November 2020

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:

11/29- Reuters

BIDEN IDENTIFIES MORE ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS, TRUMP VOWS CONTINUED ELECTION FIGHT

The Supreme Court has always been unlikely to tip the election in Trump’s favor, said Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.

Trump’s Pennsylvania challenge was a particularly poor vehicle for getting to the high court because it involves a procedural question about whether Trump’s campaign should have been allowed to expand the case, Levinson said.


11/28- Associated Press

HIGH COURT TAKES UP CENSUS CASE, AS OTHER COUNT ISSUES LOOM

Even if everything is done on time, the House, which will remain under Democratic control next year, might reject the apportionment numbers on the grounds that they aren’t what Congress asked the Republican administration to provide, said Justin Levitt, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.


11/26- Bloomberg News

CENSUS GIVES TRUMP A FINAL SUPREME COURT SHOWDOWN ON IMMIGRATION

“It’s difficult to know how Congress could have been any more plain than they already were unless they put in parentheses ‘and we really mean it,’” said Justin Levitt, a law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.


11/25- NPR

WHAT MIGHT BE THE LASTING EFFECT OF TRUMP'S REFUSAL TO CONCEDE?

CHANG: Trump continues to attack the legitimacy of the election results, despite legal efforts flailing in the courts and more states certifying their election results this week. To talk about whether there might be lasting effects from all of this, we're joined now by Justin Levitt. He's a professor at Loyola Marymount University Law School and an expert on election law.


11/24- ABC News

FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP, DEFECTIONS AND GAFFES HAMPER 2020 ELECTION COURT CHALLENGES

In an interview with ProPublica, Justin Levitt, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, likened one Trump case to "a tweet with a filing fee." 


11/24- Washington Post

WHERE IS TRUMP STILL TRYING TO FIGHT ELECTION RESULTS?


11/23- Bloomberg Law

CALIFORNIA’S SU RISES IN BIDEN LABOR CHIEF RACE AS UNIONS SPLIT

“I’d be very confident that she’d be willing to serve,” said Kimberly West-Faulcon, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, who’s known Su for 25 years. “Secretary of labor would be the position that she has really spent her entire career preparing for.”


11/23- KCRW

TRUMP CAMPAIGN HAS LOST OR WITHDRAWN ABOUT 30 LEGAL CHALLENGES TO ELECTION 2020 RESULTS

In Pennsylvania, a judge on Saturday threw out the Trump campaign’s effort claiming widespread problems with mail-in votes in the state and that some 7 million votes should be tossed. In Wisconsin, the Trump campaign wants to use a recount in the state’s two most heavily Democratic counties to invalidate tens of thousands of votes.

Guest: Jessica Levinson, Professor, LMU's Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. 


11/23- Los Angeles Times

BIDEN PICKS ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS FOR HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY (Also appeared on NBC 4 Los Angeles, LAist, Miami Herald, Fox 6 MiwaukeeThe Patriot KEIB AM

Mayorkas, who was born in Havana, grew up in Los Angeles and attended UC Berkeley and Loyola Law School. He began working for the government as an assistant United States attorney in the Central District of California, specializing in white-collar crime, and went on to become the youngest U.S. attorney in the country, according to the Biden transition announcement.


11/22- New York Times

A GREAT ELECTION, AGAINST ALL ODDS

More money. In the first wave of the pandemic last spring, elections experts and officials pleaded with Congress to provide up to $4 billion to help ensure a smooth election. Lawmakers approved one-tenth of that amount. “We get what we pay for,” said Justin Levitt, an election law scholar at Loyola Law School. “We poured trillions into pandemic recovery, and a teaspoonful into the democracy that makes it work.”


11/22- LAist

LA PREPARES FOR RARE CORONER'S INQUEST INTO THE KILLING OF ANDRES GUARDADO

The inquest into the shooting of Guardado may also fail to quiet public anger over the killing. But it may at least provide a closer look at what happened the day Guardado was shot — and how the Sheriff's Department conducted its investigation.

