The FFRF Action Fund has signed on toa senatorial letter from the Alliance for Justice opposing the confirmation of President Trump’s personal lawyer to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Justin Smith, co-owner of the James Otis Law Firm, played a major role in the 2024 Supreme Court case ruling that the president has immunity from prosecution for “official acts.” He’s now working to overturn the judgment against Trump in the E. Jean Carroll defamation and sexual abuse cases. On Trump’s second Inauguration Day, Smith tweeted, “It’s morning again in America. Our long national nightmare is over.”
Throughout his legal career, Smith has argued against reproductive rights. While working at the Missouri Attorney General’s Office, he represented a county clerk who misinformed a 17-year-old pregnant teen about parental consent laws on abortion, forcing the teen to seek care out of state. At the James Otis Law Group, Smith represented Arizona lawmakers who tried to block the state’s democratically enshrined constitutional right to an abortion.
Smith has also taken staunch anti-trans positions, arguing for a ban on gender-affirming care in Missouri, as well as for Arizona’s ban on transgender girls playing sports consistent with their gender identity.
If confirmed, Smith would “simply serve as a mere extension of the Trump administration, rubberstamping unprecedented misconduct,” the letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee states. “Confirming a Trump loyalist to this circuit court seat not only risks the safety and well-being of those living in Missouri but could leave lasting and harmful impacts on all of the states covered by the Eighth Circuit.”
FFRF Action Fund President Annie Laurie Gaylor comments, “The Trump administration’s installation of loyalists and extremists across the federal judiciary is placing our system of checks and balances in serious jeopardy.”
FFRF Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) organization that develops and advocates for legislation, regulations and government programs to preserve the constitutional principle of separation between state and church. As the advocacy affiliate of the Freedom From Religion Foundation it also advocates for the rights and views of nonbelievers, and publicizes the views of elected officials concerning religious liberty issues.