Erwin Chemerinsky quoted by NBC News, March 13, 2018
Said Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the law school at the University of California, Berkeley, “In one sense, this is federalism turned on its head from what we have seen through much of our history.”
Please stop building houses exactly where wildfires start
Ethan Elkind quoted by WIRED, March 13, 2018
“It’s a feedback loop,” says Ethan Elkind. … “We’ve made it very hard across the country to build in existing urban neighborhoods, which have been shown repeatedly to have lower carbon emission per capita…and we’re subsidizing people living out in sprawling, more vulnerable areas outside cities.”
Could the Feds bigfoot California over water?
Holly Doremus quoted by California Magazine, March 13, 2018
“Since the 19th Century, water law historically has been left to the states—the federal government typically has been deferential, and that includes the rights of western states to appropriate water, even from federal land.”
Trump vs the Golden State
Erwin Chemerinsky writes for Daily Journal (registration required), March 13, 2018
Ultimately, underlying this dispute are very different views about immigration and about the scope of federal power. The greatest irony is in seeing a very conservative president championing federal power and progressives picking up the mantle of state’s rights.
Are the leaders of the NPS, FWS, and BLM illegitimate?
Anne Joseph O’Connell quoted by Outside Online, March 12, 2018
Another issue is that Sheehan’s and Smith’s deputy positions were created by Zinke and not Congress, which, according to … Anne Joseph O’Connell, “could raise both statutory and constitutional issues.”
Blockchain: Are you ready for cross-industry disruption?
Olga Mack writes for Above the Law, March 12, 2018
Ultimately, the future of blockchain is now. Although blockchain has been dismissed as a fleeting trend or mere hype, the lawyers who put in the work now will reap the benefits of their blockchain expertise in the coming years of disruption.
California’s $77 billion ‘bullet train to nowhere’ faces a murky future as political opposition ramps up
Ethan Elkind quoted by CNBC, March 12, 2018
“Regardless of what this business plan said, the political and funding reality was that they don’t really have enough money to build what they want to do — certainly not statewide,” said Ethan Elkind.
College students support free speech — unless it offends them
Erwin Chemerinsky quoted by The Washington Post, March 12, 2018
Some scholars have noted that one reason current college students are ambivalent, sometimes even hostile, to the idea of free speech is that they were a generation raised to recognize that bullying is wrong. They equate hurtful speech to bullying, said Erwin Chemerinsky.
Berkeley Law launches judicial institute led by Jeremy Fogel
Erwin Chemerinsky quoted by The Recorder, March 12, 2018
“We have the opportunity to be a leader in research and training on the crucial issues of judicial independence and judicial integrity,” said Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky. “In Judge Jeremy Fogel, we truly have the ideal person to lead the institute.”
Why people who oppose BDS should oppose anti-BDS laws, too
David Schraub writes for Forward, March 11, 2018
The repeated bungles by state officials in implementing the newly enacted state anti-BDS laws indicates a particularly compelling reason why Jewish organizations should think twice before pushing them: These laws have to be enforced by state bureaucrats. And state bureaucrats aren’t always the most reliable of public functionaries.