Digital Commons Network^™

A Triggered Nation: An Argument For Extreme Risk Protection Orders, Caroline Shen

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

In recent years, the U.S. has experienced an unprecedented number of mass shootings and other gun-related injuries and deaths. In spite of all of this gun violence, there is still an unyielding resistance against the passage of common sense gun laws. Many laws restricting large capacity magazines and gun silencers, for example, are continuously shot down by federal and state courts, and the National Rifles Association and its constituents in Congress continue to hitch their arguments to the decision of the Supreme Court in District of Columbia v. Heller.

In this time of political gridlock, perhaps the best solution is …

Special Meeting Of The Executive Committee - Packet 02/01/2019, Uc Hastings Board Of Directors

2019 Board of Directors Agenda and Materials

No abstract provided.

Exposed: Discrimination Against Breastfeeding Workers, Liz Morris, Jessica Lee, Joan C. Williams

Center for WorkLife Law

No abstract provided.

Policing The Police: Balancing The Right To Privacy Against The Beneficial Use Of Drone Technology, Jennifer M. Bentley

UC Law Journal

The cost of buying, operating, and maintaining manned aircraft traditionally limited the government’s ability to conduct widespread aerial surveillance. But drone technology is eroding this natural limit because they are cheaper, stealthier, and can be used as a platform for other powerful surveillance tools. Drones are ideally suited for numerous law enforcement tasks such as search and rescue, crime scene investigations, and gaining a bird’s-eye view in dangerous active shooter or hostage situations. Privacy rights advocates fear that drone capabilities are bringing us closer to a “surveillance society” in which our every move is monitored, recorded, and scrutinized by the …

Defusing A Ticking Time Bomb: The Complicated Considerations Underlying Compulsory Human Genetic Editing, Grant Hayes Frazier

UC Law Science and Technology Journal

Gene editing is a type of genetic engineering that enables scientists to change an organism’s DNA by adding, removing, or altering genetic material at particular locations in the human genome. While these editing technologies are in their infancy, they hold great promise for future applications. They also raise many moral, ethical, and legal questions.

Fast forward 10 years. In utero gene editing is effective, safe, and inexpensive (or covered by insurance). A couple with strong religious views against gene editing decides to procreate despite knowing, via family history, they are both homozygous dominant for the allele that causes Huntington’s disease …

A Peek Under The Hood: Why Lawmakers Should Strengthen The Current Dmca Exemption For Security And Safety Research Into Car Software, Holden Benon

UC Law Business Journal

In the last five years, society has witnessed advancements in automobile technology that Henry Ford himself could not have dreamed. Vehicle software now allows cars to drive themselves; indeed, as of December 2017, close to four dozen vehicle manufacturers have received permits from the California Department of Motor Vehicles for autonomous testing. Many of the advancements in automobile technology involve copyright law, the primary body of law that protects computer source code. Essentially, each line of vehicle source code is protected the same way a film script is protected. Just as camera directions in the script are hidden from movie-goers, …

Cybersecurity Provisions And Trade Agreements, Chimene I. Keitner, Harry Clark

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Silence And The Second Wall, Zachary New, Ming Hsu Chen

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Criminal Law: The Institutional Design Of Punishment, Aaron Rappaport

The Judges' Book

No abstract provided.

Balanced Liberty: Justice Kennedy's Work In Criminal Cases, Rory K. Little

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Law Against Family Separation, Carrie F. Cordero, Heidi Li Feldman, Chimene Keitner

Faculty Scholarship

Most commentators assume that, except for the few restrictions expressly mentioned in the U.S. Constitution, the President's pardon power is unlimited. This Paper suggests that this common view is mistaken in at least one unexpected way. Presidential pardons must satisfy a modest procedural rule: they must list the specific crimes covered by the pardon. The "specificity requirement" means that vague and broadly worded pardons are invalid. This claim bears a significant burden of persuasion, since it runs so counter to accepted opinion. Nonetheless, that burden can be met. This Paper's argument rests on an originalist understanding of the constitutional text, …

A Common Law Perspective On The Supreme Court And Its Functions, Richard L. Marcus

