Brennan Center for Justice
Encyclopedia
The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School is a non-partisan public policy
and law
institute that focuses on issues involving democracy
and justice
. The Center is "dedicated to strengthening democracy and securing justice, through law, scholarship
, education and advocacy."
The organization is currently headed by Michael Waldman
, former Director of Speechwriting
for President Bill Clinton
from 1995–1999.
s of Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan. Justice Brennan’s idea of a living constitution
figures largely into the center’s work. The Brennan Center is involved in issues such as voting rights, redistricting
reform, campaign finance reform
, and presidential power in the fight against terrorism
. The organization is part think tank
, part public interest
law firm
, and part advocacy
group.
of 2002 ("BCRA"). The law banned "soft money" contributions to political campaign
s. Brennan Center attorneys helped to successfully defend the law before the United States Supreme Court in McConnell v. FEC. The center was part of a coalition representing Senators John McCain
, Russ Feingold
, Olympia Snowe
, and James Jeffords, and Representatives Christopher Shays
and Martin Meehan
.
The Center has advised the United States Congress
and state legislatures on improving America’s election law
s. The Center helped Senator Dick Durbin write the Fair Elections Now Act, which was most recently reintroduced in April 2011.
organizations seeking to defend that law from a court challenge.
s Margarita López Torres, other unsuccessful judicial candidates, and Common Cause
, in a court case
that challenged the way New York state trial judge
candidates gain access to the ballot. They prevailed in the U.S. District Court and in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. In 2007, attorneys from the Brennan Center argued N.Y. State Bd. of Elections v. Lopez Torres
before the United States Supreme Court, but in 2008 the court ruled for the state.
. The Center has also challenged the U.S. Congress’s power to deny habeas corpus
to such prisoners.
Public policy
Public policy as government action is generally the principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. In general, the foundation is the pertinent national and...
and law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
institute that focuses on issues involving democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
and justice
Justice
Justice is a concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, or equity, along with the punishment of the breach of said ethics; justice is the act of being just and/or fair.-Concept of justice:...
. The Center is "dedicated to strengthening democracy and securing justice, through law, scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
, education and advocacy."
The organization is currently headed by Michael Waldman
Michael Waldman
Michael Waldman is executive director of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, a nonpartisan law and policy institute that focuses on fundamental issues of democracy and justice. The Center is one of the nation’s leading legal voices on election law, Constitutional law, government...
, former Director of Speechwriting
Speechwriter
A speechwriter is a person who is hired to prepare and write speeches that will be delivered by another person. Speechwriters are used by many senior-level elected officials and executives in the government and private sectors.-Skills and training:...
for President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
from 1995–1999.
History and Mission
The Brennan Center for Justice was founded in 1995 by the family and former law clerkLaw clerk
A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person who provides assistance to a judge in researching issues before the court and in writing opinions. Law clerks are not court clerks or courtroom deputies, who are administrative staff for the court. Most law clerks are recent law school graduates who...
s of Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan. Justice Brennan’s idea of a living constitution
Living Constitution
The Living Constitution is a concept in America, also referred to as loose constructionism, constitutional interpretation which claims that the Constitution has a dynamic meaning or that it has the properties of a human in the sense that it changes...
figures largely into the center’s work. The Brennan Center is involved in issues such as voting rights, redistricting
Redistricting
Redistricting is the process of drawing United States electoral district boundaries, often in response to population changes determined by the results of the decennial census. In 36 states, the state legislature has primary responsibility for creating a redistricting plan, in many cases subject to...
reform, campaign finance reform
Campaign finance reform
Campaign finance reform is the common term for the political effort in the United States to change the involvement of money in politics, primarily in political campaigns....
, and presidential power in the fight against terrorism
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
. The organization is part think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
, part public interest
Public interest
The public interest refers to the "common well-being" or "general welfare." The public interest is central to policy debates, politics, democracy and the nature of government itself...
law firm
Law firm
A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to represent clients in civil or criminal cases, business transactions, and other...
, and part advocacy
Advocacy
Advocacy is a political process by an individual or a large group which normally aims to influence public-policy and resource allocation decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions; it may be motivated from moral, ethical or faith principles or simply to protect an...
group.
