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:
10/26- Associated Press
POTENTIAL LEGAL WOES MOUNT AFTER ‘RUST’ SHOOTING TRAGEDY
An insurer would likely cover any accidental events, but the company might not pay for negligence claims on a movie set, according to Julie Shapiro, law professor and director of Loyola Law School’s Entertainment and Media Law Institute.
The insurance company will do its own investigation, Shapiro said, to determine if negligence occurred. The exact wording of the policy will determine what the company would pay.
10/25- USA Today
10/25- MSNBC
MURDAUGH MURDER MYSTERY HIGHLIGHTS THE POWER OF PRIVILEGE
The sordid tale of Alex Murdaugh, the patriarch of one of the oldest and most powerful families in South Carolina, happens to be unfolding during the same time as America’s long-overdue reckoning with racism in the criminal justice system. Some of the questions raised during that reckoning are the same that have been raised since June 7 when Murdaugh called police to report that his wife and son had been shot: Do our criminal laws provide true justice, and, if they ever do, for whom?
Article by LMU Loyola Law School professor Jessica Levinson.
10/23- NBC News
EVERYTHING WE KNOW ABOUT THE FATAL ‘RUST’ SHOOTING — AND WHAT COULD HAPPEN NEXT
Laurie Levenson, a Loyola Law School professor in Los Angeles, said it’s still too early to determine if there will be criminal liability for what happened on the set of “Rust.”
“The accident needs to be fully investigated and all the witnesses need to be interviewed,” Levenson said. “The key issue is, why did the accident happen and what errors contributed to it?”
10/23- CBS News
SUPREME COURT TO HEAR ARGUMENTS ON TEXAS ABORTION LAW NOVEMBER 1
10/22- Los Angeles Times
SHERIFF VILLANUEVA AND TOP AIDE DEFY WATCHDOG SUBPOENAS
10/21- MSNBC
FREEDOM TO VOTE ACT, NOT THE FILIBUSTER, IS ESSENTIAL TO OUR DEMOCRACY
Ask Americans what their top priorities are, and they’ll say making the economy strong, tackling the Covid-19 pandemic, creating and maintaining jobs, ensuring people have access to affordable health care, supporting education, defending against terrorism and improving the political system.
Article by LMU Loyola Law School professor Jessica Levinson.
10/19- CBS News
JANUARY 6 PANEL VOTES TO HOLD FORMER TRUMP ADVISER STEVE BANNON IN CRIMINAL CONTEMPT
10/18- KCRW
SHIELDING POLICE FROM CIVIL LAWSUITS: SCOTUS SIDES WITH OFFICERS IN QUALIFIED IMMUNITY CASES
The U.S. Supreme Court issued two decisions today involving qualified immunity. That’s the legal principle that shields government officials from civil lawsuits and is typically invoked amid allegations of police misconduct.
“The Supreme Court essentially gave an endorsement of police officers’ ability to use the doctrine of qualified immunity as a defense against claims of excessive force,” says Loyola Law School professor Jessica Levinson.
10/17- CBS News
HOUSE JANUARY 6 COMMITTEE TO DECIDE IF THEY WILL PROSECUTE FORMER TRUMP AIDE
10/16- NPR
DOJ WILL ASK THE SUPREME COURT TO HALT THE TEXAS ABORTION BAN
We turn now to the legal battle over Texas's new restrictive abortion law. The Justice Department says it will ask the Supreme Court to halt enforcement of the state's law while the DOJ's legal challenge plays out. NPR's justice correspondent Ryan Lucas reports.
Guest: Jessica Levinson, Professor, LMU's Loyola Law School.
10/15- MSNBC
IN HOUSE SUBPOENA FIGHT, STEVE BANNON MAY BEST DEMOCRATS WITHOUT A WINNING ARGUMENT
Now for another episode of the show I like to call “Steve Bannon Vs. the Law.” Like previous episodes, Bannon may have a weak legal argument but still come out triumphant — as in season one, when he was pardoned by then-President Donald Trump, for allegedly defrauding Trump’s own supporters.
Article by LMU Loyola Law School professor Jessica Levinson.
