WILLIAM J BRENNAN JR CENTER FOR JUSTICE INC
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law is a non-partisan public policy and law institute that focuses on the fundamental issues of democracy and justice. Our work ranges from voting rights to campaign finance reform, from racial justice in criminal law to Constitutional protection in the fight against terrorism. A singular institution — part think tank, part public interest law firm, part advocacy group — the Brennan Center combines scholarship, legislative and legal advocacy, and communications to win meaningful, measurable change in the public sector.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Democracy
The Brennan Center for Justice leads national efforts to ensure that citizens — not special interests or partisan operatives — are at the center of our politics. The Center’s Democracy Program brings national perspective and expertise in the fight to protect and promote voting rights, campaign finance reform, redistricting integrity, and a fair and independent judiciary.
Currently, there are two major threats to the integrity of our democracy. First, in recent years, we have seen the largest, most coordinated attack on voting rights since the Jim Crow era. Second is the new dystopian world of unregulated campaign spending ushered in by Citizens United.
Other problems plague our systems of democracy, too. It's an open secret: more and more legislative districts reflect calculations by those in power about how they can best preserve that power, while fewer and fewer give meaningful representation to communities of voters. Public confidence in the courts is at a crisis point, exacerbated by an explosion in judicial election spending.
Collaborating with grassroots groups, advocacy organizations, and reform-minded government officials, we contribute cutting edge legal strategy, innovative policy development, empirical research for legal and policy efforts, and high-impact communications to advance our goals.
Justice
The Brennan Center’s Justice Program advances data-driven, innovative, practical legal reforms to secure our nation’s promise of “equal justice for all.” It seeks to create a rational and effective criminal and civil justice system that treats all people fairly and equally.
Our criminal and civil legal systems are tarred with unfairness, injustices, disparities, and irrationality that disproportionately affect those who are the most in need of the law’s assistance. This dysfunction has led to 2.3 million Americans, disproportionately people of color, filling our prisons to the brim, most of whom are unnecessarily incarcerated.
Meanwhile, the United States faces a global economic crisis with reverberations in housing, education, employment, and government budgets. The program focuses on ending mass incarceration, racial justice, and closing the “justice gap” ensuring that all Americans have adequate ability to protect their rights.
Liberty & National Security
Our nation and its people must be kept safe from terrorism. At the same time, policies to protect safety are strongest when they honor core constitutional values. All systems — no matter how necessary — improve when they are held accountable. Unfortunately, in the years since 9/11, too often our national security system has tilted away from that critical balance.
The Brennan Center seeks effective national security policies that respect constitutional values and the rule of law while protecting our people. The Liberty and National Security program focuses on restoring the proper flow of information between the government and the people by securing increased public access to government information; ensuring government policies targeting terrorists do so effectively and without religious or ethnic profiling; and securing appropriate government oversight and accountability.
Money in Politics
The Brennan Center is a leading intellectual force in developing policies that ensure everyone has a real chance to have their voice heard. We craft and fight for solutions that can bring balance to campaign funding and break down barriers that keep everyday Americans from participating in politics.
First, we seek to advance a new system of small donor public financing for federal and state elections. This would provide multiple matching funds for small gifts and give ordinary voters a far stronger voice in choosing our leaders.
Second, we work to improve disclosure laws so that the sources of political money are known. Transparency is necessary to empower voters to hold elected officials accountable.
We also seek a new legal context for money in politics: a long-term drive to overturn Citizens United and other misguided decisions, so that the Constitution is once again read as a charter for a self-governing democracy that includes all Americans.
Our research documents the dangers of big money in politics and informs our work to craft effective solutions. We work with policy makers and activists to help draft and enact legislation, defend campaign finance laws in court, and promote innovative policy solutions nationwide.
Fair Courts
Through research, policy development, public education, and litigation, the Brennan Center promotes measures to protect judicial independence, achieve a diverse bench, and guard against political pressure and special interest influence on the courts.
Where we work
External reviews

Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of public events held to further mission
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Related Program
Democracy
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
The Brennan Center uses outreach events to inform the public about our work, to build consensus around our solutions, and drive increased public engagement in our democratic processes.
Number of affiliates speaking to government leaders about relevant policy issues
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Related Program
Democracy
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
The Brennan Center's experts have formidable knowledge in issues surrounding our systems of democracy and justice — and because of their expertise, lawmakers regularly look to us for insight.
Number of reports written/published
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Related Program
Democracy
Type of Metric
Context - describing the issue we work on
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
The Brennan Center produces in-depth reports on issues of democracy, justice, and national security. Our exhaustive research provides the sources for groundbreaking solutions for the public.
Number of organizations signing onto policy guidelines or proposals
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Age groups, Ethnic and racial groups
Related Program
Democracy
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
The Brennan Center published "How to Protect the Vote from the Coronavirus" offering policy proposals used by more than 1,000 civil rights and good government groups and political scientists.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Protecting Voting Rights - The Center’s signature proposal, automatic voter registration, would save money, increase accuracy and participation — and add an additional 50 million voters to the rolls permanently.
Government and Court Reform - We support fair and impartial courts to promote equal justice and the rule of law. We fight to end government dysfunction and gridlock by curbing filibuster abuse and advocating an effective U.S. Congress. And we champion a transparent, nonpartisan redistricting process that provides fair and meaningful representation.
