November 2018

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Loyola 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:

KPCC-FM – 11.29.18

COHEN PLEADS GUILTY, MANAFORT’S RETRACTED PLEA DEAL AND WHAT COMES NEXT IN THE MUELLER INVESTIGATION

“It indicates somebody is lying to protect something,” said Loyola Law School, Los Angeles Professor Justin Levitt. “We don’t know yet exactly what that was. We don’t know if Mueller knows exactly what that was.”


NEW YORK TIMES – 11.29.18

TRUMP’S NEW WALL TO KEEP OUT THE DISABLED

Visiting Professor Katherine Perez, director of The Coelho Center for Disability Law, Policy and Innovation, writes in a new op-ed: Mr. Trump’s proposed public charge regulation says people with disabilities aren’t valuable members of American society. What he doesn’t seem to realize is that Americans with disabilities and our families are a powerful force that will fight back when he mocks or marginalizes. We must recommit to being a country where everyone is valued, where people with disabilities can fully contribute and where all can thrive.


KFI-AM – 11.27.18

MAN SERVING LIFE SENTENCE WILL UNDERGO RETRIAL FOR KILLING 3 HOMELESS MEN

Professor Laurie Levenson of Loyola Law School discusses the California Supreme Court’s trial of a man who killed three homeless men, explaining how the judge should have stopped the trial for a mental competency hearing of the defendant.


KABC-AM – 11.27.18

MUELLER INVESTIGATION

Professor Jessica Levinson of Loyola Law School, Los Angeles discusses developments in the Mueller investigation.


Election Law Blog – 11.27.18

LEVITT: PERFORMANCE STANDARDS AND DESIGN STANDARDS IN NEW ELECTION LEGISLATION

Loyola Law School, Los Angeles Professor Justin Levitt writes in a guest blog post: As the all-star lineup of other commentators in this magnificent mini-symposium have mentioned, the prospects for federal voting rights legislation to move in a divided Congress in this political moment are … slim.  Really, really, really slim.


The Washington Post – 11.26.18

MARYLAND FACES BIG BATTLE OVER PARTISAN GERRYMANDERING (also featured on SF Gate, Topix)

Even if the court doesn’t offer guidance, some advocates for redistricting reform say the national scrutiny and threat of lawsuits could upend the way Maryland Democrats approach map drawing. “Theoretically, they should indeed be humbled,” said Justin Levitt, a Loyola Law School professor and redistricting expert.


KCRW-FM’s “Press Play with Madeleine Brand” – 11.26.18

WHY DID BORDER AGENTS FIRE TEAR GAS AT MIGRANTS TRYING TO COME TO THE U.S.?

Loyola Law School, Los Angeles Professor Jessica Levinson dissects the legal issues surrounding the use of tear gas by U.S. Border Patrol agents against migrants at the U.S. border with Mexico.


KFI-AM –11.26.18

HOMELESS MAN’S DEATH RETRIED

“No one wants to have to repeat these trials, but there is a constitutional right and a statutory right to only be tried for these most serious crimes if you’re confident,” says Loyola Law School Professor Laurie Levenson


CNN – 11.25.18

TRUMP DEBATE DOESN'T TAKE A HOLIDAY (also featured on Las Vegas News [Thai])

"The president of the United States and the chief justice of the United States are battling over the very essence of our democracy," observed Loyola Law Professor Jessica Levinson, for NBCNews. "Let that sink in." At bottom, she said, Trump doesn't recognize the difference between a conservative judicial philosophy and politics. His judicial appointments are aimed at producing rulings that benefit Republicans. "From here, it is just a hop, skip and a jump to a constitutional crisis," she says.


Huffington Post – 11.19.18

NEW EMAIL RAISES CONCERN ABOUT TRUMP COMMITMENT TO CENSUS CONFIDENTIALITY

It makes sense that Gore would give a noncommittal answer on the question because it was outside the scope of his division, said Justin Levitt, a former Justice Department official who is now a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. Still, he said, “a different Administration might have thought it more important to tuck in more assurances that there’s been no change.”


Rewire.News – 11.19.18

WISCONSIN DEMOCRATS WON MORE VOTES IN THE MIDTERMS. IN THE LEGISLATURE, IT DIDN’T MATTER

When Justin Levitt, a law professor at Loyola Law School, looked for cases of in-person voter fraud, he found just 31 cases across elections that totaled more than 1 billion votes.


