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Saturday November 21, 2009

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RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioJudicial Nominations in the Bush and Obama Administrations’ First Nine Months

Russell Wheeler, October 23, 2009, The Brookings Institution

October 20, 2009 marked nine months since President Barack Obama took office. Russell Wheeler compares the nomination process for the courts of appeals and district courts of the George W. Bush administration with the current one, focusing on nominations made, hearings held, nominees confirmed and nominee characteristics. Wheeler reveals two striking findings: the relatively paucity of Obama administration nominees and the delay in full Senate action on those nominees. Read More

PAST EVENT

Save to My PortfolioThe 2009-2010 U.S. Supreme Court Term

Wednesday, October 07, 2009
10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Washington, DC

The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2009-2010 term will consider major arguments on issues ranging from state’s rights and separation of powers to dog-fighting videos. On October 7, the Brookings Judicial Issues Forum hosted a panel discussion to preview the most anticipated and important cases. Read More

VIDEO

Save to My PortfolioBeyond the Senate Confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor

Russell Wheeler, August 07, 2009

Sonia Sotomayor took the judicial oath of office on August 8, becoming the first Hspanic and third woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.  Visiting Fellow Russell Wheeler examines how the Obama administration will impact the judicial system and what we can expect from Justice Sotomayor.

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioGod in Government: Judge Sotomayor's Church-State Record

Melissa Rogers, July 07, 2009, The Brookings Institution

God in Government: Judge Sotomayor's Church-State RecordJudge Sonia Sotomayor’s confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee began July 13th. Melissa Rogers urged Senators to engage Sotomayor in a discussion of the broad principles and values animating the constitutional commands on religious freedom. Read More

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioJustice Souter and the Supreme Court’s Church-State Balance

Melissa Rogers, May 19, 2009, The Brookings Institution

Justice Souter and the Supreme Court’s Church-State BalancePresident Obama will soon make his first Supreme Court nomination. It seems unlikely that the addition of President Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court will change the outcome in church-state cases, writes Rogers, but the views and voice of his nominee will certainly affect the debate at the Court and shape decisions long after Obama leaves the White House. Read More

VIDEO

Save to My PortfolioPresident Obama's Court Nominations

Russell Wheeler, March 20, 2009

Russell Wheeler says President Obama’s nomination of David Hamilton to serve on the appellate court was a thoughtful choice but will still draw criticism.

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioHow Might the Obama Administration Affect the Composition of the U. S. Courts of Appeals?

Russell Wheeler, March 18, 2009, The Brookings Institution

Following the announcement of President Obama’s first judicial nomination, Russell Wheeler offers clues to how President Obama might affect the composition of the United States Courts of Appeals. A reasonable estimate is that the proportion of Republican appointees could drop from 56 percent to 43 percent; Democratic appointees could rise from 36 percent to 57 percent. Read More

PAST EVENT

Save to My PortfolioImmigration and the Courts

Friday, February 20, 2009
10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Washington, DC

The Justice Department’s immigration courts have been the object of attention not only for how their judges have been selected but also for their heavy caseloads and shortage of resources, including the inadequacy of legal representation available to aliens. On February 20, Russell Wheeler moderated a discussion on these issues with Judge Robert A. Katzmann of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and other immigration law experts.  Read More

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioWhat Will the Presidential Election Mean for the U. S. Courts of Appeals?

Russell Wheeler, October 21, 2008, The Brookings Institution

What Will the Presidential Election Mean for the U. S. Courts of Appeals?Brookings expert Russell Wheeler offers clues to how a President McCain or Obama might affect the composition of the United States Supreme Court as well as the courts of appeals. Read More

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioRestore Civility to the Selection of Federal Judges

Russell Wheeler, September 09, 2008, The Miami Herald

Restore Civility to the Selection of Federal JudgesHot-button social topics often dominate voters' views of where presidential candidates stand on judicial appointments. Plus, as in much of U.S. politics, the process of getting judges on the bench has become cantankerous and divided. Russell Wheeler says that the next president should try to work with the Senate to restore civility. Read More

PAST EVENT

Save to My PortfolioThe Next Administration and the Future of the Judiciary

Thursday, September 04, 2008
10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Washington, DC

The next U.S. president may well have to reconfigure both the Supreme Court and the U.S. courts of appeals. On September 4, the Brookings Judicial Issues Forum hosted a discussion of how John McCain or Barack Obama might approach this opportunity differently and how they might address the challenges associated with appointing judges and shaping courts. Read More

PAST EVENT

Save to My PortfolioBriefing on U.S. Supreme Court Rulings

Friday, June 27, 2008
10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Washington, DC