Faculty Scholarship

The text presents different attributes of the Supreme Court in common law and civil law systems. The author claims that the question of design and function of a supreme court, while important, is no more significant than the issue of its institutional status and evolution, i.e. something one could refer to as “legal culture”. Neither the “common law camp”, nor the “civil law camp” turns out to be monolithic in this regard. The distinctive history of the US Supreme Court is presented through the perspective of its statutory and procedural supremacy, as well as its power of constitutional adjudication. The …

Evidence On Fire, Jennifer D. Oliva, Valena E. Beety

Faculty Scholarship

Fire science, a field largely developed by lay “arson investigators,” police officers, or similar first responders untrained in chemistry and physics, has been historically dominated by unreliable methodology, demonstrably false conclusions, and concomitant miscarriages of justice. Fire investigators are neither subject to proficiency testing nor required to obtain more than a high school education. Perhaps surprisingly, courts have largely spared many of the now- debunked tenets of fire investigation any serious scientific scrutiny in criminal arson cases. This Article contrasts the courts’ ongoing lax admissibility of unreliable fire-science evidence in criminal cases with their strict exclusion of the same flimsy …

Eliminates Certain 2011 Criminal Justice Measures. Initiative Statute

Initiatives

Requires that individuals sentenced for certain non-serious, non-violent, and nonsexual felonies after November 3, 2020 serve their time in state prison—rather than in county jail, as 2011 law requires. Requires that individuals released on parole for these low-level felonies after November 3, 2020 be supervised by state parole authorities rather than county probation departments. After November 3, 2020, prohibits courts from suspending the concluding portion of the prison sentence of individuals convicted of these low-level felonies and placing such felons on mandatory supervision by county authorities. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on …

Repeals Law Requiring Certain Law Enforcement To Collect And Report Specified Data On Stops And Searches. Initiative Statute.

Initiatives

Repeals provision in the Racial and Identity Profiling Act of 2015 that requires state and local agencies that employ peace officers to collect specified data on all stops and searches, including the reason for the stop or search, and perceived race, ethnicity, gender, and age of person stopped, and to report such data to the Attorney General annually. Reduces transparency by eliminating mandated data collection about stops and searches used by Attorney General, other law enforcement officials, the public, and researchers to identify and prevent racial and identity profiling. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of …

Referendum To Overturn A 2018 Law That Replaced Money Bail System With A System Based On Public Safety Risk.

Initiatives

If this petition is signed by the required number of registered voters and timely filed, a referendum will be placed on the next statewide ballot requiring a majority of voters to approve a 2018 state law before it can take effect. The 2018 law replaces the money bail system with a system for pretrial release from jail based on a determination of public safety or flight risk, and limits pretrial detention for most misdemeanors.

“Innocence” And The Guilty Mind, Stephen F. Smith

UC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Spider’S Parlor: Government Malware On The Dark Web, Kaleigh E. Aucoin

UC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Amends Three Strikes Sentencing Law For Repeat Offenders. Initiative Statute.

Initiatives

Revises the three strikes law to impose a life sentence with possibility of parole only when the third or subsequent conviction is for a violent felony, unless the new offense is a specified sex- or firearm-related crime, or a prior offense was for rape, child molestation, or murder. Requires resentencing of inmates currently serving life with possible parole if they would have received different sentences under this measure. Applies savings to schools, colleges, prison rehabilitation programs, and youth crime prevention programs. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Net …

Requires That Certain New Transportation Revenues Be Used For Transportation Purposes. Legislative Constitutional Amendment.

Propositions

Requires that certain revenues generated by a 2017 transportation funding law be used only for transportation purposes and generally prohibits Legislature from diverting funds to other purposes. Fiscal Impact: No direct effect on the amount of state and local revenues or costs but could affect how some monies are spent.