KERO-TV – 11.19.18

ONE YEAR SINCE DEATH OF MASS MURDERER AND CULT LEADER CHARLES MANSON

Laurie Levenson, a professor at Loyola Law School who follows high-profile cases, described Manson in 2009 as the worst of the worst, evil incarnate. "If you're going to be evil, you have to be off-the-charts evil, and Charlie Manson was off-the-charts evil," Levenson told CNN.


NBC Think – 11.13.18

TRUMP LIKELY VIOLATED FEDERAL ELECTION LAWS REGARDING MICHAEL COHEN'S STORMY DANIELS AND KAREN MCDOUGAL PAYMENTS

Loyola Law School, Los Angeles Professor Jessica Levinson discusses how President Trump likely violated federal election laws regarding payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal payments. Excerpt: However, for Trump to be criminally liable for campaign finance violations, he must have knowingly and willfully violated those laws. This is important.


Politico – 11.13.18

CALIFORNIA PLAYBOOK

Carla will be joined by other panelists who include Loyola Law School, Los Angeles Professor Jessica Levinson.


TaxProf Blog – 11.12.18

MARRON PRESENTS DESIGNING A CARBON TAX DIVIDEND TODAY AT LOYOLA-L.A.

Donald Marron (Urban Institute) presents Designing a Carbon Tax Dividend at Loyola-L.A. today as part of its Tax Policy Colloquium Series hosted by Ellen Aprill and Katie Pratt.


The Washington Post – 11.12.18

THE HEALTH 202: THE DIALYSIS INDUSTRY SPENT MORE THAN $100 MILLION TO BEAT A CALIFORNIA BALLOT MEASURE (also featured on SF Gate, The Advocate, and many others)

Jessica A. Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School who focuses in part on ballot initiatives and campaign finance, said it was “politically expedient” for SEIU-UHW to announce it will continue their efforts to “keep the pressure on.”


Daily Journal – 11.12.18

McCONNELL-GRASSLEY JUDICIAL CONFIRMATION PUSH TO CONTINUE IN NEW SENATE SESSION

But Justin Levitt, a professor at Loyola Law School who watches the federal courts closely, said that tying ideology to a judge’s appointing president isn’t really an effective tool. “It’s commonly done, but I don’t know that it’s all that informative,” he said.


KCRW-FM - 11.12.18

WHAT HAPPENS IF TRUMP IS FOUND GUILTY OF VIOLATING CAMPAIGN FINANCE LAWS?

Loyola Law School, Los Angeles Professor Jessica Levinson discusses a Wall Street Journal report stating federal prosecutors have evidence that Trump was directly involved in payouts to adult film star Stormy Daniels and Playboy playmate Karen McDougal.


Kaiser Health News – 11.11.18

MEASURE TO CAP DIALYSIS PROFITS PUMMELED AFTER RECORD SPENDING BY INDUSTRY (also featured on Truthout)

Generally speaking, said Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School, voters’ default on initiatives is “no.”


Pew Trusts – 11.09.18

SO MUCH CHANGED IN STATEHOUSES THIS WEEK. HERE’S WHAT IT ALL MEANS.

The midterm election results give Democrats a little more control over redistricting than they had a week ago, said Justin Levitt, a professor at Loyola Law School at Los Angeles. “It’s certainly not zero, but it’s not running the table in the way Republicans essentially did in 2010.”


KABC-AM – 11.09.18

A FAKE ATTORNEY GENERAL?

Loyola Law School, Los Angeles Professor Jessica Levinson discusses the legitimacy of Donald Trump’s acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker.


U.S. Catholic – 11.09.18

HOW CHURCHES CAN PROTECT UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS

According to Jesuit Father Bryan Pham, a canon and civil lawyer and a professor at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, the notion of sanctuary goes back many centuries to kingdoms in the Far East…“There is no way to enforce it, especially in the United States, because of the separation of church and state,” says Pham. “Someone can claim sanctuary, but U.S. law allows authorities such as ICE to not respect it, especially if they have a valid warrant.”


Law360 – 11.09.18

WHO HAS STANDING TO CHALLENGE WHITAKER DOJ APPOINTMENT?

Justin Levitt, an associate dean at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles who was a supervisor in the DOJ's Civil Rights Division, said that some paths to challenging Whitaker may be surer than others.


KCRW-FM – 11.07.18

AFTER MIDTERMS, IS THE U.S. MORE DIVIDED, OR CAN WE WORK ACROSS THE AISLE?

Loyola Law School, Los Angeles Professor Jessica Levinson joins the show for a two-hour special examining the national and local elections.


California Healthline – 11.08.18

MEASURE TO CAP DIALYSIS PROFITS PUMMELED AFTER RECORD SPENDING BY INDUSTRY

Generally speaking, said Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School, voters’ default on initiatives is “no.”… Levinson said people weren’t 100 percent sure what they were voting on with Proposition 8. All of those factors made passage “an uphill battle,” she said.


