Andrea Roth Says Judge’s DNA Opinion Merits Public Scrutiny

Daily Journal, February 28, 2012 by John Roemer
http://bit.ly/A60s22 (registration required)

“Judge Karlton’s analysis is significant in part because it unearths problematic details about the way the statute actually operates,” Roth said, “such as that the federal regulations have no provision for comparing the arrestee’s DNA profile to future arrestee profiles for identification purposes, that federal officials do in fact retain samples indefinitely, and that the law does not require federal officials ever to destroy the sample, even after dismissal or acquittal.”

Jennifer Granholm Faults GOP Presidential Candidates

POLITICO, February 27, 2012 by Jennifer Granholm
http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=731AE657-FDBF-43A2-8F57-113D75270788

In their zeal to “let Detroit go bankrupt,” what’s left unsaid is the fact that the tea-steeped Republican presidential candidates are bankrupt of new ideas for moving this country forward in an aggressive global economy, bankrupt of compassion for those who are less fortunate and bankrupt of compromise with those who view the issues differently than they do.

Eric Talley Clarifies Insider Trading Law

The International Business Times, February 27, 2012 by Ryan Villarreal
http://bit.ly/A9eeZI

There is no information yet that confirms StratCap had intended to engage in insider trading, though it would be getting privileged access to information gathered by Stratfor without having to inform the company’s shareholders about its investments. Talley said this opens up a legal gray area that is conducive to insider trading, but not directly engaged in the practice.

Richard Rothstein Criticizes Secretary Duncan’s Education Policies

Economic Policy Institute, February 26, 2012 by Richard Rothstein
http://www.epi.org/publication/education-arne-duncan-school-health-clinics/

Secretary Duncan is now issuing waivers to states from their No Child Left Behind requirements. Again, he is conditioning such waivers on in-school reforms only. States can qualify for waivers by promising to tie teacher records to student test scores, by purchasing textbooks with higher standards, by firing teachers and principals at schools with low test scores, but not by promising to facilitate school-based health centers, or for adopting other reforms to improve children’s readiness to learn when they enter school.

Herma Hill Kay, Stephen Sugarman, and Mary Louise Frampton Influence CA Law

San Francisco Chronicle, February 26, 2012 by Mary Louise Frampton
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/02/25/IN331NAFD8.DTL

Our scholarship has led to state and national social reforms. Herma Hill Kay, a former dean and professor, co-authored California’s no-fault divorce law, calling it a “movement whose time had come.”

Professors John Coons and Stephen Sugarman argued successfully for K-12 financial reform based on the Constitution’s “equal protection” clause. Lawmakers “embraced the idea of education equity,” says Sugarman.

Our public education lens today is focused on “restorative justice.” Considered unconventional by some educators, that’s a disciplinary tactic that encourages accountability and relationship building instead of harsh punishment. Results from our first-ever empirical study are dramatic: In one West Oakland middle school, suspensions dropped by 87 percent, and expulsions dropped to zero.

Daniel Farber and Joseph Sax Recount Berkeley Law’s Environmental Legacy

San Francisco Chronicle, February 26, 2012 by Daniel Farber
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/02/25/INNB1N9UKT.DTL

“It traces back to work done at the law school, to community activists and to people in public office,” says Sax. “We need the legal basis to get the job done, and the place where that happens is in the law school.”

In short, the legacy of Colby, Sax and Heyman lives on—not only in Berkeley Law itself, but also in the wetlands, lakes and mountains they fought with such ingenuity to protect.