Publications
Justice
A Call to End Federal Restrictions on Legal Aid for the Poor
A report calling for the repeal of draconian and wasteful restrictions on civil legal aid programs receiving funding from the federal Legal Services Corporation.
Authored by: Rebekah Diller & Emily Savner
– 06/22/09
Executive Privilege: A Legislative Remedy
This report focuses on one context of executive privilege: disputes over Congress’s efforts to access information from the Executive. Executive privilege is one area where the recent expansion of secrecy can—and should—be rolled back to restore our constitutional balance. A proposed statute, “Executive Privilege Codification Act,” aims to do just that, and is attached as an appendix.
Authored by: Emily Berman
– 06/21/09
Transparency in the First 100 Days: A Report Card
This report card is an effort to take stock of the Obama administration’s performance during its first 100 days in office, acknowledge and commend those actions that enhance government transparency, and insist on a correction of course when transparency is diminished.
Authored by: Liberty & National Security Project
– 04/27/09
Maryland’s Parole Supervision Fee: A Barrier to Reentry
Parolees from whom the state seeks to subsidize its coffers are often struggling to get by at the most basic level. This publication notes the fees drive people into debt, do little to fund the state, and severely affect recidivism. This study offers key findings as well as recommendations to correct the problem.
Authored by: Rebekah Diller, Judith Greene, & Michelle Jacobs
– 03/23/09
Democracy & Justice | Collected Writings, 2008
Excerpts from reports, policy proposals, and issue briefs, as well as excerpted material from public remarks, legal briefs, Congressional testimony, and op-ed pieces written by Brennan Center staff in 2008.
Authored by: The Brennan Center, including Eric Lane, Bob Herbert, Gov. Janet Napolitano, Nina Totenberg, and others.
– 01/01/09
Eligible for Justice: Guidelines for Appointing Defense Counsel
Neither the Supreme Court, nor any other source, has detailed how communities should determine who can afford counsel and who cannot. This report presents information about best practices for determining financial eligibility for free counsel. The report gathers, in one place, existing standards and procedures, relevant judicial precedent, and the specific views of many defenders in communities around the country.
Authored by: The Access to Justice Program
– 09/16/08
A Return to Common Sense
Imagine an America in which a vast number of people routinely vote; where voting is easy, accessible to all, and fair; in which campaigns know they cannot win by dividing slivers of the electorate, but by energizing large numbers behind their plans and ideas.
Authored by: Michael Waldman
– 04/01/08
Unchecked and Unbalanced: Presidential Power in a Time of Terror
Unchecked and Unbalanced: Power in a Time of Terror (The New Press) is an exploration of the expansion of executive power in the wake of 9/11, and provides a comprehensive analysis rooted in legal and political history of the Bush Administration’s theory of unlimited presidential license.
Authored by: Frederick A.O. Schwarz, Jr. and Aziz Huq
– Published 2007
Improving New York City’s Public Benefits System: A Key Role for Help Desks
This Brennan Center Strategic Fund Policy Proposal sets forth the observations of advocates and of public benefits clients, as conveyed to the Brennan Center in interviews and focus groups that we conducted in 2007. We describe a variety of ways in which help desks can substantially improve the public benefits system and the lives of many New Yorkers. It is time for the City to remove its ban on help desks.
Authored by: David Pedulla
– 02/24/08
Democracy & Justice | Collected Writings, 2007
Excerpts from reports, policy proposals, and issue briefs, as well as excerpted material from public remarks, legal briefs, Congressional testimony, and op-ed pieces written by Brennan Center staff in 2007.
Authored by: The Brennan Center, including Bill Moyers, Governor Tom Kean, Michael Oreskes, and others.
– 01/01/08