Disruptions: Instagram testimony doesn’t add up

Eric Talley quoted in The New York Times, December 16, 2012

In general, said Eric Talley, a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley, “if there is sworn testimony, there are perjury risks.” Also, he added, “there are fraud risks in which an inaccurate statement to your investors could violate antifraud laws at both the state or federal level.” Dr. Talley said there were many reasons people might try to hide information from investors, including “deal sweeteners,” in which someone might be allowed to remain head of a company or be given more cash.

Can we do anything to prevent massacres?

Franklin Zimring quoted in San Francisco Chronicle, December 15, 2012

“The problem,” said UC Berkeley criminologist Franklin Zimring, “is it has a very short shelf life. There will be rhetorical aftermath. There will be an exchange of hostile views. But if the past is prologue, there aren’t going to be any changed policies.” The debates fueled by a massacre tend to last “about two weeks,” Zimring said.

Judge approves reform process for Oakland police department

Franklin Zimring quoted in KQED, December 12, 2012

U.C. Berkeley law professor Franklin Zimring says it’s a good first step. But he says the city and police department need to allocate resources and demonstrate commitment to the reforms. “There’s a very big difference between complying with a consent decree and having a Director of Compliance,” Zimring said. “Having a Director of Compliance is a necessary condition, but it isn’t a sufficient condition.”

Endgame for death penalty in California

Franklin Zimring writes for San Francisco Chronicle, December 8, 2012

The election-night headlines didn’t seem cheerful for those dedicated to ending capital punishment in California. Proposition 34, the audacious attempt to use ballot initiatives to abolish the death penalty, was defeated. The narrowness of the final vote (52-48 percent) was some consolation, but this was in part the result of the lack of an energetic campaign by the state’s district attorneys. And isn’t it folk wisdom that close calls only count in horseshoes? Don’t the anti-death-penalty partisans belong in the ballot initiative loser’s bracket for 2012 along with the food labelers and union busters?

A case for targeted killings

John Yoo cited in The Washington Post, December 7, 2012

President Franklin Roosevelt was truly astonished when told by a reporter that Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto, architect of the Pearl Harbor attack, had been shot down by U.S. planes over a Pacific island after Americans decrypted Yamamoto’s flight plans. FDR had encouraged this “targeted killing” — destroying a particular person of military importance — a phrase that has become familiar since Israel began doing this in 2000 in combating the second Palestinian intifada.

The path to legal reform without revolution

Stanley Lubman writes for The Wall Street Journal, December 7, 2012

As China’s new generation of leaders surveys the work ahead of them, one of the most difficult questions they face is how to narrow the wide chasm between rhetoric and reality when it comes to rule of law. Few people have pushed for the narrowing of that gap as persuasively or courageously as He Weifang, an outspoken and well-known legal scholar at the Beijing University Law School who has been urging legal reform for almost 15 years through journals, the media and public lectures.  Now, for the first time, English speakers have the pleasure of being able to access He’s work in a single, carefully translated volume.

Oakland’s agreement on police dept: receivership by any other name?

Barry Krisberg interviewed by KQED December 6, 2012

“Movements like this don’t change the culture of an organization,” said Krisberg. “Success is going to depend on the skill of the person who is appointed by the parties.” …. “Essentially it’s going to depend on how long it takes the Oakland Police Department to accept and internalize the best practices in the field,” said Krisberg. “One person by themselves even with federal court power is not going to get that done.”

SEC warns Hastings of Netflix over Facebook post

Robert Bartlett quoted in International Business Times, December 6, 2012

“Facebook and Twitter… are a quasi-public domain,” said Robert Bartlett, University of California, Berkeley law professor. “There are good arguments to be made on either side about social media and securities law. Social media is exactly in the gray area.”

Oakland city officials say they avoided federal takeover of OPD; agreement spells out different story

Franklin Zimring quoted in San Jose Mercury News, December 6, 2012

Zimring, however, said that close work will depend on the relationship between Jordan and the person hired to work as a compliance director.
“The question is, what is the relationship between this new actor and the current police chief?” Zimring said. “If they get along well and form an alliance, that may strengthen the capacity of the two of them.”