<div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div>Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett</div><div dir="ltr">---------------------------------------</div><div dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/judicial-crisis-network">https://www.desmogblog.com/judicial-crisis-network</a><br></div><div dir="ltr"><span><h1>Judicial Crisis Network (<span class="gmail-caps">JCN</span>)</h1><h2>Background</h2><p><a href="https://judicialnetwork.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><font color="#0066cc">The Judicial Crisis Network (<span class="gmail-caps">JCN</span>)</font></a>, formerly the Judicial Confirmation Network, is a<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2013/05/13/what-is-a-501c4-anyway/" target="_blank"><font color="#0066cc"> 501(c)(4) “social welfare” </font></a>organization that advocates on federal judicial appointments and elections. <span class="gmail-caps">JCN</span> was founded in 2004 by Gary Marx and renamed The Judicial Crisis Network (<span class="gmail-caps">JCN</span>) <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180919224316/http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2010/02/into-crisis-mode-for-conservative-judicial-advocacy-group.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><font color="#0066cc">in February 2010</font></a>. <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/judicial-crisis-network#s1"><font color="#0066cc">[1]</font></a></p><p><span class="gmail-caps">JCN</span> <a href="https://judicialnetwork.com/about/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><font color="#0066cc">describes itself </font></a>as “dedicated to strengthening liberty and justice in America.” The group spends millions of dollars supporting conservative federal, state, and local judges while blocking opposition. <a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/blog/conservative-group-behind-kavanaugh-confirmation-has-spent-years-reshaping-state-and-federal" target="_blank"><font color="#0066cc"><span class="gmail-caps">JCN</span> spent $7 million </font></a>to block the Supreme Court nomination of Merrick Garland and $10 million to support Neil Gorsuch. In 2018, <span class="gmail-caps">JCN</span> focused on confirming <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/donald-trump" target="_blank"><font color="#0066cc">President Donald Trump's</font></a> judicial nominees. <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/judicial-crisis-network#s21"><font color="#0066cc">[21]</font></a>, <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/judicial-crisis-network#s22"><font color="#0066cc">[22]</font></a></p><p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20161030175646/http://www.madisonstrategiesllc.com/team.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><font color="#0066cc">Gary Marx</font></a>, vice president of <a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Century_Strategies" target="_blank"><font color="#0066cc">Century Strategies</font></a> and founder of Madison Strategies, worked as an executive in the <span class="gmail-caps">PR</span> industry while also leading <span class="gmail-caps">JCN</span> as its president until 2015. According to 990 forms, Daniel Casey took over as president in 2015, while Marx stayed on as secretary and treasurer. Carrie Severino, a <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2014/07/conservative-judicial-group-to-hammer-chris-christie-108907" target="_blank"><font color="#0066cc">former law clerk</font></a> for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, serves as <span class="gmail-caps">JCN</span>'s chief counsel and policy director. <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/judicial-crisis-network#s2"><font color="#0066cc">[2]</font></a>, <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/judicial-crisis-network#s3"><font color="#0066cc">[3]</font></a></p><p><a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2015/03/the-jcn-story-building-a-secretive-gop-judicial-machine/" target="_blank"><font color="#0066cc">OpenSecrets reported</font></a> that lawyer Ann Corkery and California real estate mogul Robin Arkley <span class="gmail-caps">II</span> were key to getting <span class="gmail-caps">JCN</span> started, with Arkley providing seed funding and Corkery direction. The group's launch coincided with a dinner that featured prominent guests Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, <a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Leonard_Leo" target="_blank"><font color="#0066cc">Leonard Leo</font></a> of the <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/federalist-society-law-and-public-policy-studies" target="_blank"><font color="#0066cc">Federalist Society</font></a>, as well as Corkery and Arkley. <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/judicial-crisis-network#s4"><font color="#0066cc">[4]</font></a></p><p>Tom Carter, a former associate of Leo's at the <span class="gmail-caps">U.S.</span> Commission on International Religious Freedom, said “<a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-secrets-of-leonard-leo-the-man-behind-trumps-supreme-court-pick?ref=scroll" target="_blank"><font color="#0066cc">The <span class="gmail-caps">JCN</span> is Leonard Leo's <span class="gmail-caps">PR</span> organization </font></a>– nothing more and nothing less.” As to the Federalist Society connection, Carrie Severino “was working out of the Federalist Society office. Federalist Society staff babysat her kids as the <span class="gmail-caps">JCN</span> project was launched.” <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/judicial-crisis-network#s5"><font color="#0066cc">[5]</font></a><span></span></p></span></div></div></div>