"It provides a forum for airing testimony and documents that are otherwise kept out of the public eye," said Loyola Law School Professor Eric Miller.


11/18- My News LA

GEORGE GASCON ANNOUNCES TRANSITION TEAM FOR DA’S OFFICE

Conviction review: Paula Mitchell, the executive director of the Project for the Innocent at Loyola Law School; and Franky Carrillo, who spent over two decades behind bars before his conviction for a 1991 murder was vacated

Death penalty: Stefanie Faucher, a deputy director of the 8th Amendment Project, which seeks to end the death penalty; Sean Kennedy, the Kaplan & Feldman executive director for the Center for Juvenile Law & Policy at Loyola Law School; and consultant Natasha Minsker;

Re-sentencing: Hillary Blout, the founder and executive director of For The People and the Sentence Review Project and a former San Francisco prosecutor who worked for Gascon when he was district attorney there; Kate Chatfield, director of policy for The Justice Collaborative; Christopher Hawthorne, co-director of Loyola Law School’s Juvenile Innocence & Fair Sentencing Clinic; attorney Jennifer Hansen of California Appellate Project; along with Romano, who is also on the transition team dealing with enhancements, three strikes and charging, and Mitchell, who is also dealing with conviction review;


11/16- Vice

TRUMP’S LAWYERS JUST BLEW UP THEIR OWN PENNSYLVANIA LAWSUIT

Legal experts said the Trump campaign’s hopes of winning in court appear increasingly distant, and said that continued courtroom sparring might represent attempts to keep raising campaign contributions while furthering a PR campaign falsely alleging that the election was stolen from Trump.

“What are they doing? Fundraising,” Justin Levitt, an election law expert at Loyola Law School, told VICE News. “And continuing to flail.”


11/11- Los Angeles Times

A CORONAVIRUS VACCINE COULD COME SOON. COULD MLB MANDATE PLAYERS AND FANS TAKE IT?

Joe Longo, the agent for 2018 National League most valuable player Christian Yelich, also teaches law at Loyola Law School. He said the league and union worked well in devising this season’s health and safety protocols, and he expected both sides would consider evidence of the effectiveness and risks of any vaccine.

“I do think it’s in everybody’s best interest to sit down and work on this,” Longo said. “It makes it safe for the players, who risk their health going onto the field and mingling with people. I think both parties would come to the table with an interest in coming to an agreement.


11/11- TaxProf Blog

SSRN TAX PROFESSOR RANKINGS

22. Katie Pratt

23. Ted Seto


11/11- Los Angeles Times

CALIFORNIA WENT BIG FOR BIDEN. NOW ITS CITIES, COUNTIES AND SCHOOLS ARE SEEKING RELIEF

However, Democrats could end up holding off until next year, in hopes of securing a larger package under a new president, said Levinson, a Loyola Law School professor. And depending on the fate of two U.S. Senate seats in Georgia, there could easily be a divided federal government under Biden, she said.


11/11- NBC News

SUPREME COURT MAY UPHOLD OBAMACARE. BUT CONGRESS PUT HEALTH CARE AT RISK

Article by LMU Loyola Law School professor Jessica Levinson.


11/9- KCRW

PRESIDENT TRUMP IS RUNNING OUT OF LEGAL OPTIONS TO CHALLENGE THE ELECTION

Even though Joe Biden won the election, President Trump still has not conceded the race. His campaign team has filed a bunch of lawsuits in swing states like Pennsylvania, Arizona, Michigan and Georgia. A few of these suits asked judges to stop the count of mail-in ballots, such as in Philadelphia and Michigan. 

Guest: Jessica Levinson, Professor, LMU's Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. 


11/9- Reuters

BARR URGES PROBES OF VOTE IRREGULARITIES AS TRUMP MOUNTS LEGAL ASSAULT

Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, said the latest lawsuit in Pennsylvania was unlikely to succeed and “reads like a rehash of many of the arguments the Trump legal team has made in and outside the courtroom.”


