Brennan Center for Justice

Organization Trends
Civil Asset Forfeiture Makes for Strange Bedfellows
In 2020, the Capital Research Center (CRC) examined civil asset forfeiture and noted how criticism of the practice had brought together a rather improbable ideological coalition. As efforts to reform…
by Robert Stilson on February 2, 2023

Organization Trends
Rise of the Soros “Prosecutors”
A recent report by the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund found that George Soros’s financial support for the disastrous movement has been far larger than was previously thought. As many…
by Parker Thayer on June 13, 2022

Organization Trends
Nonprofits in the Biden Administration: Federal Courts
President Joe Biden wrapped up 2021 having nominated 75 judges to the federal bench, 40 of whom were confirmed by the Senate. That is the most judicial confirmations in a…
by Robert Stilson on February 1, 2022

Foundation Watch
The Left’s Mystery Billionaire: Committee Hearing Debacle
The Ford Foundation gives well over $100 million per year to programs that advance policy and political wins for the Left and Democratic politicians, yet Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) recently…
by Ken Braun on November 2, 2021

Foundation Watch
The Left’s Mystery Billionaire: Senator Cancel Culture
The Ford Foundation is an accidental byproduct of bad tax policy and unforeseen consequences. Confiscatory estate tax rates during the first half of the 20th century left one of the…
by Ken Braun on November 2, 2021

Foundation Watch
The Left’s Mystery Billionaire: Hard Left Turns
Sen. Whitehouse’s assertion that the Ford Foundation “doesn’t seem to have much in the way of a political motive or purpose” is contradicted by tens of millions of dollars in…
by Ken Braun on November 2, 2021

Foundation Watch
The Left’s Mystery Billionaire: Dark Roads Through Arabella
At least 114 separate Ford Foundation grants, totaling almost $65 million, were given over the previous five years to the New Venture Fund. In Sen. Whitehouse’s classification system, each one…
by Ken Braun on November 2, 2021

Book Profile, Organization Trends
The Argument: Revolt of the Activists
Matt Bai's firsthand account of the multifront internecine conflict between the Democratic Party’s grassroots and establishment between 2004 and 2006 has many interesting takeaways. It’s a well-written, entertaining read, but…
by Robert Stilson on September 30, 2021

Book Profile, Organization Trends
The Argument: Democracy Alliance Is Born
Today, the Democracy Alliance bills itself as “a preeminent network of donors dedicated to building the progressive movement in the United States.” Individual alliance members, known as “partners,” are expected…
by Robert Stilson on September 30, 2021

Book Profile, Organization Trends
The Argument: Winning Elections
Although a major part of the Democracy Alliance’s mission is to foster “the infrastructure necessary to advance a progressive agenda for America,” it has always maintained a clear and simultaneous…
by Robert Stilson on September 30, 2021