After Ohioans voted to enshrine reproductive rights in their state constitution last month, some state legislators quickly attempted to thwart the will of the people by proposing a bill that would prevent Ohio courts from enforcing the new abortion amendment. The move continues a nationwide pattern of state legislatures attacking the power and authority of courts. A Brennan Center analysis explains how these efforts fly in the face of fundamental democratic principles and threaten to upset our system of checks and balances.

Some politicians and pundits blamed the pandemic-era spike in crime on criminal justice reform, despite a lack of evidence to support this claim. Fortunately, not everyone has fallen for this rhetoric, and lawmakers in states such as Florida and New York are still pushing for sensible criminal justice reforms. Leaders everywhere should take note: growing numbers of voters and policymakers are showing their trust in policies that make the system fairer and our communities safer.

The Brennan Center is suing the New York City Police Department to discover how it monitors and uses people’s social media information. For years, the department has refused to hand over records on its surveillance practices, making it difficult to hold police accountable for violating constitutional privacy and free speech protections. Our lawsuit aims to ensure that the NYPD can no longer evade its obligation of public transparency and that its social media monitoring respects New Yorkers’ rights, especially in vulnerable communities.

As we highlighted in a recent report, state and local elected officials have too often abused their power in order to politicize and distort science in the policymaking process. When they do so, underserved communities tend to suffer the most. To better protect the public and the environment, states must put in place laws and policies that safeguard the integrity of government science.