Largest assisted living chain in U.S. sued for poor care of elderly

Stephen Rosenbaum quoted by California Healthline, Sept. 7, 2017

Because the goal is to win the case, good lawyers often file a number of claims, said Stephen Rosenbaum. … “Whether the ADA is the strongest claim is unclear from a strategic standpoint,” he said. … Rosenbaum said case law has not established exactly how the federal disability law applies to assisted living facilities. It is “ironic” that the attorneys in this case are using the disability law to sue Brookdale, given that the company by definition serves people with some kind of disability, he said.

California still lets debt collectors empty the bank accounts of poor people. Why?

Erwin Chemerinsky writes for The Sacramento Bee, Sept. 6, 2017

Under current law, the creditor can take all of the money in the bank account. Unlike with wages, there is no requirement that any funds be left to pay for life’s basic necessities. When their bank accounts are completely emptied, individuals often lose the savings that they need to pay for rent or groceries or prescription drugs.

We asked constitutional scholars if DACA is legal. They’re split.

Erwin Chemerinsky quoted by Mic, Sept. 6, 2017

“DACA does not change someone’s immigration status.” DACA, he said, is simply a direction from the president to not pursue deportation. “It is not creating a legal right to remain in violation of the law,” he added.

How states will hit 100 percent clean energy

Ethan Elkind quoted by ClimateWire, Sept. 5, 2017

“They are still both basically aspirational,” Elkind said of the states’ goals. … “We know the technologies are there, but there’s huge question marks around the cost of transitioning to solely 100 percent renewables.”

A free-speech to-do list for college administrators

Erwin Chemerinsky co-writes for The Wall Street Journal, Sept. 4, 2017

As students return to school, administrators will again face the challenge of protecting freedom of speech while ensuring safety for their students, staff and faculty. We offer this checklist to help them prepare for the difficult issues that are sure to arise.

Fewer prison inmates signing up to fight California’s wildfires

Jonathan Simon quoted by San Francisco Chronicle, Sept. 2, 2017

“It’s predictable that, as you have fewer and fewer people going to state prison for low-level crimes, you’ll have fewer prisoners able to volunteer for the firefighting program.”

State high court rules in favor of scanner information disclosure

Catherine Crump quoted by Daily Journal (registration required), Sept. 1, 2017

License plate readers are the most common examples of a mass surveillance technology, but they aren’t the only ones, said Catherine Crump. … “This trend isn’t going away, and the question of public right to access mass surveillance data is one that isn’t going away,” she said.

Erwin Chemerinsky: Trump’s terrible pardon of Sheriff Joe Arpaio

Erwin Chemerinsky interviewed by The Nation, Sept. 1, 2017

When the president issues a pardon for criminal contempt of court, he’s interfering with the ability of another branch of government, the judiciary, to perform its constitutional duties. A basic principle of constitutional law on separation of powers … is that one branch of government cannot interfere with the ability of another branch to perform its constitutional responsibilities.

California’s death penalty speed-up is about to be undercut on a case-by-case basis. Here’s why.

Erwin Chemerinsky writes for The Sacramento Bee, Aug. 30, 2017

The California Supreme Court’s decision upholding Proposition 66, the initiative to speed up the imposition of the death penalty, fails two basic requirements of good judicial rulings: It ignores the language of the law and it ignores reality.

Trump pushes tax cuts, hopes he isn’t ‘disappointed’ by Congress

Alan Auerbach quoted by The Washington Post, Aug. 30, 2017

Alan Auerbach … said some of the ideas Trump floated during the speech could boost economic growth and potentially grow wages, but it would depend on how the tax changes were designed and structured. He also said it would depend greatly on whether the tax plan would add to the government debt. Trump didn’t mention his plan’s impact on the debt or the deficit during the speech. “It’s hard to have a consensus about a policy about which you know very little,” Auerbach said.