Publications
Justice
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
Twelve Steps to Restore Checks and Balances
Executive Privilege. Extraordinary Rendition. Secret legal opinions. Warrantless wiretapping. Indefinite detention. Suspension of habeas corpus. America’s system of checks and balances is eroding, upsetting the delicate balance of power set forth in the Constitution. Twelve Steps to Restore Checks and Balances proposes specific reforms designed to keep the nation secure and free, as the Constitution’s Framers intended.
Authored by: Aziz Huq
– January 2008
The Genius of America: How the Constitution Saved Our Country and Why It Can Again
An exploration of the genius of the Framers and the applicability of their insights to today’s political climate by Eric Lane, a Senior Fellow of the living Constitution Fellows Program at the Brennan Center, and Michael Oreskes, Editor of the International Herald Tribune.
Authored by: Eric Lane and Michael Oreskes
– 09/18/07
Unregulated Work in the Global City—Full Report & Chapter Downloads
This groundbreaking study rests on a simple premise: the many laws on the books to protect the working poor mean little if they are not enforced. This invisible economy is all around us. And as this report shows, it is not limited to a few sweatshops and fly-by-night firms. These practices appear to have spread to established and thriving industries.
Authored by: Annette Bernhardt, Siobhan McGrath & James DeFilippis
– 06/11/07
The Adequacy of New Jersey’s Minimum Wage
Policy Brief by the Brennan Center and Allies on the need to raise New Jersey’s minimum wage and annually adjust it for inflation.
Authored by: Paul Sonn
– 05/18/07
Ten Things You Should Know About Habeas Corpus
This brief publication seeks to answer questions regarding habeas corpus by explaining the facts and correcting the misconceptions surrounding this hot-button issue.
Authored by: Jonathan Hafetz
– May 2007
Access to Justice: Opening the Courthouse Door
Our nation’s promise of “equal justice for all” is among its proudest traditions. In this paper, the authors offerer a series of proposals to bridge the gap between the lofty promise of equal justice and the often disappointing reality of justice on the ground.
Authored by: David Udell & Rebekah Diller
– 04/16/07
Analysis of Montana Minimum Wage Bill
Brennan Center report analyzing Montana House Bill 492—a proposal to roll-back wage protections for tipped workers in the state.
Authored by: Paul K. Sonn & Jennifer Sung
– 04/03/07