Outlet profile

Balls and Strikes

U.S. progressive left

Owned bySponsored by Demand Justice, a progressive 501(c)(4) nonprofit advocacy organization focused on the federal courts

FundingNonprofit donations; Demand Justice has received documented contributions from the Open Society Policy Center (George Soros-affiliated), the Fund for a Better Future, the League of Conservation Voters, and Democracy Fund Voice (Pierre Omidyar-affiliated); the site maintains a stated editorial firewall from its funder

On the administrationbroadly critical

Background

Balls and Strikes launched on September 15, 2021, created by Demand Justice, a 501(c)(4) advocacy nonprofit co-founded in 2018 by Brian Fallon (a former Clinton campaign spokesman) and Christopher Kang. The outlet borrows its name from Chief Justice John Roberts' famous confirmation-hearing line about a judge's role being 'to call balls and strikes, and not to pitch or bat' — invoking that metaphor ironically to critique what it sees as the politicized reality of the modern federal judiciary. Jay Willis serves as editor-in-chief. Demand Justice itself was originally fiscally sponsored by the Sixteen Thirty Fund, a major conduit in the left-leaning Arabella Advisors network, before registering as an independent nonprofit in 2021. Demand Justice's documented funders include the Open Society Policy Center (associated with George Soros) and other progressive philanthropies, giving the outlet a clear ideological and financial home on the left. Balls and Strikes publishes essays, reported pieces, and data-driven analysis on the Supreme Court, lower federal courts, and judicial nominations, operating under standards from the Institute for Nonprofit News that require an editorial firewall between donor activity and newsroom decisions. Since Trump's second term began in January 2025, the outlet has run consistent, pointed criticism of the administration's immigration detention policies, its changes to civil-rights enforcement, its judicial appointment record, and what it characterizes as the administration's pattern of defying federal court orders.

Sources

Profile compiled 2026-06-26; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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