Misplaced Pages

#207792

47-520: The Brennan Center's stated mission is to "work to hold our political institutions and laws accountable to the twin American ideals of democracy and equal justice for all." Its president is Michael Waldman , former speechwriter for President Bill Clinton . The Brennan Center for Justice was founded in 1995 by the family and former law clerks of Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan Jr. , whom The Washington Post called "the progressive voice of

94-867: A September 2000 interview with PBS , he discussed his experiences at the White House, including his role as speechwriter, President Clinton's communication style, and the White House response to events such as the Oklahoma City bombing and the Lewinsky scandal . On April 9, 2021, Waldman was named to the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States by President Joe Biden . Waldman appears frequently on television and radio to discuss public policy ,

141-473: A brief should cover "relevant matter" not dealt with by the parties which "may be of considerable help". The cover of an amicus brief must identify which party the brief is supporting, or if the brief supports only affirmance or reversal. The Court also requires that all non-governmental amici identify those providing a monetary contribution to the preparation or submission of the brief. Briefs must be prepared in booklet format, and 40 copies must be served with

188-476: A choice of three schools, with the other two being Harvard University and Georgetown University . The Brennan Center is part think tank , part public interest law firm , and part advocacy group. The organization is involved in issues such as opposing voter ID laws that it believes unduly restrict voter registration, and other barriers to registration and voting, and advocates for redistricting reform and campaign finance reform . The Brennan Center's work

235-537: A decision could affect an entire industry, companies other than the litigants may wish to have their concerns heard. In the United States , federal courts often hear cases involving the constitutionality of state laws. Hence states may file briefs as amici curiae when their laws or interests are likely to be affected, as in the Supreme Court case McDonald v. Chicago , when thirty-two states under

282-581: A nonprofit law and policy institute. Waldman has led the center since 2005. Waldman earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University in 1982 and a Juris Doctor from the New York University School of Law in 1987. During law school, Waldman worked on the New York University Law Review . From 1993 to 1995, Waldman was a special assistant to President Bill Clinton for policy coordination. As

329-493: A senior advisor to the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission . Amicus curiae An amicus curiae ( lit.   ' friend of the court ' ; pl.   amici curiae ) is an individual or organization that is not a party to a legal case, but that is permitted to assist a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in

376-400: A significant disadvantage and risk a miscarriage of justice , the judge may appoint a lawyer as amicus curiae . The lawyer is not retained by and does not represent the unrepresented party as such, but has a responsibility to ensure that points of law of importance to the party's case are brought to the attention of the court. For example, in the case of a criminal trial, the amicus will have

423-457: Is a lawyer, rather than an outside entity, who is asked by the Court to provide submissions in such a way as to make sure the legal issues affecting the interests of all parties are properly canvassed. Where one of the parties (e.g. the accused in a criminal case) is unrepresented (and is ineligible for or refuses to apply for legal aid ), and the judge is concerned that this will leave that party at

470-450: Is controversial. The controversy arises due to the governmental nature of WTO disputes. As only WTO members have access to the system, any non-members such as non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are excluded and have no right to be heard. Thus the only way for them to contribute to a WTO decision is through amicus curiae briefs. To date there is a divergence in approaches in the WTO as to

517-403: Is divided into three programs—Democracy, Justice, and Liberty & National Security. Past programs focused on criminal justice, poverty, and economic justice. The organization has focus on issues both at the national level in the United States but also at the state and local levels of government. The Brennan Center opposes mass incarceration and produces research on causes of violent crime in

SECTION 10

#1732772350208

564-490: Is known as an intervenor: a person or organization who requests to provide legal submissions so as to offer a relevant alternative or additional perspective regarding the matters in dispute. In the American courts, the amicus may be referred to as an amicus brief . In other jurisdictions, such as Canada , an amicus curiae is a lawyer who is asked by the court to provide legal submissions regarding issues that would otherwise not be aired properly, often because one or both of

