Brennan Center for Justice

Overview

The Brennan Center for Justice is a nonpartisan law and policy institute housed at New York University School of Law, dedicated to reforming and defending systems of democracy and justice in the United States. Founded in 1995 in honor of Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan Jr., it combines the functions of a think tank, a legal advocacy organization and a communications operation, with more than 180 staff and offices in New York and Washington, D.C.

Key functions and role

The Brennan Center conducts research and litigation on voting rights, campaign finance, redistricting, criminal justice reform, national security and the separation of powers, and helped draft the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. It has represented detainees held at Guantanamo Bay and other individuals designated unlawful enemy combatants, filed influential studies on state voting restrictions that helped bring national attention to voter suppression after 2011, and filed amicus briefs in cases including Moore v. Harper, where the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the independent state legislature theory in 2023.

History

Family members and former law clerks of Justice William J. Brennan Jr. founded the Center in 1995, choosing to house it at NYU School of Law over Georgetown and Harvard, with founding executive director Joshua Rosenkranz describing the goal as creating a public-interest organization with "one foot in the world of ideas and one foot in policy advocacy." Justice Brennan's former clerks raised roughly $5 million in seed funding, supplemented by an initial $25,000 grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. In 2025, the Center filed suit on behalf of voting-rights organizations challenging a Trump administration executive order requiring documentary proof of citizenship for federal voter registration.

Political positions

The Brennan Center describes itself as nonpartisan, though independent media-bias assessments and watchdog groups such as InfluenceWatch characterize its positions, including opposition to voter-identification requirements and support for expanded voting access, as generally aligned with progressive policy priorities. The organization has received substantial funding from left-leaning foundations, including the Open Society Foundations, Tides Foundation and Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Leadership

Michael Waldman, a former director of speechwriting for President Bill Clinton, has served as President and CEO since 2005. Kimberley D. Harris and Christine A. Varney co-chair the Board of Directors, one-third of whose members are drawn from NYU School of Law faculty.

Location and contact info

Address
120 Broadway, Suite 1750
New York, NY 10271, USA
Phone
(646) 292-8310
Email
brennancenter@nyu.edu
Website
https://www.brennancenter.org