RFK Jr.’s VP choice highlights the crushing pressures of fundraising in today’s elections. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Donate

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RFK Jr.’s Big-Money Spigot

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Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s running mate is a wealthy tech figure with the ability to pour unlimited amounts of money into his campaign. This kind of self-funding by rich candidates has become increasingly common, driving up the cost of campaigns and making it harder for candidates not backed by big money or personal wealth to run for office. Reforms such as public campaign financing can help keep politics open to all, not just a privileged few

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The SCOTUS Roadblock to Trump’s January 6 Trial

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On Monday, the Brennan Center filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the Supreme Court to show that Donald Trump’s claim that he is immune from prosecution has no basis in constitutional history. The brief from 15 founding-era historians emphasizes that the United States was born from the notion that leaders should be accountable to the people, and no one is above the law — even presidents

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The justices have the power to quickly reject Trump’s ahistorical argument and allow him to stand trial for his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election. In the past, the Court has acted swiftly in cases where the presidency was at stake. By dragging their heels now, the justices are giving Trump exactly what he wants: time. Before casting their ballots this fall, voters have a right to know if they’re being asked to elect someone who is guilty of a serious crime against democracy

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Attacks on State Voter Rolls

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The Brennan Center pushed back in court last week against two lawsuits filed in Michigan and Maryland that threaten to disenfranchise voters

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. Both suits seek to turn a federal law designed to boost voter registration into a tool to aggressively purge voter rolls, which endangers eligible voters’ registrations. The lawsuits’ claims rely on shaky data and misleading allegations, and even if they don’t succeed, they stand to waste election offices’ limited resources and foster distrust about our electoral process. Courts should soundly reject these baseless lawsuits

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The Fuel for Mass Incarceration

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Excessive Punishment

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, a new book edited by the Brennan Center’s Justice Program Senior Director Lauren-Brooke Eisen, examines how a maze of local, state, and federal agencies has fueled mass incarceration and deterred attempts at reform. This collection of 38 essays by activists, academics, and formerly incarcerated people explores issues ranging from the consequences of a criminal conviction to the realities of life behind bars, as well as how the excesses of the criminal justice system are entwined with poverty, racism, and the legacy of slavery. In detailing the failures of the status quo, the book makes a powerful case for reimagining the justice system to support restoration rather than retribution

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Rap on Trial

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A growing number of state courts have had to grapple with whether singing or writing violent song lyrics can be used as evidence that a person committed a violent crime. Courts should be wary of allowing this, a new State Court Report piece warns. The tactic, which usually targets rap music, raises serious free speech concerns. Just as alarming, it risks convicting people not because of their actions, but because of how jurors react to their taste in music

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Obstacles to Judicial Diversity

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The nomination of Adeel Mangi, the country’s first Muslim federal appellate nominee, has met with vitriolic backlash that’s unfortunately not surprising. Like many people of color and women nominated to the bench in recent years, Mangi faced brutal questioning in the Senate about his pro bono record. He also was subjected to Islamophobic questions about his stance on Israel and the 9/11 terrorist attacks. This mistreatment may discourage Muslim Americans and other underrepresented groups from serving on the federal bench, undermining the legitimacy of our judiciary

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Louisiana’s Fleeting Win for Fair Maps

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A federal trial that began this week could reverse Black voters’ recent victory for fair maps in Louisiana that was 30 years in the making. Unhappy white voters are challenging a newly drawn Black-majority congressional district in the state as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. If they succeed, it could throw Louisiana’s 2024 election into chaos and leave in place a map with only one Black-majority district. The effort is proof of why we need Congress to pass stronger voting protections for people of color

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Congress Must Curb Government Spying

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Last week, a special intelligence court gave the Biden administration permission to continue using a controversial authority that has been abused to spy on Americans — even if Congress lets the authority expire this month. The administration’s move to sidestep Congress underscores that the government can’t be trusted to self-police its broad surveillance powers. Lawmakers must take back the reins, starting by terminating or reforming Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to protect Americans from warrantless surveillance

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A Big Step Toward a Better Census

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The White House has announced long-awaited updates to how federal surveys ask about race and ethnicity. These changes, aimed at making the 2030 census more representative, will help ensure that communities receive their fair share of political representation and federal funding. Now it’s up to the Census Bureau to implement the revisions in a way that makes it easy for all Americans to respond

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BRENNAN CENTER ON SOCIAL MEDIA - WEBBY

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We’re honored to be nominated for a Webby Award for our work on Supreme Court reform. No one should hold power for life — help uplift the urgency of SCOTUS term limits and cast your vote today

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Virtual Events

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VIDEO PREMIERE: Decoding the Trump Indictments

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Former President Trump is facing four prosecutions: the January 6 and classified documents cases in federal court, the election interference case in Georgia, and the “hush money” case in New York. Watch the recording of our recent in-person event explaining the cases, as NYU Law professors Melissa Murray and Andrew Weissmann, coauthors of the new book The Trump Indictments

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, discuss the extraordinary charging documents. Murray is faculty director of the Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Center at NYU Law, and Weissmann previously served as general counsel to the FBI and one of the senior prosecutors on Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Trump-Russia investigation.



Watch it on YouTube here

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or listen on Spotify

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, Apple Podcasts

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VIRTUAL EVENT: The Failed Experiment of Mass Incarceration

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Wednesday, April 17, 3–4 p.m. ET

A new book edited by the Brennan Center’s Lauren-Brooke Eisen, Excessive Punishment: How the Justice System Creates Mass Incarceration

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, explores the roots and social costs of mass incarceration, as well as reforms that would prioritize human dignity and restoration over retribution. Join us virtually for a live event moderated by Eisen to hear from several of the book’s contributors on why the U.S. criminal justice system is so punitive and what alternatives could rebalance it. RSVP today

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Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law

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