Melissa Murray, Russell Robinson write for The New York Times, Room for Debate, April 25, 2012
The question is whether the law should play a role in casting, or whether, under the license of “artistic freedom,” producers may cater to the preferences of the majority. Similar questions have surfaced in other contexts, and the law’s response has been clear and emphatic.
Los Angeles Times, September 12, 2011 by Carol J. Williams and Shari Roan
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-postpartum-defense-20110912,0,6042102.story
Murray said the women thought to be most susceptible to postpartum psychosis, those with financial difficulties or stressful family relations, are the least likely to be noticed by medical professionals because they often lack health insurance for postnatal follow-up with doctors.
The Christian Science Monitor, July 13, 2011 by Daniel B. Wood
http://bit.ly/qDavAs
“This is not about the Browns’ attempt to get Utah to recognize polygamous marriage, but rather to ask the federal courts to tell them they cannot punish intimate conduct,” says Melissa Murray, assistant professor of law.
Adds Herma Hill Kay, a UC Berkeley law professor: “They are not seeking to have their relationship validated as a marriage. They’re just trying to avoid criminal prosecution.”
The Daily Californian, January 19, 2011 by Alisha Azevedo
http://www.dailycal.org/article/111546/justice_sotomayor_to_judge_competition_at_uc_berke
Sotomayor agreed to judge the competition because of the law school’s prestige, Gluss said. “Our students win or place in national competitions each year, besting their peers in other top-tier law schools,” she said. “The chance to parry with such bright students is a compelling one.”
“She’s a very exacting jurist—she does her homework and knows the facts and ins and outs of the cases. Students will find that she’s incredibly well-prepared and that they will need to bring their A-game to the competition,” Murray said.
-San Francisco Business Times, January 11, 2011
http://bit.ly/gby3zt
Christopher Edley, dean of Cal’s law school, said: “These are three extraordinary jurists.”
Melissa Murray, an assistant professor at the school who once clerked for Sotomayor, said: “She is a role model for any student engaged in the study and practice of law.”
-Bay City News, January 12, 2011
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_17077548
“I believe that over the next 20 years Justice Sotomayor will emerge as a truly central figure in American jurisprudence; she’s that good,” Edley said. “Our students will carry this memory with them for the rest of their lives.”
“Justice Sotomayor is extraordinarily charismatic and uniquely alive in her questioning during oral arguments at the Supreme Court,” said William Fernholz, a faculty member who directs the school’s appellate program.
San Francisco Chronicle, August 5, 2010 by C.W. Nevius
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/08/05/BAGE1EOUSQ.DTL
“California seems to have a lengthier history of this kind of thing,” said Melissa Murray, assistant law professor at UC Berkeley’s School of Law. “In other states, it has passed and that’s been it. Maybe California is just the perfect storm.”
Los Angeles Times, November 6, 2009 by David Sharp and Lisa Leff
http://cbs5.com/education/gay.marriage.schools.2.1297494.html
“Parents are always thinking about how do I keep unwanted influences out of my children’s lives? And it’s a lot harder to do that as a parent if that influence is the state,” Murray said. “That’s the fear they are tapping into…. and they are just going to keep repackaging it, because it works.”
The Promise of Berkeley, October 2009
http://issuu.com/shawnm/docs/_x7319a_pob_fall_09_compiled.v2/18?mode=a_p
Rachel Moran: I was surprised at the level of attention that [wise Latina] remark received. I felt it was about how diversity can improve outcomes. When you have all kinds of people on the bench, they reach better results through the vigorous exchange of ideas.
Maria Blanco: She will bring more trial court and appellate experience than any sitting on the court. She has the most judicial experience of any Supreme Court nominee in the last 70 years and the most federal judicial experience in 100 years.
Melissa Murray: She made sure we understood that behind every appeal there was a person who wanted and deserved to be heard. She also emphasized the importance of giving back. She routinely went out of her way to mentor young people and young lawyers in New York City.
KCBS-AM, August 8, 2009 by Mark Seelig
http://www.kcbs.com/pages/4966444.php
“I was privileged to work for her for a year and it was the most challenging and exhilarating year of my career,” Murray said. “It’s really fantastic to have been able to work that closely with her and to see her in action.”
San Francisco Chronicle, May 29, 2009 by Carolyn Lochhead
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/05/29/MNGF17SNET.DTL&type=printable
“She has sterling credentials,” Murray said. “She’s incredibly smart, she’s incredibly fair. I think she takes every case on its merits. She’s very rigorous in researching cases and she applies the law. The idea of her as an activist is absolutely ludicrous. In my time with her, I’ve never seen anyone more sensitive to what the law in our circuit actually required.”
Jesse Choper, a UC Berkeley constitutional law professor, said Sotomayor might take back her Berkeley words if she could, saying they were inelegantly put. “But having said that,” Choper said, “every Supreme Court justice, every human being, is the product of their own experience, their own education, their own background, their own values.”