611-754: Is the author of several books, including: Waldman spent the majority of his childhood in Great Neck , New York. He is married to Elizabeth Fine, counsel to New York Governor Kathy Hochul . She was general counsel to the New York City Council and deputy assistant attorney general for the United States during the Clinton administration. Together they have three children. Waldman and his family reside in Brooklyn , New York. His brother, Steven Waldman , co-founded Beliefnet and formerly served as

658-538: Is undue burden carried by certain communities. Numerous lawsuits have been brought against states in such cases. By August 1, 2016, rulings in five cases: Ohio, Texas, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and North Dakota, overturned certain voter ID and other provisions, requiring states to make alternatives acceptable for the November 2016 election cycle. The Brennan Center research has also indicated that instances of voter fraud by citizens and non-citizens are very rare. In 2021,

705-604: The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA). The law banned soft money contributions to political campaigns . The organization helped Senator Dick Durbin write the Fair Elections Now Act . The Brennan Center advocated for the passage in 2010 of New York's law ending prison-based gerrymandering , and was part of a coalition of organizations that sought to defend that law from a court challenge. The Brennan Center advocates for

752-784: The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights , the Inter-American Court of Human Rights , the Court of Justice of the European Union and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon . The role of an amicus was described by Lord Justice of Appeal Cyril Salmon in Allen v Sir Alfred McAlpine & Sons Ltd [1968] 2 QB 229 at p. 266 F-G: I had always understood that the role of an amicus curiae

799-729: The presidency and the law . Appearances include Good Morning America ; PBS Newshour , CBS Evening News ; the O'Reilly Factor ; Nightline ; 60 Minutes ; Hardball with Chris Matthews ; CNN's Crossfire ; the Dylan Ratigan Show ; color commentary on NBC ( State of the Union ) and ABC ( Obama inaugural ); NPR's Morning Edition ; All Things Considered ; Fresh Air ; Diane Rehm ; The Colbert Report ; and many other programs. He writes frequently for publications including The New York Times , Washington Post , Newsweek , Slate and Democracy . Waldman

846-575: The Anglo-Saxon world was Latin , so that many Latin legal terms first spread through English law , and then also in the Law of the United States . The Italian academic Giovanni Criscuoli, while admitting the theoretical possibility of eventually comparing it with the Roman figure of the " consiliarius ", concludes that: "it is a figure of exclusive Anglo-Saxon blood". Starting in the 9th century, it

893-680: The Brennan Center argued N.Y. State Bd. of Elections v. Lopez Torres before the United States Supreme Court . In 2008, the court ruled for the state. In 2015, the Brennan Center submitted an amicus curiae brief with the Supreme Court of Wisconsin , urging the state not to overturn John Doe law , which allows the state to conduct criminal investigations in secret. The Brennan Center has been tracking states' legislation on voter ID laws and other barriers to voter registration and voting to determine whether there

940-454: The Brennan Center represented Ohio citizens groups in their efforts to stop gerrymandering and, after winning judgments in the state Supreme Court did not improve district maps, the Center supported a 2024 ballot initiative . In 2023, the Brennan Center surveyed election administrators, finding many plan on retiring before the 2024 presidential election. The Brennan Center filed a friend of

987-453: The Brennan Center, VoteRiders, and other organizations released research on proof of citizenship in the U.S., finding that more than 21 million Americans would not be able to quickly locate a passport, birth certificate, or naturalization papers as proof of citizenship within 24 hours. The research also concluded that nearly four million American citizens (two percent of U.S. citizens) lack access to any form of proof in citizenship. Later in 2024,

SECTION 20

#1732772350208

1034-501: The Center also released a report focused on state-by-state redesigns of election rules in the aftermath of the 2020 election. As of the Brennan Center's 2021 annual report, the organization has received funding from: Michael Waldman Michael A. Waldman is an American attorney and presidential speechwriter and political advisor, currently serving as the president of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law ,

1081-526: The Court. In the United States Supreme Court, unless the amicus brief is being filed by the federal government (or one of its officers or agents) or a U.S. state, permission of the court (by means of motion for leave ) or mutual consent of the parties is generally required. Allowing an amicus curiae to present oral argument is considered "extraordinary". The court can also appoint its own amicus curiae if neither party supports

