Renewing Democracy After Citizens United
We have no choice: faced with Citizens United, we must fight back. This publication explains what fixes are necessary to have in place in order to renew our democracy.
Research Report
-
-
The New Politics of Judicial Elections, 2000-2009: Decade of Change
By tallying the numbers and “connecting the dots” among key players over the last five election cycles, this report offers a broad portrait of a grave and growing challenge to the impartiality of our nation’s courts. -
Transparent Elections after Citizens United
Where do disclosure laws stand post-Citizens United? What does the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court ruling mean for state-based laws? And are disclosure laws constitutionally sound? This report examines these questions and urges transparency through modest changes to state-based election laws. -
Corporate Campaign Spending: Giving Shareholders A Voice
This report proposes changes in corporate law to adapt to the post-Citizens United reality. -
Executive Orders
In this report, we offer eleven model executive orders for Governor Andrew Cuomo to use to promote more open, accountable and democratic New York State government. -
The New Politics of Judicial Elections: 2009-10
How special interest “Super Spenders” threatened impartial justice and emboldened unprecedented legislative attacks on America’s courts.
-
Meaningful Ethics Reform for the "New" Albany
The corruption scandals of the last few years have profoundly shaken the faith of New Yorkers in their state government. This report examines the system erected by New York’s current ethics laws and makes clear recommendations for a way forward. -
Racial Disparities in Federal Prosecutions
In 2005, the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law and the National Institute for Law and Equity brought together 12 former prosecutors, most of whom had served as United States Attorneys, to look hard at racial and ethnic disparities within the federal criminal justice system and begin to craft a solution to this long-standing and troubling problem. -
Facing Foreclosure Alone: The Continuing Crisis in Legal Representation
Recent data from state court systems show that a vast majority of homeowners facing foreclosure do not have a lawyer. This report accompanies a multimedia video series, which profiles homeowners across the country speaking about the experience of going through foreclosure alone and the difference it makes to have legal assistance on their side. -
Design Deficiencies and Lost Votes
In 2010, tens of thousands of votes in New York did not count due to overvotes – the invalid selection of more than one candidate. This report demonstrates how the lack of adequate overvote protections disproportionately affected the state’s poorest communities, suggests commonsense reforms, and examines national implications.
Stay up to date