Justice and Civil Rights-Related Research

• BRS has measured public opinion and developed messages on immigration, human rights, and due process issues for a number of clients, including the ACLU, the Opportunity Agenda, and the National Immigration Law Center.

• BRS’ ongoing work for the ACLU includes message development in the debate between civil liberties and the fight against terrorism. Most recently, BRS has focused on the issue of torture and the treatment of detainees.

• During increasing attacks on judges and the courts, BRS provided research and communications advice to the Justice at Stake Campaign to help the campaign and its partners better understand Americans values regarding the judiciary, and to communicate in ways that will connect with those values.

• BRS provided research and communications advice for a coalition led by Planned Parenthood regarding their public communications on the case Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood.

• BRS’ work, including testing of ads, guided a large coalition of abortion-rights organizations in their communications regarding the federal abortion ban.

• BRS worked with the Communications Consortium Media Center and the Advancement Project to develop a communications strategy about political redistricting and race.

• BRS’ report for the ACLU ,“Optimism, Pessimism, and Jailhouse Redemption” documented shifting American attitudes toward mandatory minimum sentences.

• BRS' research and strategic advice sparked the reframing of the national debate over the death penalty. Our research for the ACLU on the death penalty in 1998 recommended a redirection of efforts toward a focus on inadequate right to counsel.

• BRS has continued its work on the death penalty with the ACLU and Amnesty International.

• BRS informed a coalition, led by the Youth Law Center of Washington, D.C. , that is working to advance more progressive policies toward juvenile offenders. Our national survey and focus groups produced segmentation analysis of the public and messages being used to communicate the need for change.

• BRS helped develop a message for public defenders and court-appointed criminal lawyers to make the public case for more resources for indigent defense. Our focus group research for the National Legal Aid and Defender Association and the Open Society Institute has been used to raise public awareness on this important issue.

• BRS investigated public opinion on civil legal aid, and used the analysis to develop elements for a campaign to inform Americans about the need for government-funded civil legal aid. BRS conducted a series of focus groups and a national survey, funded by the Open Society Institute and working with the National Legal Aid and Defender Association.