Ali brings a unique combination of civil-rights, criminal defense, and U.S. Supreme Court experience, as advocates must navigate an increasingly challenging Court and judiciary.

The Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice Center (MJC) is thrilled to announce the appointment of its new Executive Director, Amir Ali. Ali comes to the position having previously served as Director of the organization’s Washington D.C. office and Deputy Director of the U.S. Supreme Court and Appellate Program. Ali has devoted his career to civil rights and racial justice issues in federal courts, including successfully arguing multiple landmark cases in the U.S. Supreme Court. He also teaches at Harvard Law School.

“I’m deeply honored to lead this vital and storied organization, which is litigating the most cutting-edge and urgent civil rights cases across the country. We’re in a pivotal moment: More attention than ever is being paid to civil rights issues, yet the communities we serve continue to be targeted. This team recognizes both the opportunity and the challenge.“

Ali’s appointment signals the next chapter for the organization. Ali takes over leadership of the organization from Locke Bowman, who served as its ED for close to 30 years. In that time, MJC has grown from a small Illinois office focused primarily on the death penalty into a national operation with branches in the South, Mid-West and East Coast, and litigating cases across the country on issues from prosecutorial misconduct, to police violence, to prison conditions, to the punishment of poverty.

“Amir is exactly the right person to lead MJC into its next phase at a moment when the country and the communities we serve face challenge and uncertainty,” stated Locke Bowman, former Executive Director of the MacArthur Justice Center.

Ali’s appointment takes on even greater significance in light of the widespread concerns about civil rights in the current judiciary and U.S. Supreme Court. Ali brings with him nuanced, wide-ranging experience working at the Supreme Court and appellate levels.

“We need to appreciate that the people intent on infringing our civil rights approach it like a game of chess, not checkers,” said Ali. “We need to use all the tools at our disposal to make progress and to ensure that, when we do, it will hold up on appellate and Supreme Court review.”

Ali brings with him an important track record of working creatively to attract coalitions and often unlikely allies to yield unimaginable results for clients, such as in the case of Corey Williams. Ali is also one of few attorneys in the country who has persuaded governments to release wrongfully-sentenced people at the screening or “certiorari” stage before the U.S. Supreme Court, and has done so multiple times.

“We need to have a multifaceted approach that is conscious of, yet goes well beyond the Supreme Court,” said Ali. “That means vigorous trial litigation to achieve outcomes which never reach the US Supreme Court. It means consideration of avenues under state law, over which the Supreme Court has no say. And when the Supreme Court does get involved in our civil rights, it means mitigating any damage done.”

“The board is deeply grateful for the decades of executive leadership provided by Locke Bowman.  We are also very fortunate to have someone with Amir’s vision, talent and character to lead us forward.  Amir personifies the values and success of this very special organization,” David Bradford, MacArthur Justice Center Board member and founding attorney.

As an immigrant, now naturalized citizen, and Muslim, Ali brings a uniquely American story into his work. He has been involved in critical challenges to executive policies that seek to oppress and punish minorities and people of color. For instance, his brief opposing President Trump’s Muslim Ban was cited by Justice Sotomayor in her historic dissenting opinion.

Ali serves on the Board of The Appellate Project, a nonprofit that empowers students of color to enter the highest levels of the profession. He is also a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and is a member of the Edward Coke Appellate Inn of Court. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School and lives in Washington D.C with his wife, two young children, and boxer.

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The Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center is a national, nonprofit legal organization dedicated to protecting civil rights and fighting injustice in the criminal legal system through litigation at the trial, appellate, and Supreme Court levels. www.macarthurjustice.org