Elisabeth Semel Notes Strict ABA Guidelines in Death Penalty Cases

The Times-Standard, May 10, 2011 by Thadeus Greenson
http://www.times-standard.com/ci_18031358?source=most_viewed

“It’s the mantra, ‘death is different,'” Semel said. “There are a host of differences when someone is facing the death penalty in terms of legal responsibilities…. You need people experienced in looking for any facts that might appeal to an individual juror as a reason not to impose the death penalty,” Semel said. “That’s where all of these rather enormous and daunting responsibilities come in.”

Aarti Kohli Criticizes ‘Secure Communities’ Immigration Program

San Francisco Bay Guardian, May 10, 2011 by Sarah Phelan
http://www.sfbg.com/politics/2011/05/10/legal-scholars-weigh-secure-communities

Kohli observed that given the economic crisis, cooperating with the feds’ controversial “Secure Communities” program also becomes a question of priorities…. noting that state and local governments facing restraints in terms of jail space and resources. “So, does it make us safer to lock up low-level offenders, people who we would otherwise never dream of locking up, particularly in the face of constraints at the state and local levels?”

Pamela Samuelson Adds to Google Books Debate

The Wire Report, May 6, 2011 by Howard Knopf
http://bit.ly/k6QjUR

For that tiny investment by Google standards, the company would have acquired a remarkable and likely insurmountable lead in the digitization and control of a database of all the world’s useful knowledge in book form, and a virtual monopoly on dealings with orphan works. It would have been relieved of potential liability that Pam Samuelson estimates to be in the trillions of dollars, based upon the statutory minimum damages.

Christopher Edley Vouches for UC Online Pilot Project

Daily Bruin, May 5, 2011 by Molly Montgomery
http://bit.ly/jf8PtE

For UC students, there will be no extra cost for taking online classes. They will pay the same amount of tuition as they would for in-person classes, Edley said. “These are designed to be the same quality as courses offered for UC students,” Edley said. “They will be taught by UC faculty and graduate students.”

Barry Krisberg Faults Plan to Shift Juvenile Offenders to Counties

San Francisco Chronicle, May 4, 2011 by Matthai Kuruvila
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/05/04/MNV01J5LFP.DTL

Critics of Brown’s plan to shift juvenile offenders say many details have yet to be answered…. “There is no real plan,” said Barry Krisberg, director of UC Berkeley’s Earl Warren Institute, which examines a variety of public policy issues, including juvenile justice. “All this has been done by wishful thinking and ideology.”

Mary Louise Frampton Comments on Gang Injunctions

San Francisco Bay View, May 4, 2011 by Gabrielle Wilson
http://sfbayview.com/2011/gang-injunctions-unfettered-police-power-gentrify-oakland/

Mary Louise Frampton, faculty director of the Thelton Henderson Center for Social Justice at UC Berkeley School of Law, who sponsored a community forum on restorative justice…. says, “Too much of our state economy feeds off the incarceration of youth. Those who work in that capacity should be retrained.”

Alan Auerbach Explains Problems with U.S. Corporate Tax Law

Fox Business, The Willis Report, May 4, 2011 Host Gerri Willis
http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/4677710

“We’re definitely losing some money through what’s called transfer pricing, where corporations operating in the United States, as well as other countries, find ways—legal ways typically—of locating their profits in countries that have lower tax rates. It’s a problem that the United States faces. It’s faced by other leading economies that have relatively high tax rates, as well, although our tax rate is among the highest, and that means our problem is more severe.”

Ann O’Leary Reveals GOP Maneuver to Block Funds for Rape Victims

Mother Jones, May 3, 2011 by Nick Baumann
http://bit.ly/mQQqBI

“Unfortunately, it is sometimes the practice on Capitol Hill for Members of Congress and their staffs to use [committee] reports … to try to manipulate the meaning of the language passed by Congress,” says Ann O’Leary…. “It is clear here that the committee report tries to narrow the meaning of rape.”