Reuters/Jonathan ErnstIn June 2008, the Supreme Court struck down the District of Columbia’s 32-year-old ban on handguns and ruled that it is unconstitutional to execute someone who rapes a child. The Court also ruled in favor of Guantánamo detainees' habeas corpus rights. On June 27, Brookings Fellow Benjamin Wittes moderated a briefing on these rulings and other developments of the 2007-08 term. Read More

PAST EVENT

Save to My PortfolioInternational Governance and American Law

Tuesday, June 24, 2008
11:00 AM to 12:15 PM
Washington, DC

Brookings hosted a speech by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer on international governance and American law. The event celebrated the Ezra K. Zilkha Chair in Governance Studies at Brookings, which is named in honor of longtime Brookings trustee Ezra K. Zilkha. Read More

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioUnusual Nonsense: Supreme Court's Decision about "Cruel and Unusual Punishment"

Benjamin Wittes, April 28, 2008, The New Republic

Unusual Nonsense: Supreme Court's Decision about The Supreme Court recently handed down a decision upholding as constitutional the specific mixture of drugs by which thirty states put condemned prisoners to death.  In this piece, Ben Wittes writes about the Supreme Court's failure to rationalize its decisions about cruel and unusual punishment. Read More

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioA Collapse of the Campaign Finance Regime?

Thomas E. Mann, April 16, 2008, The Forum, Volume 6, Issue 1

The fascinating 2008 presidential election has produced recent campaign finance developments, writes Thomas Mann, suffiently dramatic as to raise questions about the viability of the entire regime of campaign finance law. Read More

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Research ProjectLatin America Initiative

The Latin America Initiative provides high-quality, in-depth, and independent research across a range of economic and political issues, and offers policy recommendations aimed at U.S. and Latin American policymakers.

Policy CenterEngelberg Center for Health Care Reform

The Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform provides practical solutions to achieve high-quality, innovative, affordable health care with particular emphasis on identifying opportunities on the national, state and local levels.

TopicEducation

The economic and political well-being of any society requires a well-educated citizenry. Brookings’s work extends beyond the K-12 bookends to include pre-school interventions, higher education and the challenges of education in developing countries.

ExpertMark McClellan

Mark McClellan works on promoting high-quality, innovative and affordable health care. Once commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration and administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Dr. McClellan now directs the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform.

ExpertTed Gayer

Ted Gayer is the co-director of the Economic Studies program and the Joseph A. Pechman Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. He conducts research on a variety of economic issues, focusing particularly on public finance, environmental and energy economics, housing, and regulatory policy.

TopicHealth Care

Brookings is committed to producing innovative policy solutions to our nation’s most difficult challenges. The country may face no more important domestic policy challenge than the much-needed reform of our health care system. Through an institution-wide effort, Brookings delivers new ideas and offers policy solutions to improve health care both at home and globally.

ExpertIsabel V. Sawhill

A nationally known budget expert, Isabel Sawhill focuses on domestic poverty and federal fiscal policy. She is also co-director of the Center on Children and Families at Brookings.

ExpertAmy Liu

Amy Liu is deputy director of the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program. Her policy studies include economic competitiveness, metropolitan growth and development, governance reforms, urban reinvestment, and social equity.

Policy CenterCenter on Children and Families

The Center on Children and Families studies policies on the well-being of America's children and their parents and seeks a more effective means of addressing poverty, inequality and lack of opportunity in the United States.

ExpertDomenico Lombardi

As president of the Oxford Institute for Economic Policy, Domenico Lombardi’s work at Brookings focuses on the international financial crisis and the reform of the IMF and the World Bank. He is an expert on G-20 and G8 Summits.

ExpertFederiga Bindi

Federiga Bindi is a leading expert on European political integration. She has a broad experience in government and held a number of posts in international organizations. Bindi currently serves as an advisor to the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs. Her research focuses on the EU, transatlantic relations; EU states foreign policies, global governance issues.

ExpertVanda Felbab-Brown

Vanda Felbab-Brown focuses on the national security implications of illicit economies and strategies for managing them. She is an adjunct professor in the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.

ExpertMwangi S. Kimenyi

Mwangi S. Kimenyi is a senior fellow with the Africa Growth Initiative. He focuses on Africa's development, including institutions for economic growth, the political economy, and private sector development.

Research ProjectBrookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement

The Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement monitors displacement problems worldwide, works with governments, regional bodies, international organizations and civil society to create more effective policies and institutional arrangements for Internally Displaed Persons.

ExpertSuzanne Maloney

Suzanne Maloney studies Iran, the political economy of the Persian Gulf and Middle East energy policy. A former U.S. State Department policy advisor, she has also counseled private companies on Middle East issues.

ProgramGovernance Studies

Governance Studies explores political institutions of the United States and other democracies to assess how they govern, how their practices compare and how citizens and public servants can advance sound governance.