Anne Joseph O’Connell quoted in The Washington Post, September 20, 2015
“Democrats in the White House face more pressure on ‘demographic’ staffing because many groups who want to see leaders like them worked hard to elect the president,” she said.
Sunnyvale: Neighbors sue to declare autistic boy a public nuisance
Stephen Rosenbaum quoted in San Jose Mercury News, September 17, 2015
“This is something that should never have gone to court, in my view,” said Rosenbaum. … “The plaintiffs make it out to be that there’s a monster at large in the neighborhood, but I know from the standpoint both as an attorney and as a parent myself of a young man who had a disability that there may be things that are the perception by the rest of the community that can be at odds with reality.”
The top 4 things the GOP won’t tell you about Ronald Reagan
Alan Auerbach quoted on MSNBC.com, September 16, 2015
“At the end of the day, Reagan had very strong views on issues like tax cuts and military build-up, but on the other hand he was willing to make deals,” Auerbach said. “As much as Reagan criticized the policies of his predecessor and criticized the policies of Democrats, he wasn’t going to shut the government down.”
Uber case highlights outdated worker protection laws
Steven Davidoff Solomon writes for The New York Times, September 15, 2015
This case truly highlights the outdated nature of workers’ laws in America, not just around what it means to work for someone, but also what benefits and protections American workers need whether they are a contractor, employee or provider of services.
The worst of the worst
Elisabeth Semel quoted in The New Yorker, September 14, 2015
Elisabeth Semel, the Berkeley professor, notes that, with a death-qualified jury, “you are starting out with a jury that is conviction-prone and death-prone, because if they weren’t they wouldn’t be sitting there.”
What do voters hear in Conservatives’ message on refugees?
Ian Haney López quoted in CBC News, Sept. 14, 2015
“People don’t realize they are being manipulated, they don’t realize their basest instincts are being appealed to,” he says. “Staying silent and not addressing that is an absolute failure.”
To help smokers quit, make them vapers
Stephen Sugarman writes for Los Angeles Times, Sept. 10, 2015
Blanket laws discouraging the use of e-cigarettes are the wrong policy move. E-cigarettes have already shown themselves to be an appealing alternative to many smokers who are trying to quit. Because almost 500,000 Americans die annually from tobacco-related diseases, a lot is at stake.
Is a Supreme Court surprise coming on affirmative action in college admissions?
Richard Rothstein blog post reprinted in The Washington Post, Sept. 9, 2015
College admissions officers, ostrich-like, can favor students of all races and ethnicities whose families have little wealth for whatever reason. Such favoritism, however, is an inefficient means of remedying de jure segregation: it will round up many non-black students from low-wealth families. That is a worthy social policy goal, but is no substitute for remedying a history of state-sponsored racial injustice.
Gavin Newsom is no Kim Davis
John Yoo quoted in San Francisco Chronicle (registration required), Sept. 9, 2015
“If you’re a state officer, you have an obligation under the Constitution to carry out federal law.” You don’t have to agree with all Supreme Court rulings, Yoo added, you just have to abide by them.
The Tianjin explosions: a signal for reform
Stanley Lubman writes for The Wall Street Journal, Sept. 7, 2015
The massive explosions in Tianjin should challenge the state to take useful steps to improve legality, which would also enhance the legal environment needed for the promised economic reforms. Failure to do so will mean more loss of life and further erosion of government credibility. China can’t afford more Tianjin fireballs.