10/15- Los Angeles Times
RIDLEY-THOMAS INDICTMENT BRINGS FRESH UNCERTAINTY TO AN ALREADY UNSETTLED CITY HALL
Given the seriousness of those accusations, city leaders will need to discuss whether to permit Ridley-Thomas to keep performing his public duties, said Loyola Law School professor Jessica Levinson.
“I don’t know how they can avoid that conversation,” she said. “I don’t know how you can have a federal indictment with allegations that he abused the public trust — selling his public position for the benefit of his family — and not ask whether he should continue to make decisions on behalf of the city of Los Angeles.”
10/14- KPCC
Los Angeles City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas and the former dean of the USC School of Social Work have been indicted on federal corruption charges.
Federal prosecutors allege that when Ridley-Thomas was an L.A. County Supervisor he backed county contracts and lucrative contract amendments while one of his relatives got substantial benefits from USC in exchange.
Guest: Laurie Levenson, Professor, LMU's Loyola Law School.
10/14- CBS News
ROBERT DURST SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR KILLING BEST FRIEND SUSAN BERMAN
Loyola Law School Professor Laurie Levenson said it was questionable whether Kathie Durst was a victim in the Los Angeles case because Robert Durst wasn't charged with her killing. Allowing her siblings to speak at sentencing would create another issue for an appeal.
10/12- The Guardian
WHY ROBERT DURST’S FIRST MURDER CONVICTION MIGHT NOT BE HIS LAST
“You never know what’s going to happen on appeal,” said Laurie Levenson, a professor at the Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. “Especially here, when you had the Covid outbreak, and a long break in the trial, and a prosecutor who was very aggressive.”
10/11- KCRW
TEXAS’ ABORTION LAW IS ON AGAIN, OFF AGAIN. WHAT’S THE CURRENT COURT RULING?
Abortion rights advocates nationwide cheered when a federal judge blocked Texas’ strict abortion law last week. But that celebration was short-lived. On Friday, a federal appeals court said allowed Texas to keep enforcing its ban on nearly all abortions in the state — for now.
“People can be forgiven for having whiplash when it comes to Texas’ abortion law. Right now, as we speak, that law is in effect in Texas,” says Loyola Law School professor Jessica Levinson.
Guest: Jessica Levinson, Professor, LMU's Loyola Law School.
10/8- Reuters
ANALYSIS: JUDGE'S RULING ON TEXAS ABORTION BAN A WARNING TO COPYCATS, FOR NOW
For now, Pitman's ruling is "a warning" to anti-abortion lawmakers who want to mimic the Texas approach to enforcing an abortion ban, said Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.
"I hope I'm wrong but I just don't see a long lifespan for Judge Pitman's ruling," said Levinson, who called the Fifth Circuit the most conservative of the intermediate federal appeals courts one step below the Supreme Court.
10/7- Los Angeles
FORMER OFFICIALS NUÑEZ, BOXER AND VILLARAIGOSA LEAD EXODUS FROM POWERFUL LOBBYING FIRM
10/6- CBS Los Angeles
“Right now, under Governor Gavin Newsom’s mandate, it includes a personal belief exemption. Right now, under existing California law, if the state health department is the one to mandate a vaccine and it doesn’t go through a vote of the legislature, then there is a personal belief exemption included,” Loyola Law Professor Jessica Levinson said.
10/5- NPR
A LANDMARK OPIOID TRIAL PUTS SPOTLIGHT ON PHARMACY CHAINS CVS, WALMART AND WALGREENS
"Because the scope of the economic harm is so significant, the price that could be paid in any verdict could be quite significant," said Adam Zimmerman, a professor at Loyola Law School and an expert on opioid litigation.
If the companies lose this fight, they wouldn't just have to pay for drug treatment. They could eventually be required to compensate governments all over the U.S. for everything from larger foster care programs to a wide array of costs.
"Damages include things like emergency room costs, dealing with and fighting crime relating to opioids," Zimmerman said.
10/4- San Diego Tribune
CRIMINALISTS IN JANE DOROTIK MURDER CASE RECORD OF PROBLEMS IN LAB, DEFENSE SAYS
10/4- CalMatters
WHAT’S AT STAKE FOR NEWSOM’S BIGGEST RECALL CAMPAIGN DONORS
“It turbo-charged something that was already supercharged,” said Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School and former president of the Los Angeles Ethics Commission. “It is this perfect storm highlighting for us how money works in politics.”