Equal Justice Works

Equal Justice Works is a Washington, DC-based nonprofit organization that focuses on careers in public service for lawyers. Equal Justice Works’ stated mission is “to create a just society by mobilizing the next generation of lawyers committed to equal justice.”

Programs

Founded in 1986 as the National Association for Public Interest Law (NAPIL), the organization works with law schools, law firms, corporate legal departments and nonprofit organizations to provide the training and skills that enable attorneys to provide legal assistance to the poor and other vulnerable populations. The law school affiliates of NAPIL were known individually as APIL.

Research has shown that early public interest experience for law students and new lawyers leads to a lifelong commitment to justice, but that debt keeps many law graduates from taking public interest jobs. Equal Justice Works has contributed to the research and advocacy of loan repayment assistance programs and the College Cost Reduction And Access Act of 2007.

Equal justice under law

Equal justice under law is a phrase engraved on the front of the United States Supreme Court building in Washington D.C. It is also a societal ideal that has influenced the American legal system.

The phrase was proposed by the building's architects, and then approved by judges of the Court in 1932. It is based upon Fourteenth Amendment jurisprudence, and has historical antecedents dating back to ancient Greece.

Proposed by architects and approved by justices

This phrase was suggested in 1932 by the architectural firm that designed the building. Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes and Justice Willis Van Devanter subsequently approved this inscription, as did the United States Supreme Court Building Commission which Hughes chaired (and on which Van Devanter served).

The architectural firm that proposed the phrase was headed by Cass Gilbert, though Gilbert himself was much more interested in design and arrangement, than in meaning. Thus, according to David Lynn who at that time held the position of Architect of the Capitol, the two people at Gilbert's firm who were responsible for the slogan "equal justice under law" were Gilbert's son (Cass Gilbert, Jr.) and Gilbert's partner, John R. Rockart.

Equal justice (disambiguation)

Equal justice can refer to:

Equal Justice (TV series)

Equal Justice was a television legal drama broadcast in the United States by ABC from March 27, 1990 to July 3, 1991.

This series details on the lives of the district attorney's office in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The series stars George DiCenzo, Cotter Smith, Kathleen Lloyd, Jane Kaczmarek, Sarah Jessica Parker, Barry Miller, Joe Morton, James Wilder, Jon Tenney, and Debrah Farentino. Despite earning critical acclaim, the show received low ratings throughout its run and was cancelled after only two seasons.

Awards and nominations

In 1990 the episode "Promises to Keep" won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series.

In 1991 the episode "In Confidence" won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series.

Cast