Los Angeles Daily Journal – 08.31.17
SPOKEO RULING IS IMPORTANT FOR CONSUMERS, EMPLOYEES IN CALIFORNIA
Loyola Law School, Los Angeles Professor Lauren Willis’ new op-ed details how consumers will benefit from a ruling holding reporting agencies accountable for errors. Excerpt:
Now that consumer reporting agencies know they will face liability, we can hope they will take better care to produce accurate information about all of us. The fairness of society depends on it.
TaxProf Blog – 08.31.17
APRILL: RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS, REFUGE FOR UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS, AND TAX EXEMPTION
Loyola Law School, Los Angeles Professor Ellen Aprill’s law review article, “Religious Organizations, Refuge for Undocumented Immigrants, and Tax Exemption,” is featured.
The Wall Street Journal – 08.28.17
CITIES AND SCHOOLS WALK FREE-SPEECH TIGHTROPE IN WAKE OF CHARLOTTESVILLE
“When talking about the First Amendment, the thing that we are most terrified of is that the government is choosing either people they like or messages they like,” said Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles Times – 08.29.17
SPOKEO LAWSUIT HIGHLIGHTS CHALLENGE OF PROTECTING PRIVACY IN DIGITAL AGE
“In the Spokeo case, the company argued that people can only sue when they can identify, for example, a job interview lost because of Spokeo's unreasonable record-keeping,” said Lauren Willis, a Loyola Law School professor.
New York Times – 08.29.17
WHITE SUPREMACIST GROUPS DON’T DESERVE TAX EXEMPTIONS
Loyola Law School, Los Angeles Adjunct Professor David J. Herzig writes an op-ed advocating for revoking the tax exempt status of white supremacists groups as a way to deal with racism and racist groups.
Boston Globe – 08.29.17
BLACKS REMAIN FOCUS OF BOSTON POLICE INVESTIGATIONS, SEARCHES
“Crime in America’s largest cities is a problem of poverty, not of race, and unfortunately, for socioeconomic reasons, they also happen to have the largest populations of minority residents,” said Steve Lurie, an adjunct professor at Loyola Law School and a law enforcement veteran. “Wherever you put most of the cops, the most stops will happen. It’s a real challenge for police managers.”
Los Angeles Daily Journal – 08.28.17
DIONNE LICUDINE V. CEDARS-SINAI MEDICAL CENTER, ET AL.
Associate Dean of placement at Loyola Law School Graham S. Sherr is listed as an expert in a medical malpractice and negligent surgery case.
NJ.com – 08.28.17
HERE IS N.J.'S LATEST RESPONSE TO TRUMP VOTER FRAUD COMMISSION
Justin Levitt, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, found just 31 possible fraud cases out of more than 1 billion votes from 2000 through 2014.
KQED – 08.25.17
DEMOCRATS, REPUBLICANS FACE OFF OVER RECALL OF STATE SENATOR
In general, said Loyola Law School professor Jessica Levinson, both parties have engaged in cynical behavior to promote their side since the recall effort began. That behavior includes questionable tactics during signature gathering, multiple lawsuits and attempts to change both recall laws and campaign finance rules.
Vice – 08.24.17
IS IT LEGAL TO BUY DOMAIN NAMES TO HARASS YOUR ENEMIES?
According to a legal expert I spoke to, Shkreli could be wrong. Several federal cyberlaws protect individuals like the journalists Shkreli targeted from domain disputes like this one. "There are certainly a fair number of options that these individuals would have," David J. Steele, a lawyer specializing in trademark and internet law and a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, told me on a phone call.
KNBC – 08.23.17
Loyola Law School, Los Angeles Professor Jessica Levinson is quoted in a story questioning the president’s responsibility and inspiring hate groups.
International Association of Privacy Professionals – 08.22.17
HOW THREE WEST COAST LAW SCHOOLS ARE FILLING THE CYBER-LAWYER GAP
“Entrepreneurship” is defined as the capacity and willingness to organize new ventures. It also describes Loyola Law School’s Cybersecurity & Data Privacy Law Program. “Cybersecurity is an issue placing huge demands on business and society,” said Michael Waterstone, dean of Loyola Law School. “Loyola develops courses to prepare our students to meet the world’s needs – both as it is now, and as it will be.”
In fact, Loyola has since tapped four of the Los Angeles KnowledgeNet chapters' members to serve as faculty or advisors. Asked why, Loyola Prof. Aaron Ghirardelli explained, "In developing our cyber/privacy program, we naturally went to leading organizations like IAPP for input and talent.”
