Explainers
Brennan Center experts break down topics on democracy, criminal justice, and more.
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Citizens United, Explained
The 2010 Supreme Court decision further tilted political influence toward wealthy donors and corporations. -
What Courts Can Do If the Trump Administration Defies Court Orders
Judges have a range of tools for enforcing their orders in the face of noncompliance. -
The Alien Enemies Act, Explained
This detention and deportation power poses an alarming risk of abuse and rights violations in both wartime and peacetime. -
The Emoluments Clauses, Explained
The framers wanted to insulate the president and federal officials from corrupting influences, but a new law is needed to ensure effective enforcement. -
Gerrymandering Explained
The practice has long been a thorn in the side of American democracy, but it’s becoming a bigger threat than ever. -
The President’s Executive Order on Elections
The illegal order risks preventing millions of eligible American citizens from voting. -
The Voting Rights Act, Explained
The landmark 1965 law is one of the most successful civil rights measures in history, but the Supreme Court has eviscerated it. -
The Filibuster Explained
The procedure, whose use has increased dramatically in recent decades, has troubling implications for democracy. -
Impeachment and Removal of Judges: An Explainer
Judicial impeachment shouldn’t be used to punish judges for their rulings. Here’s why. -
The Insurrection Act, Explained
The vague and rarely used law gives the president broad power to deploy the military domestically — but it’s not a blank check. -
The Posse Comitatus Act, Explained
The law generally prevents the president from using the military as a domestic police force. -
Habeas Corpus, Explained
The centuries-old tool is a bedrock principle of constitutional democracy that protects against unlawful detention. -
The 19th Amendment, Explained
It took more than a century of fighting by generations of activists to achieve suffrage for all American women. -
Birthright Citizenship Under the U.S. Constitution
The 14th Amendment has long been understood to grant American citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil. -
Roe v. Wade and Supreme Court Abortion Cases
Reproductive rights in the United States, explained. -
What Gifts Must Supreme Court Justices Disclose?
There are significant loopholes in the rules that apply to the high court. -
The Equal Rights Amendment, Explained
Thirty-eight states have finally ratified the ERA, but whether its protections for women’s rights are actually added to the Constitution remains an open question. -
7 Facts About Voting — and Myths Being Spread About Them
Our elections are secure and trustworthy, but rumors and lies on social media abound. -
Constitutional Amendment Processes in the 50 States
States offer multiple paths for amending their constitutions, which are much easier to change than the federal Constitution. -
Myths and Realities: Understanding Recent Trends in Violent Crime
The recent rise in crime is extraordinarily complex. Policymakers and the public should not jump to conclusions or expect easy answers. -
Myth vs. Reality: Trends in Retail Theft
Despite spikes in some cities, crime data doesn’t show a nationwide increase in shoplifting and other forms of retail theft. -
Martial Law, Explained
The law surrounding the concept is complicated and unsettled. Congress should pass legislation that better defines its scope. -
DC Statehood, Explained
Efforts to secure full political representation for the District of Columbia have gained momentum, but obstacles remain. -
Landmark Supreme Court Cases
The Court’s use of the Constitution to defend individual rights and liberties from the mid-20th to early 21st centuries stands in sharp contrast to its rulings before and since. -
Six Key Moments on the Road to the Voting Rights Act of 1965
As the landmark law turns 60, we trace the historic events that made it a bipartisan reality. -
The Electoral College, Explained
A national popular vote would help ensure that every vote counts equally, making American democracy more representative. -
Small Donor Public Financing, Explained
Public financing is the most effective solution we have to the problem of big money in politics. -
The Immigration Court System, Explained
Most immigrants facing deportation are entitled to a hearing before an immigration judge, but their legal rights differ from those in criminal cases. -
The Supreme Court “Shadow Docket,” Explained
The conservative justices are increasingly using a secretive process to issue consequential decisions. -
Federal and State Election Laws Ban Federal Forces from Polling Places
Americans should feel safe to vote free from intimidation by the presence of the military or federal agents. -
Preclearance Under the Voting Rights Act
For decades, the law blocked racially discriminatory election rules and voting districts — and it could do so again, if Congress acts. -
NATO’s Article 5 Collective Defense Obligations, Explained
Here’s how a conflict in Europe would implicate U.S. defense obligations. -
Facts and Myths About the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act
Military personnel, aid workers, and other Americans living abroad have a right to vote, and there is a secure system that lets them do it. -
How Elections Are Certified in Battleground States
State laws require officials to certify results, and safeguards are in place should someone fail to fulfill that obligation. -
The National Popular Vote, Explained
The Electoral College is one of the most undemocratic features of U.S. elections. -
Government Classification and the Mar-a-Lago Documents
Understanding how the classification system works is critical to understanding Trump’s culpability — legal and otherwise. -
What Happens in a Lame-Duck Session of Congress?
These special postelection meetings have been far more momentous (and controversial) than their name suggests. -
Territorial Courts, Constitutions, and Organic Acts, Explained
There are five inhabited U.S. territories, each with its own court system and governing documents. -
District of Columbia Courts, Explained
The Washington, DC, court system shares many similarities with state courts, but with a few important caveats. -
Public Campaign Financing and the Indictment of NYC Mayor Eric Adams
The allegations are serious, but fraud in small donor matching programs gets caught. -
A Market for Holding Humans: The Correctional and Detention Bed Trade
Excessive incarceration and immigration detention has resulted in a perverse system where people in custody are shuttled among facilities around the country for money. -
Judicial Advisory Opinions, Explained
The U.S. Supreme Court doesn’t offer guidance on legal issues beyond actual cases before it, but many state supreme courts do. -
How State and Local Election Certification Works
The process is designed to withstand election denialism. -
Can Trump Vote Now That He Has Felony Convictions?
Trump’s eligibility to vote this fall will depend on the outcome of his New York sentencing and pending prosecutions.
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