The Phoenix – 11.08.18

VOTER SUPPRESSION IN NORTH DAKOTA MUST BE STOPPED

For example, Justin Levitt, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, found only 35 cases of voter fraud in a 15-year time period where more than 800 million ballots were cast in national elections.


Los Angeles Times – 11.07.18

L.A. COUNTY SHERIFF JIM MCDONNELL’S JOB IS IN JEOPARDY AS CHALLENGER ALEX VILLANUEVA TAKES A SLIM LEAD(also featured on Bakersfield.com)

“I have egg on my face. I have an entire omelet on my face,” said Jessica Levinson, a Loyola Law School professor who teaches election law.


The San Diego Union-Tribune – 11.07.18

REP. DUNCAN HUNTER PREPARES FOR SIXTH TERM WITH WELL-DEFINED GOALS, ILL-DEFINED FUTURE

“He is not going to be as effective a member of Congress for very concrete reasons… he is literally under federal indictment, it doesn’t make him as politically viable,” said Loyola Law School Professor Jessica Levinson pointing to challenges Hunter may face in coordinating and collaborating with other House members. “He can still serve, but… I would think it is more difficult for him to do what he has to do in the House.”


PR Urgent – 11.07.18

JONES WINS ERNST & YOUNG NATIONAL TAX CONTEST, GOES INTERNATIONAL

Attorney Briana Camille Jones, who is also a Master of Law in Taxation candidate at Loyola Law School, recently won the national Young Tax Professional of the Year 2018 Competition hosted by Ernst & Young.


The San Diego Union-Tribune – 11.07.18

5 FACTS ABOUT DUNCAN HUNTER, THE INDICTED CALIFORNIA CONGRESSMAN WHO JUST WON RE-ELECTION

“You can be found guilty and still serve,” Loyola Law School Professor Jessica Levinson told the Los Angeles Times last month.


Daily Journal – 11.06.18

LOYOLA LAW SCHOOL LAUNCHES DISABILITY LAW CENTER

Loyola Law School launched The Coelho Center for Disability Law, Policy and Innovation, among the first of its kind housed at a law school. The center, which hosted an inaugural symposium Monday at Loyola Marymount University’s Playa Vista campus to mark the launch, will focus on disability issue advocacy, technological innovation, and creating a pipeline for lawyers and judges with disabilities.


Law.com – 11.06.18

FROM UPENN TO LOYOLA, LAW STUDENTS MOBILIZE TO HELP VOTERS CAST THEIR BALLOTS

If you’re voting Tuesday in Los Angeles, your poll site just might be staffed by a law student from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles. For the first time, the school partnered with the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk office to have law students serve as poll workers at hard-to-staff sites in a bid to help voters better understand their rights.


KCET-TV – 11.06.18

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN PEOPLE ARE EXCLUDED FROM VOTING

Loyola Law School, Los Angeles Associate Dean for Research Professor Justin Levitt discusses the importance of voting and what happens when someone is excluded from the voting process.


Vox – 11.06.18

WHY US VOTER TURNOUT LAGS BEHIND OTHER ADVANCED DEMOCRACIES

Justin Levitt, a voting expert at Loyola Law School, walked me through why the US lags so far behind its democratic peers. The issue, he told me, is that “in some places there are active measures to make it harder to vote, and in some places there’s an absent effort to make it easier to vote.”


Talking Points Memo – 11.06.18

HOW CHANGING THE CENSUS CLEARS THE WAY FOR A MAJOR GOP POWER GRAB (also featured on Business Insider)

Justin Levitt, a Loyola Law professor and Obama-era DOJ alum, said that if this expected attempt to overhaul the electoral playing field is successful, it would be the first time since the Civil War that “there are people here who have to pay taxes, who are subject to the rules of the country, but are not represented.”


Fox 11 – 11.06.18

WELCOME TO ELECTION DAY: WHY CA MATTERS

Loyola Law School, Los Angeles Professor Jessica Levinson breaks down the biggest races.


Daily Journal – 11.06.18

ANTI-TERRORISM ACT DEBATE LIVES ON IN 9TH CIRCUIT, DESPITE THE DEATH OF ONE OF ITS MOST PROMINENT CRITICS

"The debate on AEDPA will continue. It's always been a controversial law," commented Loyola Law School Professor Laurie Levenson, a specialist in criminal law who was not involved in the case. "But I think that it's hard to know who will take up the mantle for people like Judge Reinhardt ... and Judge O'Scannlain going forward."