KCRW – 08.21.17
ACLU CHANGES ITS STRATEGY ON DEFENDING NEO-NAZIS
Loyola Law School, Los Angeles Professor Jessica Levinson discusses the ACLU’s decision to no longer represent hate groups that want to march with guns and their plans to weigh the risk of violence when evaluating potential clients.
Los Angeles Daily Journal – 08.21.17
OC JUDGE’S DISMISSAL OF DEATH PENALTY COULD TOUCH THOUSANDS OF CASES
“It’s going to send shock waves through the system,” said Laurie L. Levenson, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. “If this is happening in death penalty cases, you kind of wonder what’s happening in cases where you don’t have any of those resources.”
KCAL – 08.20.17
Loyola Law School, Los Angeles Professor Jessica Levinson joins KCAL News to analyze breaking news related to Trump’s presidency including a new strategy in Afghanistan, Steve Bannon’s exit and his Charlottesville response.
Consumer Law & Policy Blog – 08.19.17
LAUREN WILLIS ARTICLE ON ORDERING FIRMS TO ERADICATE THEIR OWN FRAUD
Loyola Law School, Los Angeles Professor Lauren Willis’ article Performance-Based Remedies: Ordering Firms to Eradicate Their Own Fraud, 80 Law and Contemporary Problems 7-41 is highlighted. An excerpt appears below:
In resolving cases of unfair, abusive, and deceptive acts and practices, consumer protection enforcement agencies often prospectively dictate—in great detail—the design of defendants’ marketing, websites, disclosures, sales processes, and products. However, advances in technology and analytics increasingly allow defendants to comply meticulously with these precise requirements while simultaneously continuing to deceive and injure consumers.
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal – 08.18.17
IT’S DEBATABLE: CAN A PRESIDENT PARDON HIMSELF?
The principal argument against the self-use of the presidential pardon is that the language of the Constitution “embraces the idea that there is one person who grants a pardon and a different person who accepts that pardon.” Jessica A. Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School, continues that “there is a principle of so-called natural law, which provides that no person should stand as her or his own judge.”
Bloomberg Radio – 08.17.17
FEDERAL COURT DECLARES TEXAS VOTER MAPS RACIALLY BIASED
Justin Levitt, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles discusses why a panel of Federal Court judges ruled that Texas’s current voter maps are unusable in upcoming congressional midterm elections.
San Francisco Chronicle – 08.17.17
STATE DEMOCRATS FRANTIC TO SAVE ONE OF THEIR OWN WIN KEY RULING ON CASH
Jessica Levinson, a Loyola Law School professor and chair of the Los Angeles Ethics Commission, said many people will see the vote as a Democratic power grab...“Josh Newman will get a ton of money poured into his effort to fight off the recall,” Levinson said. “Lawmakers will start writing checks this afternoon and it will benefit him enormously.”
Capital Public Radio – 08.17.17
AMID RECALL, CA CAMPAIGN FINANCE AGENCY LIFTS LIMITS ON LAWMAKER CONTRIBUTIONS
But Loyola Law School ethics and government professor Jessica Levinson says it’s not that simple…"People are trying to make this story sound like one where Democrats are helping Democrats rig the election, so that state Senator Newman isn’t recalled," Levinson said. "But if you look at who actually voted, two are Republicans, and this is entirely consistent with the Republican worldview when it comes to campaign finance."
Cleveland.com – 08.17.17
AMERICA'S DUBIOUS TRADITION OF GERRYMANDERING: OUT OF LINE - IMPACT 2017 AND BEYOND
But it’s not as simple as requiring that some districts have a majority of people from a minority group, said Justin Levitt, associate dean for research at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles.
Los Angeles Daily Journal – 08.16.17
BAR HAS KEPT OUT FINE LAWYERS FOR NO REASON
Loyola Law School, Los Angeles Professor Susan Smith Bakhshian, Director of Bar Programs, writes an op-ed urging attorneys to support the California State Bar’s consideration of lowering the cut score to pass the bar exam. Excerpt:
The California bar exam is broken. Both the passing score and the overall validity of the exam need attention. It has taken years to secure a simple investigation by the State Bar despite years of low pass rates among even well respected law schools. Attorneys should support the State Bar’s efforts to investigate and ultimately lower the passing score.
Los Angeles Times – 08.16.17
Commissioners should be able to ask questions of attorneys involved in a policy debate outside of the commission meeting, but such contacts should be disclosed, said Jessica A. Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School and president of the Los Angeles Ethics Commission.
LA Observed – 08.15.17
BULLET POINTS: LA CONFEDERATE MONUMENT COMING DOWN
Jessica Levinson was reelected to a second term as president of the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission. The Loyola Law School professor was appointed to the commission by Controller Ron Galperin.
