John Yoo Warns of Supreme Court’s Expanding Power

The Philadelphia Inquirer, August 10, by John Yoo
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/currents/26482104.html

Slowly but surely, the justices have expanded their power to make many of our society’s fundamental political and moral decisions…. This is not to deny that there are moments that we need the courts to defend individual liberties against unconstitutional actions by the government. But those moments may not be as ever-present as the federal courts today may think, and the price is not just that the courts may get it wrong, but that the expansion of their powers will sap our energies of republican self-government.

Osha Neumann’s Legal Defense Sparks Repeal of Berkeley Loitering Law

The Oakland Tribune, August 9
http://www.insidebayarea.com/search/ci_10153163?IADID=Search-www.insidebayarea.com-www.insidebayarea.com

Neumann, who provides legal defense for people who are homeless, said the law is a prime example of one that remained on the “statute books long after (its) shelf life.” “This one just didn’t make any sense at all. What the heck are parks for, if not for loitering? It’s only poor people who loiter. The rich never loiter. They just engage in leisure time activities.”

Elisabeth Semel Affirms Importance of Lenix Decision on Jury Selection

Los Angeles Daily Journal, August 5, by Elisabeth Semel
www.dailyjournal.com [registration required]

From the perspective of citizens who continue to be excluded from jury service based on their race, it is well past midnight. Like Wheeler, the Lenix decision is another one of those “affirmative steps to ensure that race plays no part in jury selection.” The question remains whether California courts are watching the clock.

Nancy Lemon Explains Legal Option If Domestic-Abuse Victim Changes Story

Eureka Times Standard, August 3, by Thadeus Greenson
http://www.times-standard.com/ci_10084749?IADID=Search-www.times-standard.com-www.times-standard.com

Nancy Lemon said financial dependence, wanting to keep a family together, immigration issues, family and religious pressures and a fear of retaliation can all play a role…. Faced with an alleged victim whose story has changed, Lemon said there are a variety of things prosecutors can do to proceed with the case…. “One of them is actually to call an expert witness. They would explain to the jury what the pressures are on victims not to go forward.”

Linda Tam Says Repeal of HIV-Travel Ban Good for Immigrant Rosendo Sanchez

Contra Costa Times, August 2, by Matt O’Brien
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_10073406

Because of the HIV ban, Rosendo Sanchez’s siblings do not count as qualifying sponsors who could get him out of the family immigration backlog. The repeal, said Linda Tam, “would make it so that the only thing he is doing is waiting for that backlog. It basically puts him on equal footing as anyone else. Before, it was a barrier.”

Susan Gluss Calls on Critics to Recognize Berkeley Law’s Important Work

The Angie Coiro Show, KKGN Radio, August 1, hosted by Angie Coiro
http://green960.com/cc-common/podcast/single_podcast.html?podcast=greenshow.xml

This is a conversation about freedom, national security, privacy and presidential power, which is very important … [But] there’s great work at the law school that’s being overshadowed. We have a death penalty clinic that’s working to free prisoners that are wrongly imprisoned for life without parole. We have an international human rights clinic that’s about to release a study of abuses at Guantanamo Bay. And our East Bay Community Law Center helps desperate people who are trying to keep their homes and their jobs. I hope that people take a broader look at what the law school is trying to do to solve some of these important social issues of the day.

Franklin Zimring Finds Bright Spot in San Jose Police Report on Use of Force

San Jose Mercury News, August 1, 2008, by Sean Webby
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_10065181?IADID=Search-www.mercurynews.com-www.mercurynews.com

A leading expert … agreed the report is difficult to interpret as anything but a limited snapshot of last year. “This is the police department making its own best case and it is self-serving and one-sided, as one would expect,” said Franklin Zimring. “This is thin soup.” But he also said he was astounded that there had not been a single use of deadly force used last year…. “That ain’t chopped liver.”

Roxanna Altholz to Defend Victims of Colombian Paramilitaries

Inside Costa Rica, July 26, by Helda Martinezhttp://insidecostarica.com/special_reports/2008-07/colombia_us_lawyers.htmTwo human rights lawyers from the United States announced in the Colombian capital that they will defend the victims of paramilitary chiefs who were recently extradited to the United States. “Analyzing U.S. legislation, we want to outline a strategy that would allow us to take legal steps to enable the victims to participate in the prosecutions against the extradited paramilitary chiefs,” said Colombia-born Altholz…. “We cannot expect immediate results, but we are completely dedicated to this.”