Alan Auerbach Raises Concerns Over Federal Debt

-Investor’s Business Daily, August 19, 2010 by Jed Graham
http://bit.ly/b0cEsY

“It would be dangerous to the economy” to let all of the tax cuts expire, said University of California, Berkeley, economist Alan Auerbach.

-Bloomberg Businessweek, August 23, 2010 by Chris Farrell
http://www.businessweek.com/print/investor/content/aug2010/pi20100823_918366.htm

Economists Alan Auerbach of the University of California at Berkeley and William Gale of the Brookings Institution calculate that if the economy reaches full employment in 2014 and stays there for the rest of the decade, staying the course with current fiscal policies would lead to a national debt in the range of 90 percent of gross domestic product by 2020.

Charles Weisselberg Says Defendants Rarely Succeed in Self-Representation

Contra Costa Times, August 18, 2010 by Malaika Fraley
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_15818782?source=most_viewed

If they are in custody, they have limited access to legal research and time to investigate or interview witnesses. They are more likely to miss opportunities that would mitigate the seriousness of a case, and less likely to evaluate evidence as well as a lawyer…. “It’s not unheard for individuals to do a good job representing himself or herself, but it is rare,” Weisselberg said.

Christopher Edley Believes MLK Jr. Embraced Race-Conscious Affirmative Action

The Chronicle of Higher Education, Innovations Blog, August 17, 2010 by Richard Kahlenberg
http://chronicle.com/blogPost/Beck-vs-Sharpton-on-MLK/26275/

Edley argues that as a matter of historical record, “King spoke approvingly of race-conscious affirmative action,” and cites a passage from King’s 1964 book, Why We Can’t Wait, in which King says: “It is impossible to create a formula for the future which does not take into account that our society has been doing something special against the Negro for hundreds of years.”

Joan Hollinger and Jesse Choper Discuss Prop. 8 ‘Standing’ Issue

-Reuters, August 16, 2010 by Peter Henderson
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN169040420100817

“It is obvious that they think there is a genuine issue of whether Prop 8 backers have the legal right to appeal,” said Jesse Choper, a Constitutional law professor at Berkeley.

“They punt,” said University of California, Berkeley, family law professor Joan Hollinger, who said the ruling was practical since it left in place the status quo but sped up the appeal.

-The Christian Science Monitor, August 17, 2010 by Daniel B. Wood
http://bit.ly/bEcRlN

“The practical effect of imposing the stay until at least December is to give the 9th Circuit an opportunity to review more carefully whether the proponents have standing to bring an appeal,” adds UC Berkeley School of Law professor Joan Hollinger.

-Reuters, August 17, 2010 by Peter Henderson and Dan Levine
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE67G4Y820100817

Jesse Choper, a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley, said the appeals court seemed to see standing as a “genuine issue.” Legal analysts are uncertain how the court might rule.

Susan Gluss Clarifies Law School Policy

KTVU-TV, August 16, 2010 by Jana Katsuyama
http://www.ktvu.com/video/24653881/index.html

“[Dean Edley] supports protestors who want to raise the issues. What he doesn’t support is disruption of classes or intimidation of students.”

“The Dean has made it very clear that unless an outside body like the Department of Justice has found wrongdoing by Professor Yoo and his colleagues at the Office of Legal Counsel, than he has the right to teach here.”

Christopher Edley Resists Faculty Sanctions Without Due Process

The Oakland Tribune, August 16, 2010 by Sean Maher
http://www.insidebayarea.com/news/ci_15794112

“Any effort to discipline a faculty member for their outside activities creates dangers that ideological or political agendas may be advanced under the vague banner of ‘morality,'” Edley said. “I hope these new developments will end the arguments about faculty sanctions, but we should and will continue to argue about what is right or wrong, legal or illegal in combating terrorism.”

Stanley Lubman Notes Tension Between Citizens and Police in China

The Wall Street Journal, China Real Time Report, August 16, 2010 by Stanley Lubman
http://bit.ly/aR0Q5U

The beatings of petitioners or protesters—or even anyone like the official’s wife who was mistaken for a petitioner—only illustrates the conflicting goals of maintaining stability and citizen’s rights. Underlying that conflict, however, is the more basic ongoing tension between maintaining authoritarian rule and fostering economic development.

Jonathan Simon Reviews “Public Criminology”

Governing through Crime, August 15, 2010 by Jonathan Simon
http://governingthroughcrime.blogspot.com/2010/08/public-criminology-cool-read-on-hot.html

Loader and Sparks respond to the scientific ambitions of many criminologists in a way that is respectful, illuminating, and in the end, devastating to the pretensions of this ambition. Drawing on the growing field of “science studies,” they make the point that the natural sciences are hardly a model for how science can lead rather than be dominated by politics. Indeed, the very field from which they draw their “hot climate” metaphor is a perfect example of how deeply politicized the natural sciences are.