New York Times – 08.13.17
A HATE CRIME? HOW THE CHARLOTTESVILLE CAR ATTACK MAY BECOME A FEDERAL CASE
Federal prosecutors might try to use this law, but it is not clear whether it would apply to people protesting a white nationalist rally. Justin Levitt, a law professor at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, who was a deputy in the Justice Department’s civil rights division during the Obama administration, said there was scant guiding precedent about whether the statute covered something like the attack in Charlottesville.
Korean Broadcasting System – 08.10.17
IMMIGRANTS IN AMERICA FACE NEW CHALLENGES
Loyola Immigrant Justice Clinic Staff Attorney Sandra Ruiz discusses the changing climate of immigration relief under the Trump Administration.
“I feel like a lot of families may have believed we were safe in the Obama Administration. It wasn’t until we realized there are some people in this country who are not welcoming of immigrants. It’s very difficult to understand that, but it motivates us to do this work.”
Politifact – 08.10.17
DOES MUELLER’S GRAND JURY MEAN AN INDICTMENT IS IMMINENT? By John Kruzel
Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, said that because of the relatively low probable cause standard -- recall the quip about indicting a ham sandwich -- she believes it’s more likely than not that at least one criminal indictment will issue."But none of this is a done deal," she added.
Huffington Post – 08.10.17
HUFFPOST HITS THE ROAD by Zach Young
Finally, Sam and Jeff talk to Justin Levitt from Loyola Law School about the Department of Justice’s changing approach to voting rights in the Trump era.
KPFK-FM – 08.09.17
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION CHALLENGES By Sojourner Truth Radio
Loyola Law School, Los Angeles Professor Kimberly West-Faulcon discusses affirmative action cases and how she became involved in them.
“I’ve had the opportunity to represent students of color in lawsuits challenging admissions policies in the past...That’s given me an opportunity to hone in on what the analysis should be if you’re trying to vindicate the civil rights of a group like Asian Americans. Historically civil rights lawyers have looked at what and who is the group getting in at the highest rate – not who’s applying in the largest numbers, but who’s getting in at the highest rate.”
Associated Press – 08.09.17
Hatch’s communications look like a backroom deal even if there wasn’t one, said Jessica Levinson, a Loyola Law School professor and chair of the Los Angeles Ethics Commission. Failing to disclose conversations with an interested party can cause the public to distrust the propriety of decisions made by public institutions, she said.
Vice News – 08.08.17
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SWITCHES SIDES IN ANOTHER HUGE VOTING RIGHTS CASE
The fact that no career DOJ attorneys signed off on the brief was “very unusual,” according to Justin Levitt, an Obama-era justice official and now law professor at Loyola University.
SCOTUS Blog – 08.09.17
SYMPOSIUM: INTENT IS ENOUGH by Professor Justin Levitt
Loyola Law School, Los Angeles Professor Justin Levitt writes a guest post on Gill v. Whitford, a political-gerrymandering case challenging Wisconsin's electoral maps.
When the Supreme Court last addressed partisan gerrymandering in detail, all nine justices agreed that “an excessive injection of politics” into the redistricting process violates the Constitution. The court splintered, however, on two pivotal issues: how to know when an injection of politics is excessive, and who should decide.
SCOTUS Blog – 08.09.17
At the Election Law Blog, Justin Levitt observes that “it’s quite rare for the DOJ to change course after a filing a brief in the court of appeals: the Solicitor General’s office is often called the “Tenth Justice,” in part because while reversals happen, there’s a thumb on the scale to treat DOJ filings with some internal quasi-precedential weight.”
TaxProf Blog – 08.08.17
SETO: THE MOST SIGNIFICANT PROPOSED CHANGE IN THE HISTORY OF U.S. CORPORATE TAXATION
Loyola Law School, Los Angeles Professor Ted Seto’s Tax Jotwell article The Most Significant Proposed Change in the History of U.S. Corporate Taxation is featured. An excerpt appears below:
The House Republican Blueprint for corporate tax reform would replace our century-old corporate income tax, which we all know and love (or hate), with a “destination-based cash flow tax” (DBCFT), which for many of us remains a mystery. The academic foundation upon which the House proposal is built is a working paper by Alan Auerbach (UC Berkeley), Michael Devereux (Oxford), Michael Keen (IMF), and John Vella (Oxford) (collectively “the authors”), entitled “Destination-Based Cash Flow Taxation.” Given the current turmoil in Washington, it seems unlikely that a DBCFT will be enacted any time soon. Problems with our current system for taxing business income with an international dimension, however, are unlikely to go away on their own. If you want to get up to speed on a radical solution with substantial academic and political support, this paper is an absolute must-read.
