Policy advocates work to end juvenile justice fees

Kate Weisburd and Stephanie Campos-Bui interviewed by Daily Journal, Dec. 8, 2015

Campos-Bui said that in many counties, the publicly available information on collections, waivers, and fee structures is “often a little muddy… There’s a lot of confusion, a lot of information not being collected; it’s a whole mess.”

“It’s high pain for low gain,” Weisburd said. “We’re questioning whether this is an effective policy – these fees directly undermine family stability in a time when it’s needed most.”

Republicans protect terror suspects’ access to guns

Jennifer Granholm writes for San Jose Mercury News, Dec. 8, 2015

The GOP is having a “does not compute” moment. Unable to state the obvious—that terrorists with guns are dangerous—Republican leaders must fire off nonsensical talking points in an infinite loop of illogic. The results would be comical if the consequences weren’t so tragic.

Would Donald Trump’s proposed ban on Muslims in the US be constitutional?

Leti Volpp interviewed by Yahoo!, Dec. 8, 2015

Leti Volpp … agreed that there is no way that categorically barring Muslims from entering the country could be legal. … “Citizens have a right to enter the country of their citizenship. In terms of noncitizens, while the political branches are given some deference in crafting exclusion laws, that deference is not absolute, and this would violate the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection, not to mention the guarantee of freedom of religion.”

UC Berkeley School of Law Prof. Melissa Murray

Melissa Murray interviewed by Tavis Smiley, PBS, Dec. 7, 2015

“This is a constitution written in 1787 where the right to bear arms means something quite different than what it means today. … So I think that’s the question: Do we hew to this old view of the right and the context in which it was first enacted, or is this a situation where we have to take contemporary events into account when we think about what this right might mean in a contemporary society?”

San Bernardino, Paris attacks revive post-9/11 fears

Christopher Kutz interviewed by San Francisco Chronicle, Dec. 5, 2015

If the San Bernardino shooters are found to have terrorist ties, their possible local links should be investigated, too, said UC Berkeley Professor of Law Chris Kutz. … “But it should be done extremely carefully and with sensitivity with respect to the rights of the American Muslim community,” Kutz said.

State should set goals on use of low-carbon biofuel

Ethan Elkind writes for The Sacramento Bee, Dec. 5, 2015

At the federal level, new rules from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued Monday will boost biofuel production nationwide, while in California, our environmental policies also promote low-carbon biofuels. But the state needs additional biofuel policies to reduce transportation emissions further and benefit local economies in the process.