The Irish Times – 11.06.18

‘VOTER FRAUD’ BOGEYMAN RAISES ITS HEAD AGAIN AT US MIDTERMS

A study by Loyola Law School Professor Justin Levitt found that, between 2000 and 2014, there were only 31 instances of voter fraud out of a total of one billion votes.


KJZZ-FM – 11.06.18

THE COMPLEXITY OF REDISTRICTING AND ELECTIONS

To get a broader perspective, The Show also caught up with Justin Levitt — he is an election law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.


Rolling Stone – 11.06.18

UNRAVELING TRUMP’S VOTER FRAUD CONSPIRACY THEORY

Loyola Law School professor and former Justice Department official Justine Levitt told NBC News he found just 45 legitimate cases of voter impersonation — out of literally over a billion votes — between 2000 and 2018.


KNBC-TV – 11.05.18

NEW POLL ON DISABLED VOTERS

Tony Coelho, founder of The Coelho Center for Disability Law, Policy and Innovation at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles and pollster David Mermin discuss the results of a new poll released at The Coelho Center’s inaugural symposium, “Disability Impact: Breaking Through Barriers to Civic Leadership.”


Aperture – 11.05.18

SPEAK LOUD AND EMBRACE THE PROTEST

Loyola Law School, Los Angeles Professor Yxta Maya Murray reviews the Autry Museum of the American West’s exhibit La Raza. Excerpt: It’s better, though, to follow the lead of Rodriguez, as pictured so beautifully by Garza, and the exemplars of the other La Raza photographers and their subjects: we have to embrace our struggle and speak out loud our protest.


KNBC-TV – 11.05.18

VOTER FRAUD INVESTIGATION

Loyola Law School, Los Angeles Associate Dean for Research Professor Justin Levitt discusses voter fraud.


San Francisco Chronicle – 11.05.18

ANTI-GAS-TAX CAMPAIGN DRAWS THREAT OF LEGAL ACTION WITH FUEL-CARD GIVEAWAY

“I would say the campaign is facing a serious problem” — most likely a fine, said Loyola Law School Professor Jessica Levinson.


American Constitution Society – 11.05.18

DEMOCRACY ON THE GROUND FLOOR: LAW SCHOOLS LEND A HAND ON ELECTION DAY

Loyola Law School, Los Angeles Associate Dean for Research Professor Justin Levitt explains how law schools can lend a hand on Election Day. Excerpt: This year, Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, has canceled classes on election day, freeing its students to serve as pollworkers, placed and trained in partnership with the county.  For the students, it’s a rare opportunity to become government officials for a day, getting meaningful experience in applying a multilayered regulatory scheme to real people on the ground…For the community, it’s an even bigger win.


TaxProf Blog – 11.05.18

KLEIMAN PRESENTS TAX LIMITS AND PUBLIC CONTROL TODAY AT LOYOLA-L.A.

Ariel Jurow Kleiman (San Diego) presents Tax Limits and Public Control at Loyola-L.A. today as part of its Tax Policy Colloquium Series hosted by Ellen Aprill and Katie Pratt.


KCRW-FM – 11.05.18

CALIFORNIA HITS NEW RECORD FOR CAMPAIGN SPENDING

Loyola Law School, Los Angeles Professor Jessica Levinson discusses what may be the most expensive campaign against a single ballot measure in U.S. history.


Foreign Policy – 11.05.18

WHY IS IT SO HARD TO VOTE IN AMERICA?

“We would not put up with our election system if it were delivering us a consumer product,” said Justin Levitt, an expert on elections at the Loyola Law School. “That product would go out of business tomorrow.”


Refinery29 – 11.05.18

HERE ARE ALL THE DISCOUNTS FOR YOUR VOTING SELFIE ON ELECTION DAY

According to Jessica Levinson, Clinical Professor of Law at Loyola Law School: "California has a specific provision where you can't do anything to encourage somebody to register to vote or to vote in any election if a federal candidate appears on the ballot. And federal candidates appear throughout [this] ballot. But California is a little more lax on this than other states."


Bloomberg – 11.05.18

TRUMP CITIZENSHIP QUESTION GOES ON TRIAL ON EVE OF CRUCIAL VOTE (also featured on SF Gate and Yahoo! Finanzas)

“People had their minds made up in February 2017,” Justin Levitt, a former deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department during the Obama administration, said in an interview, referring to the Trump team.


KCRW-FM – 11.05.18

WHICH BALLOTS GET COUNTED ON ELECTION NIGHT, AND WHICH DON’T?

