The Criminal Justice Legal Foundation was established in 1982 as a nonprofit, public interest law organization dedicated to restoring a balance between the rights of crime victims and the criminally accused. Its purpose is to assure that people guilty of committing crimes receive swift and certain punishment in an orderly and constitutional manner.
CJLF attorneys have introduced scholarly "friend of the court" briefs in criminal cases before the state and federal courts of appeals for over 30 years, encouraging precedent-setting decisions which recognize the constitutional rights of victims and law-abiding society.
The Foundation's dispassionate, low-profile approach has resulted in scores of United States Supreme Court decisions having a national effect to reduce the length, complexity and expense of appeals, recognize the rights and needs of child crime victims, and improve law enforcement's ability to identify and prosecute all types of criminals.
CJLF has remained the only public interest law foundation in the nation working full time to strengthen law enforcement's ability to assure that crime does not pay. The Foundation has proven very successful before state and federal courts with widely varying philosophies about crime and punishment. Since 1989, with a fraction of the annual operating funds spent by civil liberties groups, the Foundation has maintained the best win/loss record before the United States Supreme Court of any public interest law organization in America.
While social, cultural and economic conditions can have an effect on crime rates, research has shown that in free societies the government's ability to efficiently apprehend, prosecute and punish criminals, in a swift and decisive system of justice is the most powerful deterrent to criminal behavior.
The Criminal Justice Legal Foundation has earned a national reputation for removing legal obstacles to the use of this deterrent while assuring that the constitutional rights of the accused are not forgotten. Although headquartered in Sacramento, California, the Foundation's efforts benefit every American who depends upon law enforcement for protection from crime. CJLF is a federally qualified 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation and is funded entirely by tax-deductible contributions from individuals and charitable organizations.
