By Julie Lowenberg, NCJW Board Director

“Judges Needed for Federal Courts – President Obama and the Senate must make filling the judiciary a paramount priority,” said a New York Times editorial published on December 13, the day that NCJW (with co-sponsors: Alliance for Justice, Center for American Progress, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and People for the American Way Foundation) convened “Courts Matter”, a two-day training workshop on this timely topic. Held in Dallas, TX, the workshop included participants representing diverse organizations in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, the states that make up the 5th Circuit of the Federal Judiciary. NCJW members attending with me were LA SPA Ina Davis and Jill Zimmerman from New Orleans Section, Marlene Cohen TX SPA, Joy Friedman (Houston Section).

As explained by NCJW’s Director of Washington Operations Sammie Moshenberg in an introductory overview, the workshop goals were to provide models and skills for elevating the importance of the federal judiciary on the participating organizations’ agendas and to help build and strengthen coalitions and collaborations within each of the 5th Circuit states. Sammie challenged participants to learn from each other as well as the speakers and to begin thinking about a plan of pragmatic, meaningful action to address the problem of vacant judgeships. We were privileged to hear from dynamic and knowledgeable presenters from a number of organizations with whom NCJW collaborates on judicial nominations. They talked about how the federal courts impact our lives and the issues our organizations follow, effective messages to use in talking about the federal judiciary, and the status of judicial nominations, among other topics. 
 
Luis Figueroa of Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund discussed recent and upcoming cases in the Fifth Circuit courts that impact NCJW’s priority issues, such as voting rights, immigrant rights, and family planning funding, highlighting the importance of these decisions to all the participating groups’ advocacy agendas.

The workshop ended with an interactive session helping us plan to bring the information back home and mobilize our constituents and others to take action. Finally each state met to set goals and formulate plans of action. I am pleased to report that follow-up communication and idea exchanges are already happening – proof of the energizing and inspirational effect of the training. I look forward to being an active participant in my state and to encouraging other states’ actions going forward!