Justice for All - The Brennan Center’s Justice Program seeks to secure our nation’s promise of “equal justice for all” by creating a rational, effective, and fair justice system. Its priority focus is to reduce mass incarceration while keeping down crime. The program melds law, policy, and economics to produce new empirical analyses and innovative policy solutions to advance this critical goal.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
The Brennan Center is known for our expertise in the areas of voting rights, criminal justice reform, government and fair court reform, and redistricting reform. In these areas and in others related to the U.S. Constitution, American democracy, and the rule of the law, the Brennan Center has the staff, expertise, and resources to do the following:
Devise fresh, practical, data-driven, bipartisan legal and policy reforms backed up by high caliber, rigorous research. The Center works tirelessly to ensure that lawmakers enact these vital policy reforms and advance democracy and justice.
Collaborate with grassroots groups, advocacy organizations, and reform-minded government officials, we contribute cutting edge legal strategy, innovative policy development, empirical research for legal and policy efforts, and high-impact communications to advance our goals.
Seek effective national security policies that respect constitutional values and the rule of law while protecting our people.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
The Brennan Center uses a combination of inter-disciplinary research, innovative policy development, legislative advocacy, litigation, and communications work to win meaningful, measurable change in the public sector. Our innovative approach to legal reform is bipartisan, driven by data and practicality soundly backed by rigorous research. Our staff experts work to ensure that lawmakers enact these new laws to advance democracy and justice. And if these laws are challenged, we defend their legality and reasonability in the courtroom. We also pursue litigation to block or overturn laws that dismantle existing protections or further restrict rights, and file friend-of-the-court briefs rich with data to inform courts of the practical effects of legal arguments.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
The Brennan Center tracks the number of state voting laws enacted, including those that restrict voting access and those increasing election interference (https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/voting-laws-roundup-october-2022)
The Brennan Center sued the Trump administration's third Muslim ban as being unconstitutional - and won (https://www.brennancenter.org/press-release/brennan-center-wins-suit-against-trumps-third-muslim-ban-us-supreme-court-next)
The Brennan Center successfully advocated for new election security funding from Congress - $380 million to support improved measures (https://www.brennancenter.org/press-release/new-election-security-funds-are-breakthrough-democracy)
The Brennan Center's signature proposal, Automatic Voter Registration, is now approved in 20 states and the District of Columbia (https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/automatic-voter-registration-summary)
The Brennan Center issued a report showing continuing declines in crime rates - a report which US AG Sessions recently touted (https://www.brennancenter.org/crime-murder-2018)
Brennan Center's experts testified before Congress in 2019 on the National Emergency Powers Act and election security. Our testimony resulted in Congress opting to modify the National Emergency Powers Act, and allocating an addition $425 million to support states in updating their ballot and election processing networks, as well as to improve security measures against cyberattacks.
The Brennan Center partnered with grassroots coalitions in Florida to successfully restore voting rights to over 1.4 million Floridians in 2018, previously denied this right because of past felony convictions.
We will continue to protect American democracy and justice through our efforts, thanks to our supporters!
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
WILLIAM J BRENNAN JR CENTER FOR JUSTICE INC
Board of directorsas of 11/17/2022
Patricia Bauman
Bauman Family Foundation
Robert Atkins
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton, & Garrison LLP
Patricia Bauman
Bauman Family Foundation
Robert A Atkins
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton, & Garrison LLP
Leslie Bhutani
Activist
Maggie Blackhawk
Professor, NYU School of Law
Adan B. Cox
Professor, NYU School of Law
Kimberly Davis
Managing Director, AB Bernstein
Les Fagen
Retired Partner, Paul, Weiss, Rifking, Wharton & Garrison LLP
Danielle C. Gray
Executive Vice President and Global Chief Legal Officer, Walgreens Boots Alliance
Kimberley D. Harris
Executive Vice President, General Counsel, NBCUniversal
Helen Hershkoff
Professor, NYU School of Law
Thomas M. Jorde
Professor Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law
Daniel F. Kolb
Senior Counsel, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
Ruth Lazarus
Paul Lightfoot
General Manager, Patagonia Provisions
Troy McKenzie
Dean and Cecelia Goetz Professor of Law, NYU School of Law
Trevor Morrison
Eric M. and Laurie B. Roth Professor of Law, Dean Emeritus, NYU School of Law
Melissa Murray
Professor, NYU School of Law
Wendy Neu
Chairman and CEO, Hugo Neu Corporation
Franz Paasche
Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Communications, PayPal
Lawrence Pedowitz
Chair Emeritus
Steven A. Reiss
Retired Partner, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
Richard Revesz
Professor and Dean Emeritus, NYU School of Law
Gerald Rosenfeld
Vice Chairman, Investment Banking, Lazard Ltd
Stephen Schulhofer
Professor, NYU School of Law
Emily Spitzer
President, The Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust
Gerald Torres
Professor of Environmental Justice, Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies
Christine A. Varney
Partner, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP
Adam Winkler
Professor, UCLA School of Law
Kenji Yoshino
Professor, NYU School of Law
Michael Waldman
Brennan Center for Justice
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data