Press Releases
Brennan Center Names John Anthony Butler as New COO
The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law is pleased to welcome John Anthony (Tony) Butler as its new Chief Operating Officer. In this role, Butler will be responsible for all of the organization’s administrative, financial and operational activities, as well as oversee its strategic planning process.
– 09/08/11
Information Ahead of Senate Hearing on State Voting Legislation Threatening Voting Rights in 2011
Ahead of Sen. Durbin’s hearing today on new state voting laws and possible threats to voting rights and voter turnout nationwide, the Brennan Center provides background information to help put the hearing in context, including a summary of the legislation passed so far, and useful links to deeper analysis.
– 09/08/11
Civil Rights Groups Answer Summary Judgment Motion in Prison-Based Gerrymandering Lawsuit
Attorneys for the fifteen voters from around New York State who have joined the legal defense of New York’s law ending prison-based gerrymandering today filed papers asking New York Supreme Court Judge Eugene Devine to grant their motion for summary judgment and uphold the law.
– 08/19/11
Letter to Maine Sec. of State: Please Confirm Commitment to Fair Voting Rights for Students
The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law wrote Maine Secretary of State Charles Summers, Jr., today, asking Sec. Summers to publicly reaffirm that out-of-state tuition status is not a bar to registering or voting in Maine.
– 08/16/11
Judge Allows Organizations Representing Voters to Defend Law Ending Prison-Based Gerrymandering
A New York Supreme Court judge has cleared the way for civil rights organizations representing fifteen voters from across New York State to join the Attorney General in defending New York’s law ending “prison-based gerrymandering,” a practice that had distorted representation across New York State.
– 08/11/11
Brennan Center Endorses ABA Judicial Disqualification Resolution
The American Bar Association’s House of Delegates is expected to vote today on a resolution calling on states to adopt new rules for judicial disqualification. Brennan Center Senior Counsel Adam Skaggs released the following statement in support of the resolution.
– 08/08/11
Civil Rights Advocates Call on Congress to Investigate FBI’s New Intelligence Rules
Civil rights advocates called on Congress today to investigate the reported changes to the FBI’s guidelines for domestic investigations.
– 07/27/11
Civic Groups Write Justice Department, Urge Rejection of Florida Law Raising Roadblocks to Voting
The League of Women Voters of Florida, the Brennan Center for Justice, Democracia USA, and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law today wrote to the U.S. Department of Justice urging the Department to exercise its authority under the Voting Rights Act to deny preclearance to discriminatory provisions of Florida’s omnibus 2011 election law, H.B. 1355, which will make it harder for Floridians to vote.
Authored by: Andrew Goldston, 646-292-8372
– 07/15/11
Shareholders Deserve To Know How Corporations Spend Their Money in Elections
The Shareholder Protection Act, introduced today in both the U.S. House and Senate, is a commonsense bill that would help mitigate the effects of the Supreme Court’s damaging decision last year in Citizens United, which gave corporations the First Amendment right to spend unlimited amounts of money to influence elections.
– 07/13/11
Supreme Court Strikes Down “Trigger” Funds, But Public Financing Remains Constitutional
The Brennan Center for Justice defended Arizona's campaign finance law before the Supreme Court with its pro bono counsel Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP. The Center released the following statement from Executive Director Michael Waldman on the Supreme Court’s decision in McComish v. Bennett.
– 06/27/11