-03)
Oregon office: 503-231-2300 | DC office: 202-225-4811
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
A constitutional democracy is challenged when a lone judge can unilaterally dismantle a nationwide policy, as Judge Mizelle did last week and MAGA judges have been doing since day one of the Biden Administration. To reduce MAGA judges’ corrosive effects require:
- Co-sponsoring and pushing for passage of the District Court Judgeship Act (HR.4886), which would create hundreds of new judgeships for Biden to fill
- Working hard between now and November to expand Democratic control of both houses of Congress.
Script for Peter DeFazio (OR-04)
Eugene office: 541-465-6732 | DC office: 202-225-6416
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
A constitutional democracy is challenged when a lone judge can unilaterally dismantle a nationwide policy, as Judge Mizelle did last week and MAGA judges have been doing since day one of the Biden Administration. To reduce MAGA judges’ corrosive effects require:
- Co-sponsoring and pushing for passage of the District Court Judgeship Act (HR.4886), which would create hundreds of new judgeships for Biden to fill
- Working hard between now and November to expand Democratic control of both houses of Congress.
Script for Kurt Schrader (OR-05)
Salem office: 503-588-9100 | DC office: 202-225-5711
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
A constitutional democracy is challenged when a lone judge can unilaterally dismantle a nationwide policy, as Judge Mizelle did last week and MAGA judges have been doing since day one of the Biden Administration. To reduce MAGA judges’ corrosive effects require:
- Co-sponsoring and pushing for passage of the District Court Judgeship Act (HR.4886), which would create hundreds of new judgeships for Biden to fill
- Working hard between now and November to expand Democratic control of both houses of Congress.
ACTION 3: GOOD TROUBLE
GOOD TROUBLE: Below are opportunities to fight for our democracy. As John Lewis said, go make some “good trouble.”
Find out more about Indivisible Oregon here.
TUESDAY 11:30am-12:30pm LETTER WRITING PARTY - INDIVISIBLE OREGON:
https://www.mobilize.us/swingleft/event/442887/Fridays at 4 - Letter and Postcard Writing — Indivisible Oregon.
Learn about persuasive language and communication research at the Zoom ASO Movement Briefings every second Wednesday.
Join the campaign to hold the House and Senate at GiveNoGround.org
Work to protect democracy in the House by replacing retiring US Representative Peter DeFazio with another Democrat, replacing Democrat Kurt Schrader, the “Manchin of the House,” with a progressive, and electing a Democrat in Oregon’s new Congressional District 6.
Demand that your primary news source stop creating false equivalencies and just report the truth.
Check out the Poor People's Campaign Readies 'Massive, Nonviolent' Effort to Save Democracy
Outside of Portland? Check out COIN Oregon.
Rally inconsisent Democratic voters to vote in 2022 with Progressive Turnout Project | Feb, 2022 | Medium
FURTHER READING:
What to know about Judge Kathryn Mizelle, who struck down the travel mask mandate
This Trump Judge Was Deemed “Not Qualified.” Then She Axed the Mask Mandate
The Trump judge’s opinion striking down the airplane mask mandate is a legal disaster
The judge who tossed mask mandate misunderstood public health law, legal experts say
No Matter How You Feel About Masks, You Should Be Alarmed by This Judge’s Decision
What Masks Off on Public Transit Means for the Pandemic
Trump appointees are helping Texas derail Biden’s immigration agenda
What Trump has done to the courts, explained
It Will Be Tough For Biden To Reverse Trump’s Legacy Of A White, More Conservative Judiciary
How Biden Is Reshaping the Courts
Biden’s first-year judicial appointments—impact
Biden’s first-year judicial appointments—prospects for 2022 and beyond
After Success in Seating Federal Judges, Biden Hits Resistance
