Franklin Zimring quoted by NBC Bay Area, Oct. 27, 2017 “The threat that the police officer faces (when a suspect has an edged weapon) is not a threat to the police officer’s life,” said Zimring. … “The number of cases we found…of somebody with a visible weapon charging at a police officer actually killing the […]
Erwin Chemerinsky: What students don’t understand about free speech
Erwin Chemerinsky interviewed by Truthdig, Oct. 27, 2017 “It’s based on a faith that we’re all going to be better off when there’s more ideas expressed, than having the government pick and choose which ideas are acceptable and which are unacceptable. Maybe that faith is misplaced, but the alternative, to me, is much more frightening.”
How Harvey Weinstein is altering the landscape of workplace sexual harassment
Lauren Edelman quoted by Chicago Tribune, Oct. 27, 2017 For anti-harassment policies to be most effective, companies need to focus on helping end harassment rather than merely protecting a business from being sued, Edelman said. “Because just saying you have a zero-tolerance policy alone is symbolic,” Edelman said. “You have to back it up or […]
5 questions for Congress on tax reform
Alan Auerbach writes for Bloomberg, Oct. 27, 2017 The U.S. business tax system sorely needs reform, particularly in the way it deals with multinational corporations. But we must pay close attention to what Congress and the Trump administration propose. Change in the guise of reform has the capacity to make things worse, and the secretive, […]
University of California to open free speech center in Washington DC
Erwin Chemerinsky quoted by San Francisco Chronicle, Oct. 26, 2017 “We need to research, educate, listen to and understand each other,” Chemerinsky said in a statement. “It is hard to imagine social progress that wasn’t dependent on freedom of speech.”
Why laws against prostitution are unconstitutional
Erwin Chemerinsky writes for The Sacramento Bee, Oct. 26, 2017 The 9th Circuit and Supreme Court have the chance to establish a basic principle of constitutional law: the liberty protected by the Constitution protects a right of consenting adults to engage in private sexual activity, including when they are paying for it or getting paid.
DC Circuit ruling fuels class action against HHS abortion policy for immigrant minors
Erwin Chemerinsky quoted by National Law Journal, Oct. 26, 2017 “I think those in the majority will treat it that way,” Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California Berkeley School of Law, said. “The government may not give up, but I think the D.C. Circuit will adhere to this position unless the Supreme Court […]
The Big Idea: Hate speech is protected free speech, even on college campuses
Erwin Chemerinsky writes for Vox, Oct. 25, 2017 Although the First Amendment applies only to the government, including public universities, private universities should follow these same principles. They are essential to academic freedom, which is at the very core of a university’s mission.
Greenpeace beats back a SLAPP lawsuit–for now
Jim Wheaton quoted by The Nation, Oct. 25, 2017 “What you have to remember about a SLAPP suit,” said Wheaton, “is that it’s not about winning. It’s about dragging the case out as long as possible and draining as much time and resources from your opponent as you can.”
Public universities can’t legally stop Richard Spencer from speaking
Erwin Chemerinsky quoted by UsRealinfo, Oct. 25, 2017 “Public universities cannot exclude a speaker based on their viewpoint, even a very offensive viewpoint. The law is clear,” said Erwin Chemerinsky, the dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law and an expert in First Amendment law.