Mark Gergen quoted by The Daily Californian, Dec. 1, 2016
Mark Gergen … said although the board’s administrative findings are not conclusive or binding, they suggest that the board will be able to establish liability in court.
How courts could force cops to get serious about using body cameras
Catherine Crump quoted by The Huffington Post, Nov. 30, 2016
“Courts have a special interest in ensuring that there’s footage available, because they’re the ones responsible for making sure juries reach accurate decisions. … “If they start imposing those types of consequences, police departments will take more seriously the risk that if you don’t turn these things on, then you’re not going to be able to achieve your law enforcement objective.”
The intersection of Chinese law and politics
Rachel Stern interviewed by China File: Sinica podcast, Nov. 30, 2016
Rachel talks … about her recent research, the Chinese bar exam and its politicization, the ways in which environmental litigation works (or doesn’t), and the anxious uncertainty behind much of the self-censorship in media.
Tennessee woman pleads not guilty to charges in self-induced abortion case
Jill Adams quoted by Rewire, Nov. 30, 2016
Jill Adams … told Rewire that Yocca’s case is a “first-of-its-kind prosecution” that is not supported by the language of the law or by the state constitution. “Ms. Yocca’s situation happened to transpire in the only two-year period in which Tennessee had a law on the books that permitted pregnant people to be prosecuted for negative pregnancy outcomes,” Adams said.
A new strategy for shareholder activism: engagement
Steven Davidoff Solomon writes for The New York Times, Nov. 29, 2016
Now, big fund managers like BlackRock, with $4 trillion under management, argue that shareholders should be more prominent and have an active role in shaping companies directly.
For execution of Ricky Gray, Virginia plans to use drug involved in 3 botched executions elsewhere
Megan McCracken quoted by The Virginian-Pilot, Nov. 29, 2016
“It’s not used to maintain anesthesia,” McCracken said. “So with the three botched executions using Midazolam, one of the similarities … is the person initially loses consciousness or appears to and then regains consciousness.”
Trump might be stuck with NAFTA
John Yoo co-writes for Los Angeles Times, Nov. 29, 2016
If Trump simply announced that the United States was pulling out of NAFTA, all the U.S. laws that implemented it would remain unchanged. Trump would have effectively freed Mexico and Canada to impose trade barriers against our products while leaving in place our preferential treatment of theirs — the worst trade deal in American history.
Six things to watch as Cisco, Arista head to trial over IP
Peter Menell quoted by The Recorder (registration required), Nov. 23, 2016
Berkeley Law professor Peter Menell writes in a recent scholarly article that Freeman faces a dilemma: “whether to follow the Ninth Circuit’s jurisprudence or the Federal Circuit’s interpretation of the Ninth Circuit’s jurisprudence.”
California gives lifeline to death penalty, approves reform
Franklin Zimring quoted by The Washington Post, Nov. 23, 2016
“The irony is that Prop. 66 was supposed to simplify and speed things up,” Zimring said. “The smart money would bet that it has made things more complex, increased the set of issues to be litigated and if anything could slow down the path to execution in California from its glacial pace previously, it is this.”
Prop N. doesn’t pass muster
David A. Carrillo co-writes for Daily Journal (registration required), Nov. 22, 2016
San Francisco voters approved Proposition N in November 2016. It would permit “a noncitizen resident of San Francisco who is of legal voting age and the parent, legal guardian or legally recognized caregiver of a child living in the San Francisco Unified School District to vote for members of the Board of Education.” This measure is contrary to controlling state law.