Programs
The Brennan Center's work is currently divided into three programs -- Democracy, Justice, and Liberty & National Security. Past programs focused on criminal justice, poverty, and economic justice. The Center's programs advance their goals through research, policy analysis, media outreach, legislative counseling, advocacy, and legal action.Democracy
The Center's Democracy Program collaborates with grassroots groups, advocacy organizations, and government officials to strengthen citizen participation in U.S. government and electoral politics. The program works on issues such as campaign finance reform, voter registration modernization, redistricting, the filibuster, and the promotion of fair and impartial court systems.Justice
The Center’s Justice Program works with grassroots organizations and advocacy groups in the fight for equal justice for all. The program works on variety of issues relating to racial justice, civil justice, and criminal justice. This includes increasing access to interpreters, reforming disparities in criminal sentencing, and ending unfair fees and fines in the criminal justice system.Liberty & National Security
The Center’s Liberty & National Security Program works on policy recommendations, litigation, and public advocacy for issues related to government transparency and accountability, domestic counterterrorism, detainee policy, and checks and balances. Prior to 2010, the program was housed under the Center’s Justice Program.Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act
The Brennan Center provided research central to drafting and enacting the Bipartisan Campaign Reform ActBipartisan Campaign Reform Act
The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 is a United States federal law that amended the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, which regulates the financing of political campaigns. Its chief sponsors were Senators Russell Feingold and John McCain...
of 2002 ("BCRA"). The law banned "soft money" contributions to political campaign
Political campaign
A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making process within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, wherein representatives are chosen or referendums are decided...
s. Brennan Center attorneys helped to successfully defend the law before the United States Supreme Court in McConnell v. FEC. The center was part of a coalition representing Senators John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
, Russ Feingold
Russ Feingold
Russell Dana "Russ" Feingold is an American politician from the U.S. state of Wisconsin. He served as a Democratic party member of the U.S. Senate from 1993 to 2011. From 1983 to 1993, Feingold was a Wisconsin State Senator representing the 27th District.He is a recipient of the John F...
, Olympia Snowe
Olympia Snowe
Olympia Jean Snowe , née Bouchles, is the senior United States Senator from Maine and a member of the Republican Party. Snowe has become widely known for her ability to influence the outcome of close votes, including whether to end filibusters. She and her fellow Senator from Maine, Susan Collins,...
, and James Jeffords, and Representatives Christopher Shays
Christopher Shays
Christopher H. Shays is an American politician. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives and represented the 4th District of Connecticut....
and Martin Meehan
Marty Meehan
Martin Thomas "Marty" Meehan is an American attorney and politician from the state of Massachusetts. He is the current Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Lowell, a position he assumed on July 1, 2007...
.
The Center has advised the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
and state legislatures on improving America’s election law
Election law
Election law is a discipline falling at the juncture of constitutional law and political science. It researches "the politics of law and the law of politics"...
s. The Center helped Senator Dick Durbin write the Fair Elections Now Act, which was most recently reintroduced in April 2011.
Legislative Reform
In 2004 the Brennan Center released a report calling the New York State Legislature the most dysfunctional in the United States. The report highlighted the legislature's dominance by the two houses' respective majority party leaders, and the relative inability of individual members and committees to move legislation. As part of ongoing efforts aimed at increasing responsiveness and accountability in state government, the Brennan Center currently advocates for a set of ethics reforms, an independent redistricting commission, and a public financing system for state elections. The Brennan Center advocated strongly for the passage in 2010 of New York's law ending prison-based gerrymandering, and is part of a team of civil rightsCivil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
organizations seeking to defend that law from a court challenge.
Judicial Elections
The Brennan Center represented plaintiffPlaintiff
A plaintiff , also known as a claimant or complainant, is the term used in some jurisdictions for the party who initiates a lawsuit before a court...
s Margarita López Torres, other unsuccessful judicial candidates, and Common Cause
Common Cause
Common Cause is a self-described nonpartisan, nonprofit lobby and advocacy organization. It was founded in 1970 by John W. Gardner, a Republican former cabinet secretary under Lyndon Johnson, as a "citizens' lobby" with a mission focused on making U.S. political institutions more open and...
, in a court case
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
that challenged the way New York state trial judge
Trial court
A trial court or court of first instance is a court in which trials take place. Such courts are said to have original jurisdiction.- In the United States :...
candidates gain access to the ballot. They prevailed in the U.S. District Court and in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. In 2007, attorneys from the Brennan Center argued N.Y. State Bd. of Elections v. Lopez Torres
N.Y. State Bd. of Elections v. Lopez Torres
N.Y. State Bd. of Elections v. Lopez Torres was a case decided by the United States Supreme Court that involved a constitutional challenge brought against New York State's judicial election law, alleging that it unfairly prevented candidates from obtaining access to the ballot...
before the United States Supreme Court, but in 2008 the court ruled for the state.
Liberty and National Security
The Brennan Center has represented several detainees at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, and also U.S. citizens or legal residents held as unlawful enemy combatants. Attorneys from the Center challenged a U.S. President's authority to declare a prisoner to be an unlawful enemy combatant in the fight against terrorismWar on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
. The Center has also challenged the U.S. Congress’s power to deny habeas corpus
Habeas corpus
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
to such prisoners.