Legalizing Federal Sports Gambling Laws: You Got To Know When To Hold’Em, Robert Shawhan

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This paper addresses the current federal laws that prohibits sports gambling. It argues that the introduction of a well-regulated and transparent gambling industry may serve greater protections than what is provided by the law. Politicians are sensibly acknowledging the realities of sports gambling and its benefits. The current political climate, under a Trump Presidency, is ideal for legalizing this form of gambling. Part I of this note will reflect on the most recent history of sports gambling laws. It will draw on New Jersey’s legal struggles, the sports evolution of Las Vegas, and the relevant Daily Fantasy Sports controversy. Part …

Voter Information Guide For 2018, General Election

Propositions

No abstract provided.

Voter Information Guide For 2018, Primary Election

Propositions

No abstract provided.

Authorizes Bonds Funding Parks, Natural Resources Protection, Climate Adaptation, Water Quality And Supply, And Flood Protection

Propositions

Authorizes $4 billion in general obligation bonds for: parks, natural resources protection, climate adaptation, water quality and supply, and flood protection. Fiscal Impact: Increased state bond repayment costs averaging $200 million annually over 40 years. Local government savings for natural resources-related projects, likely averaging several tens of millions of dollars annually over the next few decades.

Too Big To Fail: Limiting Public Risk In Hydropower Licensing, Joshua Viers, Daniel Nover

UC Law Environmental Journal

No abstract provided.

Federalism Friction In The First Year Of The Trump Presidency, Vikram David Amar

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

Over the last twelve months or so, federalism principles have been repeatedly invoked by state and local governments in a range of lawsuits and legislative proposals seeking to block or temper federal policy initiatives emanating from the new Administration of President Donald Trump. In this essay, I hope to sketch out a few of the more high-profile federalism flashpoints that have emerged over the past year or so, and offer some preliminary assessments of some of the decisions that lower courts (and legislative bodies) have been rendering in some of them. I try to highlight areas of agreement and areas …

Jeopardizing Their Communities, Their Safety, And Their Lives: Forced Concealed Carry Reciprocity's Threat To Federalism, Hannah E. Shearer

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

The Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act (H.R. 38) is a gun bill that would force each state to recognize and enforce the concealed carry laws of every other state. State laws governing the concealed carry of firearms vary widely in how effectively they screen out reckless or unlawful gun carriers. Weaker state laws let more people carry with fewer background checks or other restrictions, and H.R. 38 would extend the geographic scope of the weakest concealed carry laws in the nation, without requiring that Congress actually adopt a weak national standard. This Essay argues that forced reciprocity violates the division of …

Sex Offender Regulations And The Rule Of Law: When Civil Regulatory Schemes Circumvent The Constitution, Ryan W. Porte

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

The U.S. Supreme Court last decided the issue of whether post-incarceration sex offender regulations constituted punishment or nonpunitive regulations over twenty years ago. In coming to its conclusion, the Supreme Court assessed the regulations as they were written in the 1990s and the early 2000s and maintained the assumption that offenders constituted a greater danger to the public than other classes of criminals. In 2018, post-incarceration sex offender regulations are far more restrictive than they were two decades ago and scientific studies tend to refute the public belief that sex offenders are more recidivistic than other criminals. Recognizing this, some …

Street Harassment: The Need For Criminal Remedies, Sonja Arndt

UC Law SF Journal on Gender and Justice

This article shines light on the lack of street harassment laws in the United States, while outlining why there is an immediate need for these types of laws. The author seeks to develop a working legal definition of street harassment, while subcategorizing street harassment into three separate categories: catcalling, verbal sexual harassment, and verbal sexual assault. Lastly, the author puts forth a legal proposal which would criminalize verbal sexual harassment and verbal sexual assault.

The Legal Implications Under Federal Law When States Enact Biology-Based Transgender Bathroom Laws For Students And Employees, Marka B. Fleming, Gwendolyn Mcfadden-Wade

UC Law SF Journal on Gender and Justice

Recently, numerous states have considered enacting transgender bathroom laws based on the individual’s biological sex. In some cases, when these biology-based laws have been enacted, the results have been lawsuits filed by students and employees claiming violations of Title IX and Title VII. Actually, the legal rights of transgender students and employees when using public restrooms or facilities has become a hot topic of debate in recent times. In addressing this hotly debated topic, this article focuses on the transgender bathroom issue at the state level and provides insight into the attempts by states to turn policy into law. First, …