KALW-FM, January 28, by Rina Palta
http://kalwnews.org/audio/2010/01/28/will-credit-card-debt-be-next-mortgage-crisis_112369.html

“I would say the majority of our clients that come in with credit card debt have had some crisis affect them. They’ve lost a job; they’ve had a home that’s been foreclosed. They’ve had some kind of healthcare crisis. And they’ve been trying to make ends meet on their credit card bills. And they’re no longer able to pay on their credit cards, so the creditors are coming after them to get paid. “

New America Media, January 28, 2010 by Franklin E. Zimring
http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=972db69d1a1e75acf735f4650918ea22

Before the city fathers of San Francisco dance too far out on a limb in claiming credit for good news, the recent experience in Richmond, Calif., should inspire some caution. In 2008, the number of homicides in Richmond dropped substantially—from 47 in 2007 to under 30. This was a very encouraging development in a city of 100,000, where lethal violence is the primary civic problem. But the relief proved temporary, because the homicide toll for 2009 returned to 47.

The Wall Street Journal, January 28, 2010 by Stanley Lubman
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2010/01/28/stanley-lubman-will-an-expanded-right-of-privacy-deter-chinas-internet-vigilantes/tab/print/

Adoption of the new law marks progress in legal reform, and it also strongly signals that the emergence and clash of new social forces arising out of China’s economic development will continue to challenge legislators to craft laws to meet new challenges.

-The Wall Street Journal, January 27, 2010 by Jessica E. Vascellaro
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2010/01/27/amazon-and-others-slam-revised-google-books-deal/

U.C. Berkeley Professor Pam Samuelson submitted an objection on behalf of a group of academic authors. “We do not believe that the settlement of a class action lawsuit is a proper way to make such a profound set of changes in rights of authors and publishers, in markets for books, and procedures for resolving disputes as the (settlement) would bring about,” the letter read.

-Inside Higher Ed, January 29, 2010 by Steve Kolowich
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/01/29/google

“We believe that most unclaimed works in the [Google Book Search] corpus will prove to be books written by scholars for scholars, and most such authors would prefer that their out-of-print books be available on an open-access basis,” the professors say in a public draft of the letter.

California Progress Report, January 25, 2010 by Dan Farber
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/site/?q=node/7375

In the end, the Court just doesn’t see any real reason for campaign finance restrictions. It may be willing to tolerate some token restrictions in the name of precedent, but basically, it views economic influence over the political process as altogether natural and appropriate.

San Francisco Chronicle, January 24, 2010 Editorial
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/01/24/EDG61BKAPE.DTL&type=printable

Law School Dean Christopher Edley says he supports debate and discussion…. “While many students and faculty are critical of the Bush administration policies and even of some of John’s actions, they think that academic freedom means that his right to be here and to teach has to be protected, until or unless there’s some sort of a conviction.”

The Daily Californian, January 22, 2010 by Mary Ann Mason
http://www.dailycal.org/article/107911/a_look_at_the_phd_problem

Not surprisingly, perceived unfriendliness to one’s family concerns within a research-intensive university—and especially the difficulty in childrearing with a successful scientific career—was shown to be a major factor for female doctoral students to “leak out” of the scientific pipeline.

-Bay Area Reporter, January 21, 2010 by Matthew S. Bajko
http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=4492

“Under federal law there is no precedent for finding sexual orientation deserves any special protection,” said University of California at Berkeley Law School Professor Joan Hollinger, who specializes in family law and has been following the Prop 8 trial in court.

-Los Angeles Times, January 24, 2010 by Maura Dolan
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jan/24/local/la-me-prop8-trial24-2010jan24

“I have never seen this level of quality in direct and redirect…” said Hollinger, a family law expert who has attended much of the trial. “But that doesn’t necessarily translate into a legal and constitutional victory by any means.”

-San Francisco Chronicle, January 29, 2010 by Bob Egelko
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/01/29/MNO21BP3AO.DTL&type=printable

But Hollinger said Thursday that opposition to interracial marriage had faded outside the South by 1967, after a large-scale federal commitment to civil rights. By contrast, she said, same-sex marriage still faces “opposition all over the place.” “I’m not optimistic about the Supreme Court on this,” she said.

-SF Weekly, January 29, 2010 by Joe Eskenazi
http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2010/01/gay-friendly_legal_scholars_hi.php

“If the issue is framed as whether, under the federal Constitution, there is a fundamental right to marry, [then] any exclusion from enjoying this fundamental right is subject to at least a higher level of scrutiny,” says Hollinger. “The state has to have substantial reason to justify the exclusion. If that’s the way it’s framed, the plaintiffs, it seems to me, are going to prevail. Easily.”

The Sacramento Bee, January 21, 2010 by Matt Weiser
http://www.sacbee.com/378/story/2477608.html

“Lots of people are uncomfortable with uncertain science,” said Doremus, who served on two prior academy panels. “The water users really want to know that when they’re giving up water, the fish will be saved. And that’s an assurance that just can’t be provided.”

The New York Times, Economix blog, January 19, 2010 by Aaron Edlin and Dana P. Goldman
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/19/can-immigrants-solve-our-health-care-problems/?pagemode=print

The United States should allow free immigration for all qualified nurses, doctors and medical technicians whose wages exceed $75,000 a year. Such an increase in supply may not stop health care costs from rising, but it will prevent them from rising even faster with a potential upsurge in demand.

KPFA-FM, January 18, 2010 by Josh Wolf
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/01/18/18635638.php

“Both of these students were served a notice of interim suspension. They’re identical notices, which were also served on the UC Davis students,” said Rosenbaum. “And it recites about six sections of the UC campus code of student conduct and then almost no facts in support of it.”

