Ian Haney López writes for The Nation, Aug. 26, 2017
In pardoning an official who spat upon the 14th Amendment right to racial equality and who treated the federal courts contemptuously, Trump abused his presidential powers. He enabled a racist to trash our country’s core values and subvert the rule of law and face no consequences for these actions.
Jen Moreno quoted by The Christian Post, Aug. 26, 2017
“It is concerning that the Florida courts are allowing this execution to go forward without requiring the Department of Corrections to produce key information about the safety and efficacy of state’s new lethal injection protocol and drugs — information that was provided after previous protocol changes,” Moreno explained.
Elisabeth Semel quoted by Daily Journal (registration required), Aug. 25, 2017
If one views the five-year deadline as the heart of the initiative, said Elisabeth Semel … the decision can be seen as a victory for opponents of Proposition 66. “At the end of the day, this is what voters were told was the most important outcome the initiative would achieve. Although the court did not strike the provision down, the court rendered them utterly ineffectual.”
Erwin Chemerinsky interviewed by San Francisco Chronicle, Aug. 25, 2017
Congress or state legislatures could, for example, pass laws making it easier for state officials to be held liable for monetary damages if they have illegally denied someone their right to vote. Right now these officials likely have qualified immunity from such suits, according to Erwin Chemerinsky.
Britton Schwartz quoted by The Daily Californian, Aug. 25, 2017
In practice, Schwartz said, there is no singular solution for all cases of water inaccessibility, making a uniform discount difficult. According to Schwartz and her colleagues, the proposal must do more than reduce the price — it should vary depending on a household’s circumstances.
Franklin Zimring quoted by The Associated Press , Aug. 24, 2017
“What happened here is that the Supreme Court of California has kicked the can down the road,” said Franklin Zimring, an expert in capital punishment…
Erwin Chemerinsky interviewed by KQED-FM, Aug. 24, 2017
“Campuses thankfully are much more diverse and inclusive than they used to be. And I think the students want to make sure that historically excluded minorities are made to feel included and welcome. Often the unpleasant speech, the offensive speech, is directed at those minorities. I think the desire to protect them especially is driving some of the goals of restricting speech.”
Jen Moreno quoted by The Associated Press, Aug. 23, 2017
While the state’s high court has approved the use of etomidate, some experts have criticized the drug as being unproven. “It’s never been used in an execution before,” said Jen Moreno. … “There are outstanding questions about whether it’s going to do what it needs to do during an execution. The state hasn’t provided any information about why it has selected this drug.”
Erwin Chemerinsky writes for The Sacramento Bee, Aug. 23, 2017
Most counties in California still impose these costs despite overwhelming evidence that they serve little purpose and impose great harm, disproportionately on African-American and Latino families.
Ethan Elkind quoted by Capital & Main, Aug. 23, 2017
While many construction jobs are not permanent, those jobs and their ripple activity “helped the Inland Empire recover from the Great Recession faster,” said Ethan Elkind. … “Construction employment is where California’s climate policies have been an economic game changer.”