More on a Commission of Inquiry

Brennan Justice

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Tuesday March 31, 2009 · 8:10 AM PDT

2009/03/31 · 08:10

By Frederick A.O. Schwarz, Jr., Chief Counsel of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law

Brennan Justice

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Thursday March 12, 2009 · 11:57 AM PDT

2009/03/12 · 11:57

By Frederick A.O. Schwarz, Jr., Chief Counsel of the Brennan Center for Justice

Brennan Justice

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Monday March 09, 2009 · 7:36 AM PDT

2009/03/09 · 07:36

After Leahy’s Hearing on a Commission of Inquiry

Brennan Justice

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Tuesday March 11, 2008 · 11:15 AM PDT

2008/03/11 · 11:15

The media was atwitter over the weekend with possible solutions to the Florida/Michigan primary problem. Can the Democratic Party disenfranchise all those voters merely to prove a point? Did the states miscalculate so wildy that there’s a real chance they won’t be able to seat any delegates in one of the most important conventions in years? And who is going to pay for another round of elections? As someone who works on voting rights, it’s hard to argue that those Florida and Michigan voters (who had nothing to do with scheduling their rogue primaries) should be shut out of the process. But the kid in me, reared on playgrounds and games like handball and freeze tag, knows you can’t change the rules in the middle of the game.

Brennan Justice

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Friday May 04, 2007 · 7:46 AM PDT

2007/05/04 · 07:46

There's a sickening cycle in campaign finance reform, one that plays out over and over again at the federal and state level. Politicians show a little moxie and actually propose reform. Some, like (NY Gov. Eliot) Spitzer, even fight for change. Usually, incumbents or conservatives fight that change, as is happening in New York. And then, unless the politician is living in a monastery, he or she has to continue to raise money while the system remains unchanged.

Horrors! This is deemed hypocrisy. Gleeful opponents of reform point to the gap between legislative goals and ongoing fundraising. Lazy journalists, who understand that shouting 'gotcha' is far easier than spelling out who really stands to gain from blocking reform, go for the cheap story. And dismayingly, even some reformers reliably declare their outrage over the fact that politicians who support reform still have to fund raise, and that their supporters are not driven away with a stick but given the opportunity to meet with them.

Brennan Justice

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Friday April 27, 2007 · 8:02 AM PDT

2007/04/27 · 08:02

Mohamed Meshal opened the door to his Tinton Falls, NJ home late last year and found three FBI agents on the doorstep. "Your son is in custody, in Ethiopia," the agents told Mr. Meshel and no, they're not sure why.

McClatchy Newspapers lays out the troubling case of Amir Meshal, an American citizen who has been held overseas, without charges, for the past 4 months. Interrogated by the FBI while he was held in Kenya, the officials told the New York Times "he's clean." In mid-April, the State Department led Rep. Russ Holt to believe that Amir's release and return was imminent and the Congressman relayed that information to Mr. Meshel's father, Mohamed Meshal. But Amir Meshal still remains in detention.

So, where is Amir Meshal and why hasn't he been returned to the U.S.?

Brennan Justice

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Wednesday April 11, 2007 · 8:38 AM PDT

2007/04/11 · 08:38

So let's get this straight. Voter fraud is rare, if existent at all. Yet US Attorneys were fired for it. A woman in Milwaukee was prosecuted for it, but a jury quickly acquitted her. And today we were reminded that even the federal government's Election Assistance Commission said,"there is widespread but not unanimous agreement that there is little polling place fraud" (actually, political pressure got the "not unanimouos agreement" phrase inserted).

So why does this bogus issue keep coming up in the news?

Brennan Justice

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Monday April 02, 2007 · 9:54 AM PDT

2007/04/02 · 09:54

It feels silly to remind people that there are three branches of government - the Executive, Legislative and Judicial - that serve the people by providing checks and balances upon the other. If one gets out of control, there are ways to reign them in.

However, in this op-ed from Sunday's Washington Post, Frederick "Fritz" A. O. Schwarz and Aziz Huq do just that, reminding Congress that the Founders were skeptical about unchecked executive power.

Brennan Justice

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Thursday March 29, 2007 · 10:41 AM PDT

2007/03/29 · 10:41

Great op-ed in the Washington Post about the flimflam issue of voter fraud. It was written in response to one of the reasons given for firing the U.S. Attorneys and it says, "Firing a prosecutor for failing to find wide voter fraud is like firing a park ranger for failing to find Sasquatch."

For anyone interested in killing this myth once and for all, check out the Truth About Fraud website which has case studies, policy briefs and analyses of voter fraud allegations.

Expose Guantanamo

Brennan Justice

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Monday March 26, 2007 · 8:47 AM PDT

2007/03/26 · 08:47

On Wednesday, the House Armed Services Committee holds a long-needed hearing into "the continued use of Guantanamo Bay as a detention facility." Will the hearing be the first crack of light into what one British judge condemned as a "legal black hole" or will it provide Congress with continuing cover for its reprehensible failure to confront America’s global detention problem?

Aziz Huq of the Brennan Center for Justice explains why these hearings are crucial to restoring checks and balances and what's missing from the witness list.

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Expose Guantanamo