The Briefing with Michael Waldman

Cities, states, and counties across the nation have curbed the use of money bail. Reformers say that jailing criminal defendants who can’t afford to buy their pretrial freedom punishes poverty. Opponents, however, blamed the uptick in crime during the Covid-19 pandemic on bail reform and pushed to roll back the changes. So what’s the truth — did bail reform cause an increase in crime?

Terry-Ann Craigie, associate professor of economics at Smith College and economics fellow in the Brennan Center’s Justice Program, and Ames Grawert, senior counsel in the Brennan Center’s Justice Program, compared crime rates in cities that enacted bail reforms with those that did not. In the broadest and most comprehensive study of this issue to date, they found no evidence that efforts to limit bail and pretrial detention increased crime. Ultimately, there are more promising ways to lower crime than to attack and weaken bail reform.

Listen to this discussion from August 15, with Brennan Center experts exploring crime trends in cities that did and did not limit bail, the possible unintended consequences of some reforms, and more effective ways to bolster public safety.

Speakers:

• Ames Grawert, Senior Counsel, Brennan Center Justice Program

• Terry-Ann Craigie, Associate Professor of Economics, Smith College; Economics Fellow, Brennan Center Justice Program

• Moderator: Mireya Navarro, Editor in Chief, Brennan en español

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You can read the report here: https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/bail-reform-and-public-safety 

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

It’s time to reform the Supreme Court. The founders would not recognize the modern incarnation of what Alexander Hamilton called “the least dangerous” branch. The Court wields far more power on far more issues than it did in the 18th century. And it does so in the absence of adequate checks and balances. The individual justices hold this power longer than they ever have. For the first 180 years of U.S. history, justices served an average of approximately 15 years. In recent years, justices have served an average of 26 years.

Momentum for reform is growing. Numerous polls have shown overwhelming bipartisan support for term limits and an enforceable code of ethics. The president and vice president have both announced their support for real change.

Listen to this discussion from August 13th with Supreme Court experts to talk about what exactly these proposals entail and what they would mean for American democracy. 

Speakers:

• Cristina Rodríguez, Leighton Homer Surbeck Professor of Law, Yale Law School; Co-Chair, Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States

• Diane Wood, Circuit Judge (ret.), U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit; Director, American Law Institute; Senior Lecturer, University of Chicago Law School

• Alicia Bannon, Director, Judiciary Program, Brennan Center for Justice; Editor in Chief, State Court Report

• Moderator: Michael Waldman, President, Brennan Center; Member, Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States

Produced with support from the Kohlberg Center on the U.S. Supreme Court

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The Insurrection Act gives presidents dangerous authority to use the U.S. military as a domestic police force It has virtually no limits on when and how this power can be used, making it ripe for abuse by any leader. Without urgent reforms, the law is a threat to civil liberties — and American democracy itself. 

In a conversation moderated by the Brennan Center’s Elizabeth Goitein, lawyer and writer Hawa Allan, Harvard law professor Jack Goldsmith, and Brennan Center counsel Joseph Nunn discuss how urgent reforms are needed to prevent the Insurrection Act’s misuse. They also explore how these proposed solutions can help protect our civil liberties. 

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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 

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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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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

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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 

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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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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