Press Releases
Senate Appropriations Committee Votes to Repeal “Poison Pill” Restriction on Federal Legal Services
On June 25, 2009, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted to lift the “LSC poison pill restriction” - the federal appropriations provision that encumbers up to $490 million in state, local, and charitable private contributions raised by legal services nonprofits that receive federal funding from the nation’s Legal Services Corporation (LSC).
– 06/29/09
Stakes Increase in Citizens United Case
The Supreme Court was expected to issue a long-anticipated decision in Citizen United today, but instead will hear new oral arguments on the case in September 2009.The two questions the Court asked parties to address at the new oral argument are:
– 06/29/09
Federal Bill Draws Needed Attention to Redistricting Reform
Today, Congressmen John Tanner (D-TN), Mike Castle (R-DE), and Allen Boyd (D-FL) proposed federal legislation that would substantially change the way congressional districts are drawn. The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, a national leader in the effort to draw fair districts, welcomed the return of the issue to national prominence.
– 06/24/09
Supreme Court Affirms Voting Rights Act
Today, in a narrow, 8-1 decision, the Supreme Court avoided a constitutional challenge to a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, instead holding in NAMUDNO v. Holder that the small utility district in Austin, Texas that brought the challenge could seek to “bail out” of the Act’s pre-clearance requirements.
– 06/22/09
Detailed Reports Offer Guidelines for Permanent Voter Registration
Today, two new studies on voter registration for Americans who move show both the feasibility and need to modernize the voter registration system. Tens of millions of Americans move every year, and permanent registration throughout all states would dramatically increase voter participation by millions.
– 06/19/09
New Study Urges Congress to Remove Federal Restrictions on Legal Aid
Federal funding restrictions on legal aid for the poor are wasting money and undercutting the ability of families to fend off foreclosure and other legal problems amid the economic crisis, according to a white paper released today by the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law . . .
– 06/19/09
Bermuda Accepts Detainees as U.S. Starts Dismantling Guantanamo
The Brennan Center welcomes the Burmudan government’s decision to resettle four Guantánamo Uighurs.
– 06/16/09
Can the U.S. Register Every Voter?
Brennan Center’s sixteen-country study provides blueprint for U.S. modernization plan.
– 06/15/09
Supreme Court Reverses Decision in Caperton v. Massey
Major victory for the Rule of Law and Due Process with Supreme Court’s 5–4 vote.
– 06/08/09