In its short life, CFJ's hard-hitting ad campaigns have garnered awards, been debated on the floor of the U.S. Senate, and discussed in scores of mainstream media reports.

• In Texas in 2002, the CFJ's TV ad explaining that Texas Democrat and Senate candidate Ron Kirk would side with liberals to block Fifth Circuit nominee Carolyn Kuhl from the bench. The ads helped John Cornyn become the state's new U.S. Senator.

• In winter 2003, CFJ ran a bold TV commercial explaining that Hispanic DC Circuit nominee Miguel Estrada was being filibustered by Democrats, in part, because of his race. The ad, which aired in several states and Washington, DC, in both English and Spanish, received national media attention and helped make Estrada's struggle a cause celebre.

• In fall 2003, CFJ ran both print and television ads defending filibustered Fifth Circuit nominee Charles Pickering. The ads, which ran in several southern states and Washington, DC, featured Democratic and African-American leaders praising Pickering, who had been spuriously charged by liberals as "racially insensitive." The ads, which received substantial media coverage, helped bolster national political support for Pickering and lead to his recess appointment by the President in January 2004.

• Also in fall 2003, CFJ went to presidential primary state South Carolina to highlight Sen. John Edwards' opposition to African-American DC Circuit nominee Janice Rogers-Brown. The first television ad summarized Rogers-Brown's life story (daughter of sharecroppers, put herself through school), and criticized Edwards for filibustering her. The second ad quoted fellow-candidate Al Sharpton saying Rogers-Brown deserved a Senate vote, and asked why Sharpton "got it" while Edwards didn't. The ads sent a strong signal that CFJ intended to aggressively push judicial issues, and that it would hold obstructionist Senators to account for their votes.