Siemens plant in Charlotte offers lessons as Obama, Romney talk job creation

Alan Auerbach quoted in The Washington Post, September 4, 2012

Auerbach, who has studied the economic effects of tax cuts, said lower taxes on savings and investment do cause people to plow more money into new investments, which “should lead to faster economic growth.” But “how much, how fast” is harder to say, Auerbach said. And that approach is, in any case, less likely to be effective in a sluggish economy, he said, when businesses are holding back on new investments not because they do not have the cash, but because they are “looking first at whether they can sell stuff.”

Flower brick on your face

Sheri Showalter quoted in Daily Post, September 2, 2012

All praise for technology, Sheri Showalter (vocals and percussion) says, “The Internet is playing a phenomenal role in providing a platform for the talents to showcase themselves.” The band seemed exuberant about being in Chandigarh. “We are already in love with the city,” says Sheri.

San Jose seeks answers amid violence

Franklin Zimring quoted in San Francisco Chronicle, September 2, 2012

Franklin Zimring, a criminologist and law professor at UC Berkeley, said that while San Jose’s recent troubles had rightly upset the community, the surge in crime should be kept in perspective. “This is a crime wave – for them,” Zimring said. “Their numbers, given that they are a city of nearly 1 million, are what you’d find in London or Toronto. … Oakland would love to have San Jose’s problems.”

Court victory boosts prospects for residential clean energy PACE programs

Ethan Elkind re-quoted in Forbes, August 24, 2012

PACE watcher Ethan Elkind, who holds a joint appointment at the UCLA and UC Berkeley law schools, called the ruling a “decisive win” for the plaintiffs, which includes the California Attorney General’s Office. “With this decision,” Elkind wrote at the Legal Planet blog, “the FHFA PACE policy is officially toast until the agency can develop a final rule pending the outcome of an ongoing rulemaking process “

Jesse Choper on the judgment upholding the Affordable Care Act

Jesse Choper interviewed by myLaw.net, August 31, 2012

“It was extremely controversial, extremely close in both Houses of Congress and very much criticized by the very conservative wing of the Republican Party. There were immediately lawsuits filed to say it was unconstitutional and it reached the Supreme Court pretty quickly for a decision.” The most controversial and publicly discussed issue, he said, was the “individual mandate,” which provided that anyone who did not buy health insurance would have to buy health insurance.

Santa Clara County judge allows county to keep sales tax measure on ballot

David Gamage quoted in San Jose Mercury News, August 31, 2012

“The court said the ruling doesn’t matter whether supervisors are actually going to be on the ballot this election cycle (in November) as long as it’s the type of election where supervisors would be on the ballot,” said David Gamage, an assistant professor at the UC Berkeley School of Law, where he specializes in tax law, including state and local taxes. Gamage said the judge didn’t think the language in the provision was ambiguous, but even if it was, the intention behind Proposition 218 was to make sure that local governments don’t schedule “some off-cycle election where very few people would vote.”

Lyin’ Ryan

Jennifer Granholm writes for POLITICO, August 30, 2012

On Aug. 16, campaigning as the VP pick of the party that would have let GM be liquidated, Ryan told a crowd, “one of the reasons that plant got shut down was $4 gasoline. You see, this costs jobs. The president’s terrible energy policies are costing us jobs.” That was a lie. Ryan knows this. Obama’s energy policies had nothing to do with the price of gas in 2008.

UC Berkeley offers moot court for California lawyers

David Carrillo quoted in Daily Journal, August 29, 2012 (subscription required)

“It seems to me there is an untapped need,” Carrillo said, noting the center is the first of its kind. “It will be really useful to the legal community to have an ongoing effort to study the California Constitution,” Carrillo said, “so that when the big issues do happen there is an existing body of research for people to draw on, both [for] practitioners and the courts.”

NY Times leads group defense in mobile patent suit

Jason Schultz quoted in USA Today (Associated Press) August 28, 2012

As for so-called patent trolls, “you really have to wonder what contribution they are making to our economy or our society, or if it’s just a drain,” said Jason Schultz…. And Berkeley’s Schultz says it should be easier for defendants to force the patent office to re-examine its past decisions on issuing patents, and easier for patents to be struck down in court.
This story also appeared in numerous national outlets.

Consumers likely to feel impact of Apple defeat of Samsung

Robert Merges quoted in USA Today, August 27, 2012

“The smart money is going to say this is the end of Act One, we’ve teed it up for the federal circuit, and we’ll see what’s on for Act Two,” says Robert Merges of Boalt Law School at the University of California, Berkeley…. “The bottom line is (that Apple has) shown the world that they are going to use these patents, and you better keep a wide berth, or get out of the mobile market.”