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Foreign In A Domestic Sense: American Samoa And The Last U.S. Nationals, Sean Morrison

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

Citizenship is part of the foundation of being American. Yet the United States treats some of its own as second class citizens. Deep in the South Pacific, forgotten amidst the vast ocean and coconuts, is a small series of islands that represent the only U.S. jurisdiction below the equator. American Samoa remains the last American territory that does not recognize its inhabitants as citizens. For more than a century, American Samoans have fought American wars, pledged allegiance to the American flag, and played a significant amount of American football, yet are categorized as U.S. nationals rather than citizens.

Recently, some …

People V. Diaz, Senate Bill 914 And The Fourth Amendment, Caitlin Keane

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

After the Diaz decision in January, Senator Mark Leno, a Democrat representing San Francisco, took matters into his own hands and drafted Senate Bill 914. In short, the bill would have overturned the Court's decision and required law enforcement to obtain a search warrant from a neutral magistrate before searching arrestees' portable electronic devices. The bill passed with overwhelming support from both political parties in the State Assembly and State Senate and needed only Governor Brown's signature or tacit approval to become law. Governor Brown vetoed the bill in October 2011, stating, "[t]he courts are better suited to resolve the …

Shattered Dreams: An Analysis Of The Georgia Board Of Regents' Admissions Ban From A Constitutional And International Human Rights Perspective, Azadeh Shahshahani, Chaka Washington

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

Access to higher education for undocumented immigrants is a highly debated issue across the country. While some states have been more inclusive of undocumented students, other states have implemented laws which make higher education unattainable for this group. In 2008, South Carolina enacted House Bill 4400 which bars undocumented immigrants from attending public colleges and universities. The University System of Georgia is, so far, the only other public university system to enact a policy which outright bans undocumented students from certain colleges.

This article begins by discussing the Georgia Board of Regents' ban from a constitutional perspective, applying an equal …

A Local Official's Guide To Language Access Laws, David Jung, Noemi Gallardo, Ryan Harris

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

Sharp growth in immigration has introduced California to a large number of persons who do not speak and understand English well enough to make use of basic social services. These individuals may not know what public services are available, may not be able to communicate with local officials, and may not receive information that local agencies release to the public. Local agencies throughout California should ensure that all their services are accessible to persons for whom English is a barrier to understanding.

This article first explains why the California and federal constitutions forbid laws requiring that services be provided in …

More Restrictive Than Necessary: A Police Review Of Secure Housing Units, Zafir Shaiq

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

When almost seven thousand Pelican Bay inmates refused food for weeks on end, California took notice of the unacceptable living conditions in its Secure Housing Units (or SHUs). SHU residents live for months and years with almost no human contact, and succumb to serious mental illness as a result. Despite the attention that the hunger strikes brought to the issue, however, meaningful improvement to California's SHUs does not appear to be on the horizon.

This note begins with the history of isolation in American prisons and its use as a means of long-term punishment and control. It then depicts the …

Language Access Laws And Legal Issues: A Local Official's Guide, David Jung, Noemí O. Gallardo

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Fragmented Regulation Of Multiple Stressors: A Cautionary Tale For Takings Law, Brian E. Gray

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Paved With Good Intentions: Sentencing Alternatives From Neuroscience And The Policy Of Problem-Solving Courts, Emily R. Murphy

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Diversity May Be Justified, Anita Bernstein

UC Law Journal

What about diversity as a rationale for affirmative action is compelling enough to justify the hurts it inflicts on individuals? Judges, legislators, public opinion, and implementers of diversity programs in education and the workforce have defended their initiatives either with vague, anodyne, ill-founded paeans or, more often, with silence about what the rationale achieves. They have offered no justification of diversity. From the premise that any state action that generates (or even risks) harm must be supported with reason, this Article undertakes the task of justification. What makes diversity unique among the rationales for affirmative action, this Article argues, is …

Diversity May Be Justified, Anita Bernstein

UC Law Journal

What about diversity as a rationale for affirmative action is compelling enough to justify the hurts it inflicts on individuals? Judges, legislators, public opinion, and implementers of diversity programs in education and the workforce have defended their initiatives either with vague, anodyne, ill-founded paeans or, more often, with silence about what the rationale achieves. They have offered no justification of diversity. From the premise that any state action that generates (or even risks) harm must be supported with reason, this Article undertakes the task of justification. What makes diversity unique among the rationales for affirmative action, this Article argues, is …

Third Place: The State Of Florida V. Joelis Jardines, Cassandra Shryock, Kaitlin Keohane

David E. Snodgrass Moot Court Competition

No abstract provided.

