Ethan Elkind quoted by San Francisco Magazine, April 17, 2018
Elkind poses the challenge to the Sierra Club as though it’s a parable: “What do you do when building something produces an environmental good?”
Scooter Libby doesn’t deserve a pardon, and neither will anyone who lies for Trump
Erwin Chemerinsky writes for The Sacramento Bee, April 15, 2018
Trump had the constitutional power to pardon Libby. A president may pardon anyone accused or convicted of a federal crime. But there is a perverse irony in Trump blasting James Comey as a “leaker” and then on same day pardoning someone who engaged in exactly that behavior and then lied about it.
Trump would break the law bombing Bashar Assad, some scholars say
John Yoo quoted by Washington Examiner, April 12, 2018
“I think that statutory authorization comes from the [authorization for use of military force] passed after 9/11, which allows the use of force with regard to any group connected to the 9/11 attacks, which includes ISIS (which is an offshoot of al Qaida). Because ISIS is operating in Syria, the U.S. can use force in Syria,” Yoo said in an email.
Guilty or not guilty? That is the question as UCI law school deans face off in a mock trial of Hamlet
Erwin Chemerinsky quoted by Los Angeles Times, April 12, 2018
Chemerinsky urged the jury to focus only on the “relevant” facts. He argued that “vigilantes” can’t take it on themselves to uphold the law as they see fit, even if they’re the prince of Denmark.
Trump fumes after personal attorney Michael Cohen is raided by FBI
Erwin Chemerinsky interview cited by Legal Reader, April 12, 2018
Chemerinsky opined that Cohen’s possible payment of “hush money” may be more pertinent to his role in Trump’s presidential campaign than his client-attorney relationship with the president.
Mark Zuckerberg survived Congress. Now Facebook has to survive the FTC
Christopher Hoofnagle quoted by TIME, April 12, 2018
“The best the FTC can do is ‘fence in’ Facebook’s behavior to curb how misleading and surprising the company’s information sharing is,” explains Berkeley Law Professor Chris Hoofnagle. … “Facebook will survive any assault by the FTC,” he writes in an email, “because there is no substitute for consumers to go to.”
Clash for control of consumer financial protection bureau heads to court
Anne Joseph O’Connell quoted by National Public Radio, April 12, 2018
“One of the things to look at is whether the more specific statute — the Dodd-Frank statute — gives enough indication expressly that the vacancies act does not apply,” … Anne Joseph O’Connell said.
Facebook should be a nonprofit
Ann Ravel quoted by Bloomberg, April 11, 2018
Ann Ravel … said a company like Facebook could convert to nonprofit status by buying out shareholders and complying with the IRS requirements for 501(c)(3) organizations.
Amid scandals, Pruitt puts the brakes on auto regulation
Ethan Elkind interviewed by The Real News Network, April 11, 2018
“By trying to roll the standards back at the federal level definitely I think will hurt our long term competitiveness. And there’s no question that in terms of our climate change goals, transportation is the single biggest emitter in the United States. … So it’s a big setback in terms of our competitiveness here and also in terms of tackling climate change.”
As Trump vents anger over Russia probe, some senators propose protecting Mueller from getting fired
John Yoo quoted by Los Angeles Times, April 11, 2018
Yoo said Trump could argue that the Justice Department regulation “cannot constrain his constitutional authority — long recognized by Congress and the Supreme Court — to remove the attorney general and other subordinate appointees within the Justice Department.”