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Brennan Center for Justice

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Brennan Center for Justice
Established1995;29 years ago(1995)
PresidentMichael Waldman
ChairPatricia Bauman and Robert A. Atkins
Budget$21,201,609 (2017)[1]
Location
New York, New York;Washington, D.C.
Websitebrennancenter.org

TheBrennan Center for JusticeatNew York University School of Law(NYU Law) is aliberal[2][3][4]orprogressive[5]nonprofit law and public policy institute. The organization is named after Supreme Court JusticeWilliam J. Brennan Jr.The Brennan Center advocates for public policy positions including raising theminimum wage,opposingvoter ID laws,and calling forpublic funding of elections.[6][7]The organization opposed the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling inCitizens United v. FEC,which held that theFirst Amendmentprohibits the government from restricting independent political expenditures by nonprofits.[8][9]

The organization's stated mission is to "work to hold our political institutions and laws accountable to the twin American ideals of democracy and equal justice for all."[10]Its president isMichael Waldman,formerspeechwriterfor PresidentBill Clinton.

History and mission

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The Brennan Center for Justice was founded in 1995 by the family and formerlaw clerksof Supreme Court JusticeWilliam J. Brennan Jr.,whomThe Washington Postcalled "the progressive voice of the modern court".[11]Justice Brennan's idea of aliving constitutionfigures largely into the center's work.[12]The Brennan Center started with an initial grant by theCarnegie Corporation of New Yorkof $25,000 in 1996. The Carnegie Corporation in years since has donated over $3,650,000.[13]During the selection process of what school to center operations from, the Brennan Center selectedNYU Lawout of a choice of three schools, with the other two beingHarvard UniversityandGeorgetown University.[13]

The Brennan Center is partthink tank,part public interestlaw firm,and partadvocacygroup. The organization is involved in issues such as opposingvoter ID lawsthat it believes unduly restrict voter registration, and other barriers to registration and voting, and advocates forredistrictingreform andcampaign finance reform.[14][15]

Activities

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The Brennan Center's work is divided into three programs—Democracy, Justice, and Liberty & National Security.[16]Past programs focused on criminal justice, poverty, and economic justice.[17]The organization has focus on issues both at the national level in the United States but also at the state and local levels of government.[13]

The Brennan Center opposesmass incarcerationand produces research on causes of violentcrime in the United States.[18][19][20]The Brennan Center has represented severaldetaineesat theGuantanamo Bay detention camp,and alsoU.S. citizensorlegal residentsheld asunlawful enemy combatants.[21]Attorneys from the Brennan Center challenged aU.S. President's authority to declare a prisoner to be an unlawful enemy combatant in thewar on terror.They have also challenged theU.S. Congress's power to denyhabeas corpusto such prisoners.[22]

The Brennan Center assisted in drafting and enacting theBipartisan Campaign Reform Actof 2002 (BCRA). The law bannedsoft moneycontributions topolitical campaigns.The organization helped SenatorDick Durbinwrite theFair Elections Now Act.[23]

The Brennan Center advocated for the passage in 2010 of New York's law ending prison-basedgerrymandering,and was part of a coalition of organizations that sought to defend that law from a court challenge.[24]The Brennan Center advocates for the restoration of felonvoting rights.[25]

The Brennan Center representedplaintiffsMargarita López Torres, other unsuccessful judicial candidates, andCommon Cause,in alawsuitthat challenged the way New York statetrial judgecandidates gain access to the ballot. They prevailed in theU.S. District Courtand in theU.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit.In 2007, attorneys from the Brennan Center arguedN.Y. State Bd. of Elections v. Lopez Torresbefore theUnited States Supreme Court.In 2008, the court ruled for the state.[26]

In 2015, the Brennan Center submitted anamicus curiaebrief with theSupreme Court of Wisconsin,urging the state not to overturnJohn Doe law,which allows the state to conduct criminal investigations in secret.[27][28][29]

The Brennan Center has been tracking states' legislation onvoter ID lawsand other barriers to voter registration and voting to determine whether there is undue burden carried by certain communities. Numerous lawsuits have been brought against states in such cases. By August 1, 2016, rulings in five cases: Ohio, Texas, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and North Dakota, overturned certain voter ID and other provisions, requiring states to make alternatives acceptable for the November 2016 election cycle.[30][31][32]The Brennan Center research has also indicated that instances ofvoter fraudby citizens and non-citizens are very rare.[33]In 2021, the Brennan Center represented Ohio citizens groups in their efforts to stopgerrymanderingand, after winning judgments in the state Supreme Court did not improve district maps, the Center supported a2024 ballot initiative.[34]

In 2023, the Brennan Center surveyed election administrators, finding many plan on retiring before the 2024 presidential election.[35]

The Brennan Center filed a friend of the court briefing in the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Moore v. Harper. In oral arguments on December 7, 2022, the Brennan Center urged the United States Supreme Court to allow the North Carolina Supreme Court to strike down the state legislature’s congressional map for violating the North Carolina Constitution.[1][36]

The Brennan Center for Justice is a partner organization ofVoteRiders.[37]

Funding

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As of the Brennan Center's 2021 annual report, the organization has received funding from:[38]

