At Iowa Roundtable Hosted by Demand Justice, Sen. Tom Harkin Calls for More “People’s Judges” Under Next Democratic President
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 23, 2019
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AT IOWA ROUNDTABLE HOSTED BY DEMAND JUSTICE, SEN. TOM HARKIN CALLS FOR MORE ‘PEOPLE’S JUDGES’ UNDER NEXT DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENT
DES MOINES, IA—Demand Justice Executive Director Brian Fallon and former U.S. Senator Tom Harkin hosted a roundtable discussion with Iowa progressive activists regarding Demand Justice’s call for Democratic presidential candidates to commit to not nominating any corporate lawyers to the judiciary if they are elected. Two days ago, Demand Justice officials announced a campaign to end the current trend of nominating corporate lawyers to the federal bench in an op-ed in The Atlantic. Today’s roundtable was Demand Justice’s first step in bringing the discussion to the early primary states.
In announcing his support for a more professionally diverse judiciary, former U.S. Senator Tom Harkin said, “I believe candidates running for president ought to be forthright in telling us the kind of judges they want to put on the federal courts. It’s time that we have judges who are people’s judges––lawyers who have represented workers, consumers, the environment, things like that––and not just corporate lawyers.”
“The next Democratic president––and all Democratic senators––should emulate Senator Harkin’s approach to judicial nominations,” said Demand Justice Executive Director Brian Fallon. “Harkin’s recommended judges have included a career public defender, a legal aid lawyer, and a general counsel to the Iowa Civil Liberties Union. These are exactly the perspectives, on behalf of individual Americans, that can balance the over-representation of corporate lawyers in our courts.”
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