Summary Judgments – 08.08.17
PROF. MILLER PRESENTS TO CHIEF JUDGES ON PROBLEM-SOLVING COURTS
Loyola Law School, Los Angeles Professor Eric Miller presents on alternatives to incarceration to chief judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
Successful problem-solving justice depends upon the coordination of different policies: penal, social, medical. And it requires policymakers to recognize that each type of social intervention has its own boundaries and competencies. Unfortunately, however, the judicial and criminal justice orientation of the court translates the medical and sociological aspects of treatment into things that the judge can do in court.
NPR – 08.08.17
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT REVERSES COURSE IN MAJOR OHIO VOTING RIGHTS CASE by All Things Considered
Loyola Law School, Los Angeles Professor Justin Levitt joins All Things Considered for a discussion on the Justice Department reversing its position on a voting rights case to the be heard by the Supreme Court this term.
The Department of Justice switches policy every now and again, but this is different. This is what the statute means - the Department of Justice's best take on what the statute means. And the solicitor general is a very, very steady hand on most occasions.
Rewire – 08.08.17
THE DOJ IS CHIPPING AWAY AT THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT, ONE AMENDMENT AT A TIME
Justin Levitt, a Loyola Law School professor who previously served as a deputy assistant attorney general within the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division and worked on this case, noted at the Election Law Blog that, according to the NVRA, before state officials can remove someone off the list of registered voters, “either the voter has to tell the official they’ve moved, or the official has to send a forwardable notice and wait two federal elections to see if the voter makes contact.”
U.S. News & World Report – 08.08.17
10 LAW SCHOOLS THAT DRAW PART-TIME APPLICANTS
Loyola Law School, Los Angeles ranks No. 2 for the most part-time applicants among U.S. law schools.
The Washington Post – 08.08.17
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT REVERSES POSITION TO SUPPORT OHIO PURGING INACTIVE VOTERS IN HIGH-PROFILE CASE
Such a reversal from the Justice Department is “quite rare,” said Justin Levitt, a professor at Loyola Law School who was deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division during the Obama administration.
Talking Points Memo – 08.08.17
SESSIONS’ DOJ SWITCHES SIDES IN VOTING RIGHTS CASE TO BACK OHIO VOTER PURGE
As Justin Levitt, a constitutional law professor at Loyola Law School and voting rights expert, noted, it’s extremely unusual for the DOJ to switch positions in a case after already weighing in at the appellate level. He also pointed out that no career civil rights attorneys signed onto the brief, which appears to have been drafted solely by Trump administration political appointees.
Think Progress – 08.08.17
MORE PROOF THAT TRUMP’S ADMINISTRATION PLANS TO PURGE VOTERS
Justin Levitt, a professor at Loyola Law School and a former DOJ attorney, wrote in a blog post that “it’s quite rare for the DOJ to change course after a filing a brief in the court of appeals.” He also noted that typically, both career attorneys and political appointees would sign onto a brief, but the signatures on this one do not include any career civil rights attorneys.
La opinion – 08.07.17
LUCHAN POR LOGRAR REPRESENTACIÓN LEGAL PÚBLICA PARA NIÑOS MIGRANTES
Un grupo de expertos legales de escuelas de leyes de todo el país, encabezado por Kevin Lapp, profesor de Loyola Law School en Los Angeles, presentó argumentos en el caso, indicando que los menores de edad ya reciben ayuda legal en una variedad de situaciones y procesos civiles en Estados Unidos.
KCRW – 08.07.17
CAN DEMOCRATS TAKE THE HOUSE IN 2018?
Loyola Law School, Los Angeles Professor Jessica Levinson joins Madeline Brand for a discussion on the 2018 election.
I think this is a story we tell ourselves every election cycle, which is this is the cycle of that is the anti-incumbent election cycle. And this is a fairy tale we all seem to buy into. Then you look at fundraising numbers, which are basically a proxy of how competitive you are, and you see that incumbents raise a lot of money, year after year. Then we look at election results and we see incumbents often win year after year.
NBC News – 08.07.17
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION STIRS ALARM OVER VOTER PURGES
"Normally, the Department of Justice would send a letter like this to a particular state it was investigating, based on a piece of evidence that the state was violating the law," said Loyola Law School Professor Justin Levitt, who had worked at the Department of Justice. “You wouldn’t see this if they weren’t anticipating litigation.”