1128-745: The US on certain imported hot rolled lead and bismuth carbon steel from the UK. The Panel at first instance affirmed the position in the US – Shrimp case and accepted two amicus curiae briefs that were submitted. On appeal, the Appellate Body relied on Article 17.9 of the Dispute Settlement Understanding and Rule 16(1) of the Working Procedures for Appellate Review to create rules to accept amicus curiae briefs. This

1175-570: The United States . The Brennan Center has represented several detainees at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp , and also U.S. citizens or legal residents held as unlawful enemy combatants . Attorneys from the Brennan Center challenged a U.S. President 's authority to declare a prisoner to be an unlawful enemy combatant in the war on terror . They have also challenged the U.S. Congress 's power to deny habeas corpus to such prisoners. The Brennan Center assisted in drafting and enacting

1222-537: The United States is known as an "intervener" in Canada. In Italian law , amici curiae are "nonprofit organizations and the institutional subjects, bearers of collective or diffuse interests related to the issue of constitutionality" who "may submit a written opinion to the constitutional Court". The role of amicus curiae briefs in the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement system

1269-952: The United States, for example, non-profit legal advocacy organizations, such as the American Civil Liberties Union , the Landmark Legal Foundation , the Pacific Legal Foundation , the Electronic Frontier Foundation , the American Center for Law and Justice or the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), frequently submit such briefs to advocate for or against a particular legal change or interpretation. If

1316-428: The admissibility of such briefs. The first WTO case to comprehensively examine the admissibility of amicus curiae briefs was US – Shrimp. The case concerned a ban by the US on imports of all shrimp and shrimp products not caught with turtle excluder devices. The panel at first instance rejected the two amicus curiae briefs that were submitted by environmental groups, on the basis they were not expressly solicited by

1363-436: The aegis of Texas (and California independently) filed such briefs. De facto amici curiae who do not file briefs may present in the print media and social media academic perspectives on the case. For example, if the law gives deference to a history of legislation of a certain topic, a historian may choose to evaluate the claim from their specialized expertise. Economists, statisticians, sociologists, etc. may choose to do

1410-430: The case. Whether an amicus brief will be considered is typically under the court's discretion. The phrase is legal Latin and the origin of the term has been dated to 1605–1615. The scope of amici curiae is generally found in the cases where broad public interests are involved and concerns regarding civil rights are in question. In American law , an amicus curiae typically refers to what in some other jurisdictions

1457-572: The court briefing in the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Moore v. Harper. In oral arguments on December 7, 2022, the Brennan Center urged the United States Supreme Court to allow the North Carolina Supreme Court to strike down the state legislature’s congressional map for violating the North Carolina Constitution. [1] The Brennan Center for Justice is a partner organization of VoteRiders . In 2024,

Brennan Center for Justice - Misplaced Pages Continue

1504-406: The decision of the lower court, which it has done at least 44 times. Religious groups regularly file amicus briefs at the U.S. Supreme Court. Muslim organizations and individuals, for example, have filed amicus briefs on both sides of recent cases dealing with divisive cultural issues, such as same-sex marriage and expansive conceptions of gender identity. In Canadian law , an amicus curiae

1551-541: The executive director of Public Citizen's Congress Watch, then the capital's largest consumer lobbying office (1989–92). After working in the government, he was a Lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government (2001–03), teaching courses on political reform, public leadership and communications. He was a partner in a litigation law firm in New York City and Washington, D.C. In

1598-469: The facts and arguments most favorable to their clients. Where a case may have broader implications, amicus curiae briefs are a way to articulate those concerns, so that the possibly broad legal or public policy implications of the court's anticipated decisions will not depend solely on the positions and arguments advanced by the parties directly involved in the case. In prominent cases, amici curiae are generally organizations with sizable legal budgets. In

1645-435: The judge appointed amicus to provide detailed submissions on the intersection between constitutional rights and prison law, explaining why this was normally outside the ken even of experienced criminal defence counsel. Another situation in which amicus may be appointed is when an accused is self-represented in a trial for offences such as sexual assault or assault in a domestic violence context. An unrepresented accused has

