Daniel Farber

Scalia gets his facts wrong in EPA dissent

Daniel Farber quoted in The Washington Post, May 1, 2014

Among those who first pointed out the problem were law professors Jonathan Adler of Case Western Reserve University and Dan Farber of the University of California at Berkeley. Adler called the mistake merely “noticeable.” Farber called it “a cringe-worthy blunder,” “hugely embarrassing” and doubly so because Scalia wrote the opinion he mistakenly cited for support.

Free to marry—but ruling’s basis raises worries

Amanda Tyler and Daniel Farber quoted in San Francisco Chronicle, July 5, 2013 (registration required)

“It was born of a concern about federal courts overreaching beyond the power given to them,” said Amanda Tyler, a UC Berkeley constitutional law professor. The courts, she said, are often reluctant to “interfere with the workings of the executive or legislative branch.”

The ruling hasn’t eliminated environmental suits but has made them harder to sustain. Courts have insisted that plaintiffs show they are suffering a definable harm that would be cured by a favorable ruling, said Daniel Farber…. “You have to have an injury that was caused by the (government), and the court has to be able to help you,” he said.

Berkeley law prof: EPA regulates blank, opposed by blank

Daniel Farber quoted in San Francisco Business Times, May 28, 2013

It’s always the same story when the EPA rolls out new regulations, says Dan Farber, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, law school. “Just fill in the blanks, and you can save yourself the trouble of reading newspaper accounts about any new EPA action,” Farber says, providing readers with a template under the headline “New EPA Regulations Spark Controversy.”

Obama climate agenda faces Supreme Court reckoning

Daniel Farber quoted in Reuters, May 16, 2013

“It’s very convoluted,” said Daniel Farber, an environmental law professor at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. “The court typically doesn’t like all this complicated stuff.”

Death by drone, and the sliding scale of presidential power

Daniel Farber and John Yoo cited in National Public Radio, It’s All Politics blog, February 8, 2013

In an interview, Farber said…. “Presidents, regardless of political party, or liberal versus conservative, they just don’t seem to have a lot of qualms about doing what they think is necessary for national security. So it doesn’t surprise me [that Obama has allowed Americans to be targeted in drone strikes overseas]. There have been very few exceptions.”

In his 2006 book, War by Other Means: An Insider’s Account of the War on Terror, Yoo argues that killings in the context of a war is what legitimizes the federal government’s actions: “When a nation goes to war, it seeks to defeat the enemy in order to prevent future harms on society inflicted by enemy attacks…. The military bombs a building when it estimates with varying degrees of certainty that enemy soldiers or munitions are there. It does not wait to attack until it has proof beyond a reasonable doubt or probably cause.”

California greenhouse gas rules face major court test

Daniel Farber quoted in San Jose Mercury News, October 14, 2012

“Any comprehensive plan is going to have to confront this issue,” said Daniel Farber, co-director of UC Berkeley’s environmental law [center]. “A negative decision in this case could pose a barrier to aggressive state efforts to address climate change.”

California greenhouse gas rules face major court test

Daniel Farber quoted in San Jose Mercury News, October 14, 2012

“Any comprehensive plan is going to have to confront this issue,” said Daniel Farber, co-director of UC Berkeley’s environmental law [center]. “A negative decision in this case could pose a barrier to aggressive state efforts to address climate change.”

Microsoft (legally) avoided $6.5B in taxes over 3 years

David Gamage and Eric Talley quoted in The Seattle Times, September 21, 2012

While it’s right to a certain extent to say that U.S. companies aren’t paying their fair share of taxes, Talley said, it’s also true that multinational corporations have substantial leeway in where they locate. “If policymakers decide to close up the loophole, a potential danger is that companies may start to move their physical operations overseas,” he said.

David Gamage, an assistant professor at UC Berkeley School of Law, said it’s impossible for him to know whether Microsoft or HP have done anything wrong without seeing privileged documents that he doesn’t have access to. “But my guess, based on what’s been publicly available, is that Microsoft is, at the very minimum, being extremely aggressive in its interpretation of U.S. tax laws,” he said.

California’s water system can adapt to climate change, new study shows

Daniel Farber and Deborah Lambe quoted in The Daily Californian, August 7, 2012

“The growing California population will put additional stress on the water system,” said Berkeley School of Law Professor Dan Farber, another co-author of the study, in an email. “Some of our key recommendations include a new system for monitoring and recording water use, which is essential for better planning, and better methods for controlling the use of groundwater, which is rapidly being exhausted.”

“The information those kinds of rules will generate can help California adapt to climate change by establishing a baseline of how much water the state is using and by identifying changes in both supply and demand over time,” Lambe said.