Nan Aron

Last updated
Nan Aron
Nan Aron - 2019.jpg
Born1948 (age 75–76)
New York City, U.S.
Education Oberlin College (BA)
Case Western Reserve University (JD)
OccupationLawyer

Nan Aron (born 1948) is an American lawyer [1] and the founder and president of Alliance for Justice (AFJ), a liberal judicial advocacy group in the United States. [2] [3] [4] Staunchly progressive, Aron has been a noted opponent of conservative judicial nominees in the United States. [5] [6] She repeatedly called for former Presidents Bill Clinton [2] and Barack Obama to be more aggressive in nominating progressives to the bench, [7] and during George W. Bush's presidency, urged the Democrat-controlled Senate to consider Bush's nominees closely. [2] [8] She is considered a key player in confirmation hearings for judicial nominees, [2] and, in 2005, was called "the Madame Defarge of liberal court watchers" in the Wall Street Journal . [5] [9]

Contents

Career

Aron received her B.A. in sociology and Chinese from Oberlin College and her J.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Law. [9] [10] Prior to founding Alliance for Justice, Aron worked as a staff attorney for the ACLU's National Prison Project. [9] [10] [11] Aron went on to serve as a trial attorney for the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, [9] where she litigated race and sex discrimination cases against companies and unions in federal and district courts. In 1979, Aron founded the Alliance for Justice, [9] and began investigating judicial nominees during Ronald Reagan's presidency. [2] She established the Alliance's Judicial Selection Project in 1985. [5]

Aron has taught at Georgetown and George Washington University Law Schools, and serves on the Dean's Advisory Council at American University's Washington College of Law. [12]

Aron authored Liberty and Justice for All: Public Interest Law in the 1980s and Beyond in 1989, [13] [14] which the Harvard Law Review said was "[s]ure to evoke a new pledge of allegiance to public interest law", [15] as well as Justice in the Making—A Citizen's Guide in 1993 with Alliance for Justice. [12]

Aron referenced overcoming the dual challenges of being a woman and a Jew in the State Department in 2004. [10]

Personal life

Aron was born in a Jewish household in 1948 in New York City. [10] She is married to psychiatrist Bernard Arons; they have three children. [9]

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References

  1. ↑ Yeager, Holly (June 22, 2005). "Liberal campaigner ready for next big trial". Financial Times. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Savage, David G. (6 July 2001). "Court Nominee Warfare Opens". The Los Angeles Times. p. A5. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  3. ↑ Mauro, Tony (May 22, 2015). "Supreme Court 'Litmus Test' Emerges in White House Race". National Law Journal. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  4. ↑ Bravin, Jess (May 18, 2015). "Supreme Court Rules Felons May Sell, Transfer 'Clean' Guns". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 Davis, Marcia (November 9, 2005). "Her Idea of Justice: Absolutely Not Alito". Washington Post. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  6. ↑ Kirkpatrick, David (November 14, 2005). "Liberal Coalition Is Making Plans to Take Fight Beyond Abortion". New York Times. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  7. ↑ Shear, Michael (May 27, 2013). "Obama Plans 3 Nominations for Key Court". New York Times. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  8. ↑ McKelvey, Tara (August 2005). "Nan in action". American Prospect. 16 (8): 6–7. ISSN   1049-7285.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Milk, Leslie (1 June 2006). "June 2006: 100 Most Powerful Women". Washingtonian. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Boney, Ret (20 December 2004). "Ally for justice". Philanthropy Journal News. NC State University. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  11. ↑ Lewis, Dwight (10 January 1978). "State Prison System Stress Factors Cited". The Tennessean. Nashville, Tennessee. p. 4. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  12. 1 2 "Marquis Who's Who" . Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  13. ↑ Klages, Karen (July 1989). "REAGAN-ERA REBOUND: Public-interest groups healthy, find new funding". ABA Journal. 75 (7). American Bar Association: 40–41. JSTOR   20760569.
  14. ↑ "The Public Bar". Progressive. 53 (4): 47. April 1989. ISSN   0033-0736.
  15. ↑ "Liberty and Justice for All (Book)". Harvard Law Review. 103 (1): 402. November 1989. ISSN   0017-811X . Retrieved 6 July 2019.
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