-San Francisco Chronicle, January 16, 2010 by Carolyn Lochhead
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/01/16/MNA51BIQN7.DTL&type=printable

“The law doesn’t compel anyone to make any policy decision,” Yoo said. “The war in Iraq was legal. That doesn’t compel the choice to go to war.”

-NPR, All Things Considered, January 19, 2010 Host Madeleine Brand
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122734173

“You look at who most scholars think are our greatest presidents, men like Washington, Lincoln and FDR. These are presidents who were no shrinking violets. They embraced their power. They used their powers vigorously to attack the challenges of their day often, or sometimes, in direct conflict with the Congress and the Supreme Court. ”

-KGO AM 810, January 20, 2010 Host Gil Gross
http://www.kgoam810.com/Article.asp?id=1667684&nId=15&spid=25697

“We were less than a year after 9/11 and the government had captured … people who really planned and executed the 9/11 attacks themselves and were responsible for planning other future Al Qaeda attacks. And the government, the CIA, came to the justice department and the White House and said, ‘What can we do that’s legal?’”

-The New York Times, January 21, 2010 by Walter Isaacson
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/24/books/review/Isaacson-t.html

As the United States entered a semipermanent state of national emergency, marked by multiple wars and boosts in defense spending, power naturally flowed to the presidency, Yoo writes. The cold war brought forth one of the framers’ great fears, a large standing army in peacetime.

Global Competition Review, January 15, 2010 by Ron Knox
http://bit.ly/c9Bk5z (requires registration; go to G:\Law School in the News\News Clips for article)

Dan Rubinfeld, senior consultant at Compass Lexecon and professor at the University of California, Berkley, agreed, saying that there is no firm economic foundation for the agencies to use the 35 per cent market share threshold when screening mergers. “I’m hoping that screen will disappear in the revision of the guidelines.” Rubinfeld said.

The New York Times, The Bay Area News blog, January 13, 2010 by Anna Bloom
http://bayarea.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/13/john-yoos-spring-course-at-boalt-hide-and-seek/

Vital principles of academic freedom require that all of us affirm and respect his right to teach and the right of our students to take courses from him without interference, including disruption or intimidation. I have specifically asked my staff and the university police to make reasonable efforts to prevent such disruption or intimidation and, if unsuccessful, to arrest trespassers.

The Chronicle of Higher Education, January 13, 2010 by Mary Ann Mason
http://chronicle.com/article/Still-Earning-Less/63482/

Education does lead to higher incomes for women, but female breadwinners will continue to take home less than their male counterparts until educational segregation is eliminated and workplaces adopt flexible policies.

Los Angeles Times, January 12, 2010 by David G. Savage and Carol J. Williams
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-prop8-cameras12-2010jan12,0,1169353.story

“It’s obviously a disagreement between the 9th Circuit and the Supreme Court on bringing television or live video into a federal courtroom,” said Jesse Choper, a constitutional law scholar at UC Berkeley…. They disagreed, and the Supreme Court has the final word.”

The Wall Street Journal, January 11, 2010 by Stanley Lubman
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2010/01/11/stanley-lubman-the-telecom-company-that-didnt-play-by-the-rules/tab/print/

Foreign businesses in China are often presented with conflicts between ethical behavior and the temptation to bend or violate the rules that govern their activities. Such problems reflect both cultural differences and the uncertainties of China’s ongoing transition from a planned economy, via state-led capitalism — toward a goal that remains undefined.

The Washington Post, January 11, 2010 by Peter Henderson
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/11/AR2010011100217.html

“Issues about parents and children and the role of child rearing will be central to this case,” said Joan Hollinger, a lecturer in family law at the University of California, Berkeley.

-The Washington Post, January 10, 2010 by Jack Rakove
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/08/AR2010010801498.html

The great lesson of this past decade of misrule has been that our system works best when all three institutions are fully engaged. However much we celebrate the heroic presidents, Americans, as a people, have a stake in seeing the whole government achieve its potential. Yet what Yoo forces us to confront is the reality of all the striking advantages the executive enjoys. It is, in its way, an enticing portrait of presidential power—and a disturbing one.

-The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, January 11, 2010 Host Jon Stewart
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-january-11-2010/john-yoo-pt–1

“In the end, it is still good for us to have the President able to make those good decisions, even at the cost of sometimes having Presidents who make the bad ones. It’s worth it to our system to be able to have a Lincoln or an FDR, even if the price is to have someone like a Nixon…. I think that’s part of the price we have to have in our system in order to be able to respond quickly to terrible challenges to the country.”

-Forbes, January 15, 2010 by Peter Robinson
http://www.forbes.com/2010/01/14/john-yoo-national-security-afghanistan-opinions-columnists-peter-robinson.html

As Yoo argues in the masterful new book he has just published, Crisis and Command: A History of Executive Power from George Washington to George W. Bush, the Founders intended the authority of the chief executive to remain flexible. “The president’s powers are meant to fluctuate,” Yoo explained, “expanding in emergencies then retracting in peacetime.”

-The Wall Street Journal, January 15, 2010 by Arthur Herman
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703436504574641210437351786.html#printMode

Crisis and Command is a carefully argued historical survey of the evolution of presidential power, particularly the power to make war. The book reveals how the Bush war on terror, far from overstepping constitutional bounds, was rooted in a tradition that reaches back to George Washington himself.

The Philadelphia Inquirer, January 10, 2010 by John Yoo
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/currents/81082822.html

Has the Obama administration retarded the integration of information by our intelligence agencies out of a touchiness for civil liberties? Some of the administration’s political appointees had attacked the Bush administration’s terrorist policies on exactly such grounds.