Loyola Law School, Los Angeles Professor Jessica Levinson looks at this election’s tight races and the ballot counting process.


Buzzfeed News – 11.05.18

DONALD TRUMP AND JEFF SESSIONS VOWED TO PUNISH ELECTION “FRAUD,” RAISING FEARS OF VOTER INTIMIDATION

Justin Levitt, former head of the Justice Department’s Voting Rights Section under Obama, lamented Sessions’ language, but he believes the Civil Rights Division monitors on the ground will stick with protecting voting access, not going after fraud.


Real Clear – 11.05.18

WHAT TO DO IF YOU’RE TURNED AWAY AT THE POLLS ON ELECTION DAY

In fact, fraud in elections is so rare that an analysis by the Washington Post and Loyola Law School found only 31 possible incidents over 14 years.


San Francisco Chronicle – 11.03.18

OPPOSITION TO CALIFORNIA DIALYSIS MEASURE PROP. 8 HITS FUNDRAISING RECORD

“I think the industry views it as a bellwether,” said Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School who specializes in campaign finance law. “I think there are other service sector industries that want to telegraph, clearly, this is not something that will be successful, that it will not work for workers to take their fight to the ballot. ... They don’t want this to become part of a trend.”


Bloomberg – 11.02.18

THE 2024 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION MAY BE DECIDED IN A NYC COURTROOM

“The purported reason for asking this question is nonsense,” Justin Levitt, a former deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department during the Obama administration, said in an interview.


New York Public Personnel Law – 11.02.18

SYMPOSIUM AND WEBCAST ON THE DISABILITY COMMUNITY, THE ELECTION AND THE NEXT CONGRESS SCHEDULED FOR MONDAY, NOV. 5, 2018

New York Public Personnel Law features the inaugural symposium of the Loyola Law School, Los Angeles Coelho Center For Disability Law, Policy and Innovation.


Los Angeles Daily Journal – 11.02.18

GIRARDI KEESE AND SIDLEY AUSTIN ATTORNEYS RECOGNIZED FOR CIVIL JUSTICE EFFORTS

The Civil Justice Program at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles hosted its 14th-annual Tribute to the Champions of Justice dinner and award ceremony on Oct. 18 at the Beverly Hills Hotel.


TaxProf Blog – 11.02.18

WEEKLY SSRN TAX ARTICLE REVIEW AND ROUNDUP: LAYSER REVIEWS MEDICAL NECESSITY — A HIGHER HURDLE FOR MARGINALIZED TAXPAYERS?

Michelle Layser (Illinois) reviews Julie Furr Youngman (Washington & Lee) & Courtney D. Hauck (J.D. 2021, Columbia), Medical Necessity: A Higher Hurdle for Marginalized Taxpayers?, 51 Loy. L.A. L. Rev._ (2018).


Riverside Press-Enterprise – 11.01.18

ONE VOTER FRAUD CASE FILED AFTER 2017 RIVERSIDE COUNTY INVESTIGATION

“That is not uncommon …That’s a red flag and that is not in any way infrequent,” Justin Levitt, an election law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, said of vote irregularity suspicions raised when family members share the same first and last name.


Roughly Explained – 11.01.18

CAN TRUMP END BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP WITH AN EXECUTIVE ORDER?

As Jessica Levinson, a law professor with Loyola Law School, told Vox: “This issue was largely settled in 1898 in United States v. Wong Kim Ark.”


IJR – 11.01.18

MULTIPLE STATES FACE VOTER SUPPRESSION CRISES AS HIGH-STAKES ELECTIONS LOOM

Other studies have reached conclusions similar to the post-2016 commission. Addressing photo ID requirements, Justin Levitt, who teaches at Loyola Law School, in Los Angeles, and has served as a deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said, “The ostensible benefit for photo IDs turns out to evaporate when you poke it a little closer.”


iNewsource – 11.01.18

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT DARK MONEY IN SAN DIEGO BEFORE YOU VOTE (also featured on KPBS-TV)

“It’s basically a cat and mouse game,” Loyola Law School professor Jessica Levinson said. “Once you close one loophole, then another loophole opens.”


LMU Magazine – 11.01.18

EPISODE 8: JUSTIN LEVITT

Justin Levitt, a constitutional law expert at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles explains gerrymandering, a tried-and-true method of influencing elections, and the possibilities for limiting it.


Connecticut College Magazine – 11.01.18

STREET-LEVEL DEMOCRACY

There’s a study [published] in the Loyola University Law Review done by a law professor at the Loyola Law School, that found a minuscule percentage—not even 1 % out of a million votes—were fraudulent.