Goodwin Liu Questions Brown’s Reversal on Prop 8

Los Angeles Times, Dec. 20, 2008 by Maura Dolan and Jessica Garrison
http://articles.latimes.com/2008/12/20/news/me-gay-marriage20

Goodwin Liu, associate dean and professor of law … said it was “extraordinary for the chief law enforcement officer of the state to decline to enforce a law—even on the grounds that it is unconstitutional…. The chief law enforcement officer of the state is charged with enforcing laws, even laws with which he disagrees,” Liu said. “Whether or not it will carry the day,” he added, “I have no idea.”

Jesse Choper Analyzes Brown’s Decision to Scrap Prop 8

-Associated Press, Dec. 19, 2008 by Lisa Leff
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/ci_11275324

“It is not an easy argument, but that doesn’t mean it’s not going to win,” Choper said.

-Reuters, Dec. 19, 2008 by Peter Henderson
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE4BJ0CH20081220

“They’ve just amended the constitution, and the logic would be if this is what the constitution means, then it can’t be unconstitutional,” he said. He added that if Brown showed previous court interpretations to back his case, it could win. “Constitutional interpretation is not all logic, that’s for sure,” he said.

-Los Angeles Times, Dec. 24, 2008 by Victoria Kim and Jack Leonard
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/crime/la-me-brown24-2008dec24,0,5751108.story

“Strategically, I think it’s a clever move,” said Jesse H. Choper, a professor of law at UC Berkeley. “It gives the California Supreme Court another way to invalidate Prop. 8.”

Elisabeth Semel Says Death Penalty Work Goes on Despite Funder’s Madoff Link

San Francisco Chronicle, Dec. 17, 2008 by Andrew S. Ross
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/12/17/BUK514P25N.DTL&type=printable

Elisabeth Semel, director of the Death Penalty Clinic … would not comment on the disposition of $796,000 worth of current grants dispensed by the JEHT (short for Justice, Equality, Human dignity and Tolerance) Foundation, except to say, without elaboration: “We will be able to continue our work in the lethal injection area, in which we were funded at the present time.”

Mary Ann Mason Asks Obama to Heed Concerns of Young Women

Chronicle of Higher Education, Dec. 17, 2008 by Mary Ann Mason
http://chronicle.com/jobs/news/2008/12/2008121701c.htm

They worry that they will not be able to handle both their chosen profession and their family responsibilities. They know that child care is impossibly expensive and notoriously unreliable. They understand that employers offer some family leave when children are born, or when family members are sick, but it may be unpaid.

Jesse Choper Doubts Off-track Sites Can Rescue Horse Racing

San Francisco Chronicle, Dec. 15, 2008 by Charles Burress
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/12/15/MNU614N4HB.DTL&type=printable

UC Berkeley law school Professor Jesse Choper, a longtime racing fan who sits on the seven-member racing board, also was not optimistic about the income potential of the new off-track sites. “My guess is it (the new off-track sites) will pick it up a little bit. That’s not going to save the industry.”

Jacob Hacker Believes Economic Recovery Depends on Healthcare Reform

The New York Times, Dec. 13, 2008 by Kevin Sack
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/14/weekinreview/14sack.html?pagewanted=print

“Most Americans are troubled by the lack of universal insurance, but what really frightens them is the prospect that their own insurance won’t protect their health or family finances,” said Jacob S. Hacker … an authority on health care. “That’s a fear that more and more Americans are facing as health costs skyrocket and job security plummets.”