Joanna Lydgate Criticizes Federal Immigration Program

The Christian Science Monitor, March 30, 2010 by Sara Miller Llana
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2010/0330/At-the-Mexico-border-a-harder-line-on-illegal-immigrants

“The program is diverting resources away from prosecuting more serious crimes along the border,” says Joanna Lydgate, a civil rights fellow with the Warren Institute at Berkeley School of Law, which released a critical report of Operation Streamline – the umbrella name given to various programs begun along the border—in January.

David Sklansky Values Civilian Oversight of Police

Contra Costa Times, March 26, 2010 by Roman Gokhman
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_14766030?source=most_emailed&nclick_check=1

Civilian oversight serves a bigger purpose than officer discipline — a job that statistics show has been done better by internal police investigations, said David A. Sklansky, a professor at UC Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law. “It can increase community trust by convincing people … that someone will be watching and (complaints) will be taken seriously,” Sklansky said. “It can also give police another perspective … in terms of policy recommendations.”

Christopher Edley Discusses UC Budget Priorities and Racial Climate

-San Jose Mercury News, March 24, 2010 by Lisa M. Krieger
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_14741635?source=rss

“Budget discipline is a very difficult thing. Particularly in a crisis like this, there needs to be sufficient top-down leadership to get the job done. Nobody is going to volunteer to make the kinds of changes that are required,” said Edley. “We need to identify a couple of changes that are likely to prove very desirable, and focus on them.”

-Los Angeles Times, March 24, 2010 by Larry Gordon
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-uc-future24-2010mar24,0,4457597.story

One plan discussed Tuesday said UC should develop 40 basic online courses in a pilot program to help students graduate on time and cut costs. “I think the question is whether we are leaders or followers,” said commission member Christopher Edley Jr., dean of UC Berkeley’s Boalt Hall law school and a strong advocate of Internet education.

-The Daily Bruin, March 24, 2010 by Julienne Lauler, Kelly Zhou
http://www.dailybruin.com/articles/2010/3/24/hate-crimes-spark-regents-dialogue-campus-climate-/

According to Christopher Edley, dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law and adviser to Yudof, there is hope for a bright future for the UC system if the proposed initiatives are implemented with transparency and accountability. “There’s a history of decades of failure to implement programs, so this is a challenge not only of thinking of things to do, but it is important also to get the implementation right,” Edley said.

-UC San Diego News Center, March 24, 2010 by Judy Piercey
http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/newsrel/general/03-24CampusClimate.asp
“This (addressing racism) is not rocket science.  This is harder than rocket science,” said Edley at today’s UC Board of Regents meeting.  “UC San Diego has pulled together a dizzying and quite effective list of initiatives.  They have done a great job and I give them a solid ‘A’.”

Chris Kutz and Christopher Edley Fault UC Inaction on Budget Crisis

The Chronicle of Higher Education, March 23, 2010 by Josh Keller
http://bit.ly/9CGGb9 (requires registration; go to G:\Law School in the News\News Clips for article)

“There’s a political problem,” said Christopher L. Kutz, chair of the Berkeley campus’s Academic Senate. “In order to have credibility with the voters, we need to show that we’re thinking seriously, that we know it’s a problem.”

“We need some serious dental implants for this if we’re going to make any progress,” Mr. Edley said. “I don’t know any significant organization that defines or achieves budgetary priorities from the bottom up, so that poses a challenge for a university that very much believes that academics have to be focused on and delivered from the bottom up. We’re not there yet.”

Stanley Lubman Examines Challenges Facing Chinese Environmental and Criminal Courts

-The Wall Street Journal, China Real Time Report, March 22, 2010 by Stanley Lubman
http://bit.ly/bC6P2c

In the face of ongoing serious damage to China’s environment caused by 30 years of historic economic development and weak enforcement of China’s environmental protection laws, environmental litigation is growing and a small number of experimental environmental courts have been established.

-The Wall Street Journal, China Real Time Report, March 26, 2010 by Stanley Lubman
http://bit.ly/9nsMtq

While the facts of the alleged conduct of four employees of the British-Australian company Rio Tinto Ltd. who were on trial this week for taking bribes and infringing trade secrets are obscure, the trial starkly exhibits some key characteristics of Chinese criminal justice. It demonstrates the usual limits on the ability of defense lawyers to fully represent their clients, a disturbing lack of transparency, and the impact of political influences on the proceedings and the outcome.