11/9- Los Angeles Times

NEARLY 9 IN 10 LAPD OFFICERS FELT UNSUPPORTED BY MOORE AFTER SUMMER PROTESTS, SURVEY FINDS

“One thing to recognize about policing, as with many institutions, is that there is a significant gap between management and rank and file, in which street cops often feel that management cops are adversaries rather than supporters,” said Eric Miller, a professor at Loyola Law School who focuses on policing issues. “Historically, we’ve seen that civilian calls for reform often result in some policy changes at the top from the police command staff that are then deeply resented and resisted by the rank and file.”


11/9- KPCC

BIDEN ELECTED PRESIDENT: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE, WHAT LEGAL QS REMAIN AND WHAT DOES HISTORIC VP-ELECT HARRIS MEAN TO YOU?

Democrat Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump to become the 46th president of the United States on Saturday and offered himself to the nation as a leader who “seeks not to divide, but to unify” a country gripped by a historic pandemic and a confluence of economic and social turmoil. Guest: Justin Levitt, professor of law at Loyola Law School.


11/7- KQED

ELECTION 2020 - CALIFORNIA AND LOCAL RESULTS, FIGHT FOR THE WHITE HOUSE

Election 2020: Fight for the White House

GuestsLanhee Chen, fellow, Hoover Institution, Jessica Levinson, professor, Loyola Law School 


11/7- TIME

HERE ARE ALL THE LAWSUITS THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN HAS FILED SINCE ELECTION DAY-AND WHY MOST ARE UNLIKELY TO GO ANYWHERE

“There’s literally nothing that I’ve seen yet with the meaningful potential to affect the final result,” Justin Levitt, a law professor at Loyola Law School, told TIME in an email.


11/6- KPCC

AS THE VOTE COUNT CONTINUES, WE GET THE ELECTION LATEST

Those put Biden in a stronger position to capture the 270 Electoral College votes needed to take the White House. The winner will lead a country facing a historic set of challenges, including a surging pandemic and deep political polarization. Guest: Justin Levitt, professor of law at Loyola Law School.


11/6- NBC 4 Los Angeles

STUDENT POLL WORKERS

News segment featuring LMU Loyola Law School Students.


11/6- KTLA 5

POST ELECTION ANALYSIS WITH PROFESSOR JESSICA LEVINSON

News segment featuring LMU Loyola Law School professor Jessica Levinson.


11/6- ABC News

LAWYERS FROM BOTH PARTIES PUZZLED BY DONALD TRUMP'S ELECTION LEGAL STRATEGY

Justin Levitt, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, called one Pennsylvania case, which complained that voters were given a chance to correct their mail-in ballots, "a tweet with a filing fee" in an interview with ProPublica. The case reportedly would only affect 93 ballots, by one estimate.


11/6- NPR

TRUMP LATCHES ONTO CONSPIRACIES, AS LEGAL BATTLES FAIL AND PATH TO WIN NARROWS

"It seems like the relief the Trump Campaign keeps asking [for] is patently ridiculous," said Justin Levitt, an election law professor at Loyola Law School. "They keep saying 'stop the count!' and the courts keep saying no."


11/5- Washington Post 

THE DAILY 202: BIDEN PATCHED UP THE BLUE WALL, BUT HE FAILED TO REBUILD OBAMA'S COALITION


11/5- CNN

TRUMP CAMPAIGN'S LONGSHOT LEGAL CHALLENGES UNLIKELY TO SWING ELECTION, ANALYSTS SAY

Justin Levitt, another elections expert and law professor, called some of the suits, like one in Michigan, "laughable."


11/5- Los Angeles Times

FAKE POLLING PLACE OR SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY? QUESTIONS SWIRL AROUND ‘BALLOT ROOM’ IN OC’S LITTLE SAIGON

Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School, said the signage at the campaign headquarters “certainly does give the impression that it’s a voting center,” and that it’s “dancing on misrepresentation.”


