The Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority has taken a hard originalist turn, citing history to justify rulings that have eliminated many long-standing American rights. What exactly does originalism mean? Should history be the sole source of rights? And what if the history that the Court has relied on is flat-out wrong?

Listen in on a discussion from October 12, 2023 moderated by Adam Serwer of the Atlantic with historians Laura Edwards, professor at Princeton University; Kate Masur, professor at Northwestern University; and Karen Tani, professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Their conversation dissects how history has been used and abused in consequential recent cases and sketches out alternative views for how history can help us better understand the Constitution.

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Click here to read more from the Brennan Center’s Historians Council on the Constitution: https://www.brennancenter.org/historians-council-constitution 

You can keep up with the Brennan Center’s work by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Briefing: https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing

Public support for the Supreme Court has plummeted to an all-time low in the last year as the highest court has been ridden with controversy and ethics scandals. Hard-right rulings from a conservative supermajority have also raised concerns about the judicial independence of the institution. Is it time to reform the Court?

Listen in on a discussion between Kenji Yoshino, the Chief Justice Earl Warren Professor of Constitutional Law at NYU School of Law, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Brennan Center President Michael Waldman about ethics reform, term limits, and other ways the public, the media, and Congress can bring accountability back to the Supreme Court.

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You can keep up with the Brennan Center’s work by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Briefing: https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing

Presidential immunity, limits on gun control, governmental oversight for agencies — the fate of these issues is in the hands of the Supreme Court this summer. Not only is the current Court the most conservative we have ever seen, it is also plagued with ethics violations.

Brennan Center President Michael Waldman and Kareem Crayton, the Brennan Center’s senior director for voting and representation, discussed Waldman’s book The Supermajority: How the Supreme Court Divided America. Their conversation explores the threat of the current conservative Court, how this year’s decisions have built on or changed the Court’s previous rulings, and what can be done to shore up democracy. 

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You can check out Michael Waldman’s latest book here: https://www.brennancenter.org/supermajority-how-supreme-court-divided-america

You can keep up with the Brennan Center’s work by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Briefing: https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing

The Supreme Court has turned back time in recent decisions by regressing to an interpretation of the Constitution according to its “original meaning.” What has this meant for women’s rights?  

Listen in on a panel discussion with Madiba K. Dennie, author of the new book The Originalism Trap; Khiara M. Bridges of UC Berkeley School of Law; Emily Martin of the National Women’s Law Center; and Alicia Bannon of the Brennan Center and State Court Report. They delve into recent cases that have reversed decades of progress for women’s rights, such as the 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade, and United States v. Rahimi, which is built entirely around the fact that domestic violence was not a crime in the 18th century.

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Check out Madiba K. Dennie’s new book The Originalism Trap: How Extremists Stole the Constitution and How We the People Can Take It Back here: https://bookshop.org/a/20454/9780593729250 

Keep up with the Brennan Center’s work by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Briefing: https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing

A governing majority in the United States has never required an actual majority of the voting population. And the tactics of achieving minoritarian control are always shifting. A minority of Americans are now set on thwarting the will of the people through voter suppression, gerrymandering, and even election subversion. In his new book, Minority Rule: The Right-Wing Attack on the Will of the People — and the Fight to Resist It, voting rights reporter Ari Berman charts the rise of this antidemocracy movement in the face of the country’s significant demographic and political shifts.

Listen in on a discussion with Berman and former West Virginia Secretary of State Natalie Tennant about how reactionary conservatives have capitalized on structural inequalities in our institutions, like the Senate and the Supreme Court, to entrench their power, as well as the pro-democracy movement that’s fighting back.

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Check out Ari Berman’s new book here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/minority-rule-ari-berman/19994801?ean=9780374600211

You can keep up with the Brennan Center’s work by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Briefing: https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing

Donald Trump is now the first American president convicted of a crime. The smooth trial process shows that — independent of the outcome — the U.S. justice system can still work, even with a powerful defendant.

But full accountability seems far off. The federal courts, including the Supreme Court, have stalled Trump’s prosecution for trying to overthrow the 2020 election and for misuse of classified documents and obstruction of justice. 