KCAL-TV – 08.06.17
Loyola Law School, Los Angeles Professor Jessica Levinson discusses Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s empaneling of a grand jury in the Russia investigation.
It does not mean there will be a criminal indictment that it issued. It means they are going through exactly what federal law envisions a grand jury would do, which is they’re going through the investigation.
Huffington Post – 08.04.17
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION, TRUMP’S NEWEST DIVERSION TACTIC, IS FAKE NEWS by Professor Kimberly
West-Faulcon
Loyola Law School, Los Angeles Professor Kimberly West-Faulcon writes an op-ed on how the Justice Department is handling affirmative action cases.
My research on university admissions has shown me time and time again that headlines about affirmative action can be misleading and that allegations of discrimination require methodical, numbers-driven fact finding. When our nation is already so deeply divided, I do hope we find the time to explore fact-based inquiries into claims of discrimination to avoid being manipulated by a small group of Americans who have made it their life’s mission to oppose affirmative action even if it is the very mild “race-can-only-be-a-minor-and-non-determinative-factor-among-many-other-factors” type the U.S. Supreme Court currently deems to be legal.
Talking Points Memo – 08.04.17
DOJ’S MOVE TO TARGET AFFIRMATIVE ACTION A ‘BIG RED FLAG’ FOR POLITICIZED STAFFING
“The fact that the front office would be staffing this and doing it by looking at resumes is a big red flag,” Justin Levitt, deputy assistant attorney general in the civil rights division under Obama, told TPM. “When I was in the Justice Department, I staffed precisely zero cases by asking for resumes and I saw precisely zero cases staffed by looking at resumes.”
Ventura County Star – 08.03.17
FAMILIES OF INMATES DEEMED INCOMPETENT DECRY LENGTHY JAIL STAYS
Jan Costello, a Loyola Law School professor who teaches mental disability law, said placing inmates in this holding pattern violates defendants' constitutional rights. Costello also said state law does not necessarily require that incompetent inmates be placed in a state mental hospital, and inmates could be treated at approved outpatient programs…"The state can't just hold you indefinitely, whether the person in jail is waiting for trial or is supposed to be treated in order to become competent" to stand trial, Costello said.
Washington Post – 08.03.17
MICHELLE CARTER, WHOSE TEXTS PUSHED HER BOYFRIEND TO SUICIDE, FACES UP TO 20 YEARS AT SENTENCING
Legal experts have said the decision could have national implications as courts grapple with how to apply long-standing laws as technological changes have taken interactions online. In Carter’s case, the ruling suggested that in effect, she was whispering in Roy’s ear, “kill yourself, kill yourself,” Laurie Levenson, a criminal law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, said after Carter’s conviction. And it essentially said that those words can lead someone to suicide.
Los Angeles Daily Journal – 08.02.17
TRUMP CAN’T FIRE TRANSGENDER TROOPS
Loyola Law School, Los Angeles Professor Maureen Johnson pens an op-ed on how refusing to allow transgender people to serve violates the equal protection afforded under the Constitution.
Trump’s announcement reminds me of a famous poem “First They Came,” by Martin Niemoller, which concludes, “Then they came for me — and there was no one left to speak for me.” A similar fate awaits the rest of society if we allow the president’s promise to stand. If a president can fire as many as 15,000 transgendered individuals with a tweet, who’s next?
Los Angeles Times – 08.02.17
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT CALLS FOR REVIEW OF RACE-BASED COLLEGE ADMISSIONS, ALARMING CIVIL RIGHTS GROUPS
Jessica A. Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, said the Justice Department could indirectly intimidate universities from using race as a factor in admissions…“This easily could have a chilling effect, as universities would not want to be subject to being sued or investigated,” Levinson said.
KPCC-FM’s “Take Two” – 08.02.17
LOWERING THE BAR: POSSIBLE CHANGES TO LAWYER EXAM COULD HELP STUDENTS OF COLOR, IMMIGRANTS
“Who’s hurt the most is students who lack economic privilege – that’s first gen law students, students who are the first in their families to attend college or law school,” said Loyola Law School, Los Angeles Professor Kimberly West-Faulcon. “And that group often disproportionately includes students of color and students of immigrant families.”
KPCC-FM’s “AirTalk” – 08.02.17
JUSTICE DEPT. COULD LOOK INTO AFFIRMATIVE ACTION DECISIONS AT UNIVERSITIES
“The notion that the front office is going to be making staffing decisions and they’re going to be using resumes to do so is a real red flag. The Justice Department got into trouble for doing this a few years ago,” said Loyola Law School, Los Angeles Professor Justin Levitt.