Loyola Law School faculty members pride themselves on being accessible to the media and part of the public discourse on news of legal significance. Visit Loyola's Summary Judgments faculty blog to read faculty opinions on current legal issues. Highlights of recent media appearances and quotations include:
8/23- USA Today
TRUMP'S STRATEGY ON MAIL BALLOTS DIVIDES PARTY BEFORE GOP CONVENTION
Justin Levitt, a law professor at LMU Loyola Law School, is tracking more than 200 COVID-19 election related lawsuits on the popular Election Law Blog. Those cases have been brought by both parties as well as third-party groups. It's too early to say if one side is prevailing over the other, but Levitt said one theme is that courts are wary of making wholesale changes to election systems and judges want to see proof of an alleged harm, be it fraud or disenfranchisement, before acting.
8/22- The Hill
CHARITY CANNOT SAVE THE US POSTAL SERVICE
Article by LMU Loyola Law School professor Ellen Aprill.
8/20- CNN
REPUBLICANS ARE SUING TO STOP PEOPLE FROM VOTING THE WAY TRUMP DID
In short, the dispute -- which largely falls along party lines -- is over "letting someone other than a family member collect your ballot," said Justin Levitt, a Loyola Law School professor who specializes in voting rights law.
8/19- Apple Podcast
WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE A STATE SENATOR?
Join host Jessica Levinson and California State Senator Ben Allen for a wide-ranging discussion about being a lawmaker in 2020. Senator Allen talks about why he ran, what most surprises him about the job, his favorite part of being an elected official, the power of lobbyists, the influence of money and politics, mandatory vaccinations, and much more
8/18- MSN News
IN 34 STATES, YOU'LL NEED TO SHOW ID TO VOTE THIS NOVEMBER. SEE WHAT THE LAW REQUIRES IN EACH STATE.
A 2014 study from Loyola University Law School professor and elections scholar Justin Levitt, for example, found just 31 credible cases of voter impersonation between 2000 and 2014, a time period during which over one billion votes were cast.
8/17- KCRW
THE LEGAL IMPLICATIONS SURROUNDING CHAOS AT THE USPS
“The postal service has to be ready [for the November election]. So at this point, honestly what you’re trying to do is triage and to make sure that even if there’s bleeding, basically the patient doesn’t bleed out, that at least there’s enough funding,” says Jessica Levinson, professor at Loyola Law School.
8/14- Ventura County Star
NUMBER OF FEMALE VENTURA COUNTY PEACE OFFICERS REFLECTS NATIONAL TREND
Loyola Law School professor Eric Miller said part of the reason women have not comprised more than about 13% of the nation's police officers since 1980 because is the typical idea of a police officer lends itself to hyper-masculinity.
There's a physicality aspect inherent in the ordinary person's conception of law enforcement. Changing that conception can help attract different candidates, Miller said.
8/14- Associated Press
NOT REAL NEWS: A LOOK AT FALSE CLAIMS AROUND KAMALA HARRIS
Since Harris was born in the U.S., she is regarded as a natural born citizen under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, and she is eligible to serve as either the vice president or president, Loyola Law School Professor Jessica Levinson told The Associated Press on Thursday. “Full stop, end of story, period, exclamation point,” Levinson said.
8/13- Associated Press
TRUMP GIVES CREDENCE TO FALSE, RACIST HARRIS CONSPIRACY
“Full stop, end of story, period, exclamation point,” said Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School.
8/11- Rolling Stones
CONGRESS’ STINGINESS IS PUTTING DEMOCRACY AT RISK, STATE ELECTION OFFICIALS SAY
Even in non-pandemic times, election administrators have struggled to secure the funds they say they need, forcing them to do more with less. But after the Covid-19 crisis crippled the U.S. economy, slashing tax revenues and hammering state budgets, cities, counties, and states face a funding crisis of unimaginable proportions. “My usual election-cycle comment is that we’re trying to find enough duct tape to cover the holes in the bucket,” Justin Levitt, a professor at Loyola Law School and voting-rights expert, told Rolling Stone last month. “This time, we’re trying to make the bucket out of duct tape.”
8/11- Hollywood Reporter
TRUMP'S TIKTOK WAR PITS FREE SPEECH AGAINST NATIONAL SECURITY
Julie Shapiro, director of Loyola Law School's Entertainment and Media Institute, agrees that it's too soon to know for sure that the effect of Trump's order would be an outright ban — but, if it is, the effects could be widespread.
8/10- KCRW
TRUMP TRIES TO UNILATERALLY EXTEND PANDEMIC RELIEF. BUT CONGRESS CONTROLS THE PURSE
President Trump signed executive orders over the weekend that aimed to extend federal unemployment benefits, extend an eviction moratorium, suspend payroll taxes for some employees, and provide student loan relief. Guest: Jessica Levinson - Professor, LMU's Loyola Law School in Los Angeles
8/9- NBC News
“We are stress-testing all the institutions of democracy at once,” said Justin Levitt, a former Justice Department voting rights official and a professor at the Loyola Law School.
8/7- NBC News
1 IN 5 MAIL BALLOTS REJECTED IN BOTCHED NYC PRIMARY
“It’s nuts. That is way too high,” said Justin Levitt, a former Department of Justice voting rights official and now a professor at Loyola Law School.
8/6- Los Angeles Times
DEPUTIES ACCUSED OF BEING IN SECRET SOCIETIES COST L.A. COUNTY TAXPAYERS $55 MILLION, RECORDS SHOW
Sean Kennedy, a member of the Civilian Oversight Commission and professor at Loyola Law School, said last week that he and his students had identified at least 17 gangs — some of them historical — in the department.
8/5- Los Angeles Times
L.A. COUNTY D.A. JACKIE LACEY'S HUSBAND CHARGED WITH ASSAULT IN GUN-WAVING INCIDENT
Laurie Levenson, a Loyola Law School professor and former federal prosecutor, said felony charges would have been excessive. Several circumstances — David Lacey’s knowledge of the prior threats against his wife, the fact that he was at his home and his lack of a criminal record — were all likely mitigating factors the attorney general’s office considered, Levenson said.
8/4- Los Angeles Times
Associate dean at Loyola Law School Justin Levitt states that considering the trillions Congress is spending to shore up the economy, it is “bewildering” that the Senate is balking at approving the money needed to keep our elections functional.
8/3- Fox News
LASD HAS BEEN 'PERMEATED' BY A VIOLENT DEPUTY GANG WITH MATCHING TATTOOS CALLED THE 'EXECUTIONERS'
Similar deputy gangs have flourished in minority communities for several decades, according to Loyola Law School professor and Los Angeles County Civilian Commission member Sean Kennedy.
"The net result is that the people in those communities end up being shot and stopped, their houses searched at a much greater rate than people in other communities, and it's all because the deputy gangs view themselves as at war with their community," Kennedy told KABC-TV.
8/3- Associated Press
CALIFORNIA LAWMAKERS WERE GLOBETROTTERS BEFORE PANDEMIC
“I think we’re learning from living in a pandemic that a lot of travel isn’t necessary and you can do a lot of things by Zoom,” said Jessica Levinson, a professor of government and ethics at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.
8/1- LAist
ELECTION EXPERTS SAY TRUMP DRAWS FALSE CONTRAST BETWEEN ABSENTEE AND MAIL-IN VOTING
Jessica Levinson, an elections expert at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, called Trump's effort to draw a line between absentee and mail-in voting "a largely false distinction."