See also

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References

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  1. ^"IRS Form 990 2017"(PDF).Internal Revenue Service. June 30, 2017.RetrievedOctober 12,2018.
  2. ^Katz, Lee Michael (Summer 2008)."The Brennan Center for Justice: A Bipartisan Champion of Democracy Comes of Age"(PDF).Carnegie Results.Carnegie Corporation of New York.pp. 1–16.Archived(PDF)from the original on 2022-01-24.RetrievedJuly 29,2022.
  3. ^Montopoli, Brian (October 3, 2011)."2012 election: Disenfranchised voters, hacked machines?".CBS News.Archivedfrom the original on August 25, 2016.RetrievedMay 10,2019.
  4. ^Shelton, Shania (June 14, 2023)."At least 11 states have enacted restrictive voting laws this year, new report finds".CNN.Archivedfrom the original on August 18, 2023.RetrievedAugust 18,2023.
  5. ^"Brennan Center for Justice".CREDO Donations.Archivedfrom the original on March 29, 2019.RetrievedMay 10,2019.
  6. ^Lingeman, Richard (2008).The Nation Guide to the Nation.Vintage Books. p.243.ISBN9780307387288.
  7. ^Filipovic, Jill(April 5, 2014)."Time for public financing of elections".Al Jazeera America.Retrieved18 May2015.
  8. ^Barrett, Paul (January 14, 2015)."Five Ways the Supreme Court Transformed Campaign Finance".Bloomberg.com.Retrieved18 May2015.
  9. ^Rose Quandt, Katie (January 21, 2015)."How Is 'Citizens United' Ruining Democracy and How Can We Stop It?".Moyers & Company.Retrieved18 May2015.
  10. ^"Our Mission".Brennan Center for Justice.Retrieved12 March2015.
  11. ^"Justice Brennan, Voice of Court's Social Revolution, Dies".Washington Post.July 25, 1997.Retrieved12 March2015.
  12. ^"Brennan Center Follows Own Path," Courtside Legal Times, March 25, 1996
  13. ^abc"The Brennan Center for Justice: A Bipartisan Champion of Democracy Comes of Age"(PDF).Summer 2008.Retrieved2017-08-05.
  14. ^Von Spakovsky, Hans (October 13, 2011)."New Myths on Voter ID".National Review.Retrieved18 May2015.
  15. ^Cohn, Nate (November 26, 2014)."Studies Back Up That Few Elections Are Swung by Voter ID Laws".New York Times.Retrieved18 May2015.
  16. ^"Programs".Brennan Center for Justice.Retrieved14 August2015.
  17. ^Schell, Scott (August 27, 2003)."The Brennan Center for Justice: Carrying on the Fight."Archived2011-09-26 at theWayback MachineNYC Pro Bono Center News. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
  18. ^Davis, Kristina (February 14, 2015)."Study: Incarceration not behind crime drop".San Diego Union-Tribune.Retrieved12 March2015.
  19. ^Sneed, Tierney (February 12, 2015)."Mass Incarceration Didn't Lower Crime, But Can Congress Be Convinced?".U.S. News & World Report.Retrieved12 March2015.
  20. ^"Crime and despair in Baltimore".The Economist.29 June 2017.Retrieved2017-08-01.
  21. ^Nazaryan, Alexander (January 23, 2015)."To Live and Die in Gitmo".Newsweek.Retrieved12 March2015.
  22. ^"Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri".Brennan Center. February 28, 2009.RetrievedMay 27,2022.
  23. ^"Durbin, Larson Introduce Fair Elections Now Act, Durbin Announces Hearing on Campaign Finance Reform"(April 6, 2011). Press Release, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin.
  24. ^Lucas, David (May 19, 2011)."Civil Rights Organizations File Motion to Defend Law Ending Prison-Based Gerrymandering",WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
  25. ^Brodey, Sam (April 14, 2015)."40,000 Maryland Ex-Cons May Soon Get Their Voting Rights Back".Mother Jones.Retrieved18 May2015.
  26. ^ Scalia, Antonin & al.(January 16, 2008)."New York State Board of Elections, petitioners, v, Margarita Lopez Torres et al"(PDF).Supreme Court of the United States. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2008-11-21.Retrieved2009-08-09.
  27. ^Hoy, Seth (March 3, 2015)."BRIEF: Ethicists Urge Wisconsin Justices to Consider Recusal in Gov. Scott Walker Campaign Finance Case".Brennan Center for Justice.Retrieved10 November2015.
  28. ^Stein, Jason (March 20, 2015)."Prosecutor alerts justices to secrecy violation in John Doe".Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.Retrieved10 November2015.
  29. ^Gass, Henry (July 16, 2015)."Boost for Scott Walker as campaign finance probe ends".Christian Science Monitor.Retrieved10 November2015.
  30. ^Rober Barnes (August 1, 2016)."Federal judge blocks N. Dakota's voter-ID law, calling it unfair to Native Americans".Washington Post.Retrieved2016-08-02.
  31. ^Ariane de Vogue, "Voting challenges head toward the Supreme Court: 4 cases to watch",CNN, 19 July 2016; accessed 30 July 2016
  32. ^"Voter ID Laws Take a Beating in U.S. Courts",New York Times,30 July 2016, p. 1
  33. ^"The voter-fraud commission relies on some really dodgy studies".The Economist.20 July 2017.Retrieved2017-08-01.
  34. ^"Timeline of Ohio's Gerrymandered Maps: How Ohio Politicians Defied Court Orders to Manipulate Legislative Districts | Brennan Center for Justice".www.brennancenter.org.Retrieved2024-08-25.
  35. ^"Massive turnover in local election officials likely before 2024, says new survey".NBC News.25 April 2023.Retrieved2023-04-27.
  36. ^"Analysis | What you need to know about the big Supreme Court election case".Washington Post.ISSN0190-8286.Retrieved2023-01-05.
  37. ^"Partner Organizations • VoteRiders".VoteRiders.Retrieved2022-09-20.
  38. ^Atkins, Robert; Bauman, Patricia."Democracy Can't Wait: Annual Report 2021"(PDF).Brennan Center for Justice.Archived(PDF)from the original on 2023-01-02.Retrieved2023-01-02.
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