Listen to an expert discussion on how Trump’s defense in the New York business records falsification trial, including Trumps’ accusations of political motivations behind the charges, could serve as a blueprint in his other cases. This discussion shares insights from experts in the field including:

Paul Butler, Albert Brick Professor in Law, Georgetown University Law Center; Legal Analyst, MSNBC

Joyce Vance, Former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama; Distinguished Professor of the Practice of Law, University of Alabama School of Law; Legal Analyst, MSNBC; Senior Fellow, Brennan Center

Michael Waldman, President and CEO, Brennan Center

Moderator: Lauren-Brooke Eisen, Senior Director, Brennan Center Justice Program

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You can keep up with the Brennan Center’s work by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Briefing: https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing

A new Brennan Center report reveals that intimidation aimed at state and local officials is distressingly common: For example, 43 percent of state legislators have experienced threats within the past three years. 

These threats have serious repercussions for representative democracy. Officeholders report being less willing to work on contentious issues like reproductive rights and gun control and more reluctant to continue serving. Additionally, intimidation is often targeted at groups already underrepresented in government, such as women and people of color.

Listen to a recording of our virtual discussion of this alarming trend, as well as recommendations to stem the abuse from our expert panel:

Anna Eskamani, State Representative, Florida House of Representatives

Gowri Ramachandran, Deputy Director, Brennan Center Elections and Government Program

Tom Roberts, Former Assemblymember, Nevada State Assembly

Moderator: Deirdre Walsh, Congressional Correspondent, NPR

With remarks from Letitia James, Attorney General, New York State

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Check out Brennan Center’s new report here: https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/intimidation-state-and-local-officeholders 

You can keep up with the Brennan Center’s work by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Briefing: https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing

Most of the more than 1 million Americans in prison — disproportionately low-income people of color — will return to their communities after serving long sentences with few resources and little support. Recidivism rates remain stubbornly high. The criminal justice system, then, fails to produce public safety even as core values such as equality, fairness, and proportionality have fallen by the wayside.

The new book Excessive Punishment: How the Justice System Creates Mass Incarceration, edited by the Brennan Center’s Lauren-Brooke Eisen, features essays from scholars, practitioners, activists, writers who experienced incarceration, and others. The contributors explore the social costs of excessive punishment and how to ensure public safety without perpetuating the harms of mass incarceration.  

Listen to the recording of our virtual panel from earlier this month with contributors to the book:

Jeremy Travis, Senior Fellow at Columbia Justice Lab

Nkechi Taifa, President of the Taifa Group

Khalil Cumberbatch, Senior fellow at the Council on Criminal Justice and co-CEO of Edovo

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Find out more about the book here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/excessive-punishment-how-the-justice-system-creates-mass-incarceration-lauren-brooke-eisen/20877826?ean=9780231212168 

Keep up with the Brennan Center’s work by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Briefing: https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing

Misdemeanors, not violent offenses, dominate criminal justice. A decade of reforms has shrunk the sprawling misdemeanor system, but the prosecution of shoplifting, traffic violations, and other lesser offenses remains a burden on vulnerable communities and law enforcement resources even as public concern over physical and social disorder in public spaces spurs calls for renewed enforcement. 

A new Brennan Center report zooms in on New York City as a case study for how misdemeanor enforcement has changed in recent years, offering insights into the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and reform initiatives like the decriminalization of low-level drug possession. But even as overall caseloads have declined, stark racial disparities persist.   

Listen to the recording of our virtual panel from earlier this month, “Misdemeanors by the Numbers.” Bria Gillum, senior program officer at the MacArthur Foundation Criminal Justice Program, and Michigan County Sheriff Jerry Clayton join Brennan Center Senior Research Fellow Josephine Hahn in a discussion moderated by the Brennan Center’s Rosemary Nidiry. 

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You can check out the Brennan Center’s report Misdemeanor Enforcement Trends in New York City, 2016–2022 here: https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/misdemeanor-enforcement-trends-new-york-city-2016-2022 

You can keep up with the Brennan Center’s work by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, The Briefing: https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing

Listen to the recording of our in-person event from last month, Decoding the Trump Indictments. Melissa Murray and Andrew Weissmann, coauthors of the new book The Trump Indictments, discuss the historic charges against the former president in a discussion moderated by Brennan Center President Michael Waldman. Murray is the Frederick I. and Grace Stokes Professor of Law Faculty and director of the Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Center at NYU Law. Weissmann, a professor of practice at NYU Law and a legal analyst for MSNBC, previously served as general counsel to the FBI and one of the senior prosecutors on Robert Mueller’s Trump-Russia investigation.

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You can find Melissa and Andrew’s bestselling new book, “Decoding the Trump Indictments,” at your favorite local bookseller or online: https://wwnorton.com/books/the-trump-indictments

You can keep up with the Brennan Center’s work by subscribing to Michael Waldman’s weekly newsletter, The Briefing: https://go.brennancenter.org/briefing