1692-442: The judge finds that amicus is needed, the former counsel may be asked to remain as amicus , given their familiarity with the case. Canadian courts may also appoint amici in situations in which a party is represented by counsel, but issues emerge in a highly specialized or technical area of the law, on which the judge wants submissions from a lawyer with special expertise in that area. For example, in R. v. Warren, 2022 ONSC 542,

1739-475: The modern court". Justice Brennan's idea of a living constitution figures largely into the center's work. The Brennan Center started with an initial grant by the Carnegie Corporation of New York of $ 25,000 in 1996. The Carnegie Corporation in years since has donated over $ 3,650,000. During the selection process of what school to center operations from, the Brennan Center selected NYU Law out of

1786-562: The panel under Article 13 of the Dispute Settlement Understanding of the WTO. This was overturned by the Appellate Body who held a panel had authority to accept, consider or reject briefs under Articles 12 and 13 of the Dispute Settlement Understanding regardless of whether they were expressly solicited. The issue was re-examined in US – Lead and Bismuth II which concerned the imposition of duties by

1833-508: The parties is not represented by counsel. In international courts , legal submissions by intervenors are called amicus curiae observations . Direct or indirect connections between the amicus curiae figure and the Roman juridical experience are still debated. Some scholars simply explain the Latin expression with the fact that the cultural elites' (including the jurists') language of

1880-442: The responsibility to ensure that the accused's right to make full answer and defence is upheld. Examples of situations that could call for the appointment of amicus could include a highly complex or technical trial, an unsophisticated accused or one with cognitive or psychiatric challenges, or an unruly and disruptive accused. In some cases, when an accused has retained counsel for part of the trial but then fires that counsel, and if

1927-401: The restoration of felon voting rights . The Brennan Center represented plaintiffs Margarita López Torres, other unsuccessful judicial candidates, and Common Cause , in a lawsuit that challenged the way New York state trial judge candidates gain access to the ballot. They prevailed in the U.S. District Court and in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit . In 2007, attorneys from

Brennan Center for Justice - Misplaced Pages Continue

1974-480: The right to cross-examine Crown witnesses, but it may be undesirable to permit him or her to personally cross-examine, for example, the complainant. As a result, the Criminal Code permits the judge to order that the accused will not personally cross-examine the witness, and to name an uninvolved lawyer to conduct the cross-examination in place of the accused. The role commonly described as amicus curiae in

2021-525: The same. Newspaper editorials, blogs , and other opinion pieces arguably have the capability to influence Supreme Court decisions as de facto amici curiae . They are not, however, technically considered amici curiae, as they do not submit materials to the Court, do not need to ask for leave, and have no guarantee that they will be read. The Supreme Court of the United States has special rules for amicus curiae briefs sought to be filed in cases pending before it. Supreme Court Rule 37 states, in part, such

2068-458: The top White House policy aide on campaign finance reform, he drafted the Clinton administration's public financing proposal. From 1995 to 1999, he was Director of Speechwriting, serving as Assistant to the President , and was responsible for writing or editing nearly 2,000 speeches, including four State of the Union and two Inaugural Addresses. Prior to his government service, Waldman was

2115-662: Was deemed as the source of legal authority to accept such briefs by an Appellate Body. The next significant case to deal with amicus curiae briefs was EC – Asbestos, where the French government banned domestically produced and imported asbestos products. Of the five amicus curiae briefs received by the Panel, only two that were submitted by the European Community, were accepted. The panel did not provide any explanation as to why they were accepted or rejected. On appeal,

2162-476: Was incorporated into English law , and it was later extended to most common law systems. Later, it was introduced in international law , in particular concerning human rights . From there, it was integrated in some civil law systems (it has been, as at 2013, integrated into Argentina 's law system and Honduras 's 2010 civil procedures code). Today, it is used by the European Court of Human Rights ,

2209-449: Was to help the court by expounding the law impartially, or if one of the parties were unrepresented, by advancing the legal arguments on his behalf. The situation most often noted in the press is when an advocacy group files a brief in a case before an appellate court in which it is not a litigant . Appellate cases are normally limited to the factual record and arguments coming from the lower court case under appeal; attorneys focus on

#207792