11/4- ABC 7

ELECTION LAW EXPERT BREAKS DOWN THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE

Election Day has come and gone, but the outcome of the presidential race is still waiting to be determined.

Loyola Marymount University professor and election law expert Justin Levitt joined ABC7 to discuss the state of play in the presidential race.

We discussed what you need to know about the race, from what's next to breaking down the Electoral College.


11/4- CBS News

LAWSUITS TRIGGER FIGHT OVER WHICH BALLOTS TO COUNT

A growing number of election lawsuits are triggering a fight over which ballots should and should not be counted. Loyola Law School professor Jessica Levinson joins CBSN for a closer look.


11/4- KCRW

POSSIBLE RECOUNTS AND LITIGATION OVER NATIONAL ELECTION RESULTS

The Trump campaign says it will ask for a recount in Wisconsin, where the state says Joe Biden is leading by about 20,000 votes (as of noon today).

Jessica Levinson, law professor at Loyola Law School, says the Trump campaign can certainly ask for a recount, but it’s rare that a recount would actually change the outcome.


11/3- CBS News

LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE 2000 ELECTION

With the outcome of the vote still a toss-up in several key battleground states, there are concerns about a potential legal fight reminiscent of the 2000 race between George W. Bush and Al Gore, which was ultimately decided by a 5-4 Supreme Court decision to stop the recount in Florida. Loyola Law School Professor Justin Levitt joins CBSN to discuss that controversial ruling and what may lie ahead.


11/3- NPR

WHY VOTE COUNTING IN PENNSYLVANIA AND MICHIGAN TAKES SO LONG

Official results have never been fully tallied by election night; the announced winners and losers on the night of the election are actually projections made by media organizations, explained Justin Levitt, an election law expert at Loyola Law School.


11/3- KTLA 5

POST-ELECTION VOTER FEARS AND QUESTIONS WITH PROFESSOR JESSICA LEVINSON

News segment featuring LMU Loyola Law School professor Jessica Levinson.


11/2- Patch

SO FAR, TRUMP'S 'ARMY' OF POLL WATCHERS LOOKS MORE LIKE A SMALL PLATOON

Poll watching "is like watching paint dry," said Justin Levitt, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, specializing in elections. "If you're waiting for the busloads of fraud to arise, and what you get is small American-flag-waving democracy, you begin to go out of your head. It's like sitting in a field waiting for the UFOs and the UFOs never show up. And then you're just sitting in a field, which is fine for a couple hours, but polls are open about 15 hours a day."


11/2- NBC News 

TRUMP COULD CREATE 2020 CHAOS BY COMBINING A "BLUE SHIFT" WITH LEGAL BATTLE

Article by LMU Loyola Law School professor Jessica Levinson.


11/2- The Hill

MOST HIGHLY LITIGATED ELECTION IN US HISTORY ENTERS FINAL STAGE

More than 320 lawsuits have already been waged in 45 states during the run-up to the election, according to Justin Levitt, a professor at Loyola Law School


11/2- San Francisco Chronicle

PROPOSITION 25: FUTURE OF CASH BAIL SYSTEM IN VOTERS' HANDS


11/1- TIME

'I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO DIE.' HOW DONALD TRUMP’S IMMIGRATION AGENDA SET BACK THE CLOCK ON FIGHTING HUMAN TRAFFICKING

“In the years before the Trafficking Victims Protection Act was passed, trafficked clients, if I encountered them, they’d fall through the cracks,” says Kathleen Kim, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles and an expert on human trafficking. “There was no social safety net, there was no infrastructure to keep them afloat while advocates were working on their behalf to gain protection and benefits for them from the government.” The T visa also enables lawyers and advocates to help survivors transition to more stable environments, where they are less vulnerable to further exploitation.