Sixth Place: The State Of Florida V. Joelis Jardines, Cassandra Kerkhoff, Jodie Smith

David E. Snodgrass Moot Court Competition

No abstract provided.

Ninth Place: The State Of Florida V. Joelis Jardines, Sean Juarez, Joshua Martin

David E. Snodgrass Moot Court Competition

No abstract provided.

Fourth Place: The State Of Florida V. Joelis Jardines, Brian Scherman, Josiah Houck

David E. Snodgrass Moot Court Competition

No abstract provided.

Seventh Place: The State Of Florida V. Joelis Jardines, Robert Cashen, Brett Corbett

David E. Snodgrass Moot Court Competition

No abstract provided.

Second Place: The State Of Florida V. Joelis Jardines, Michelle Larocca, Lisa Parrish

David E. Snodgrass Moot Court Competition

No abstract provided.

Executive Committee Meeting Agenda 06/21/2012, Uc Hastings Board Of Directors

2012 Board of Directors Agenda and Materials

No abstract provided.

Board Of Directors Open Meeting Agenda 06/01/2012, Uc Hastings Board Of Directors

2012 Board of Directors Agenda and Materials

No abstract provided.

Justice Ginsburg And Religious Liberty, John D. Inazu

UC Law Journal

Justice Ginsburg has left an important mark on many areas of the Supreme Court’s jurisprudence, but she has written relatively little in the area of religion. This relatively small footprint increased significantly in the opinion that she wrote in the Court’s 2010 decision in Christian Legal Society v. Martinez. This Article examines three strands of Justice Ginsburg’s jurisprudence leading up to that opinion: religion, government funding of expression, and equality. It first traces Justice Ginsburg’s religious liberty views through four facets of her legal career: her role as an advocate, her opinions on the D.C. Circuit, her Supreme Court nomination …

The Evolution Of Unconstitutionality In Sex Offender Registration Laws, Catherine L. Carpenter, Amy E. Beverlin

UC Law Journal

More is not always better. Consider sex offender registration laws. Initially anchored by rational basis, registration schemes have spiraled out of control because legislators, eager to please a fearful public, have been given unfettered freedom by a deferential judiciary. This Article does not challenge the state’s legislative power to enact sex offender registration laws. Instead, this Article posits that, even if sex offender registration schemes initially were constitutional, serially amended sex offender registration schemes—what this Article dubs super-registration schemes—are not. Their emergence demands reexamination of the traditionally held assumptions that defined original registration laws as civil regulations. Two intertwined causes …

Temporary Taxes To Fund Education. Guaranteed Local Public Safety Funding. Initiative Constitutional Amendment.

Initiatives

Increases personal income tax on annual earnings over $250,000 for seven years. Increases sales and use tax by ¼ cent for four years. Allocates temporary tax revenues 89 percent to K-12 schools and 11 percent to community colleges. Bars use of funds for administrative costs, but provides local school governing boards discretion to decide, in open meetings and subject to annual audit, how funds are to be spent. Guarantees funding for public safety services realigned from state to local governments.Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Increased state revenues …

Board Of Directors Closed Meeting Agenda 03/02/2012, Uc Hastings Board Of Directors

2012 Board of Directors Agenda and Materials

No abstract provided.

Note – Exposing Misconduct: Fixing The California Supreme Court’S Limitation Of Post-Conviction Discovery, Jasmine Berndt

UC Law Journal

Following the Los Angeles Rampart Scandal, a concerned California legislature created post-conviction procedures intended to help wrongfully convicted people challenge convictions resulting from government misconduct. One of these mechanisms was California Penal Code section 1054.9, which allowed defendantpetitioners attacking sentences of death or life without parole to discover evidence to which they would have been entitled at trial upon a minimal showing. After years of broadly interpreting the statute, the California Supreme Court reversed direction with its decision in Barnett v. Superior Court, where it created a new hurdle for those seeking discovery: Defendant-petitioners must now show a reasonable basis …

Tax On California Oil And Natural Gas. Revenues To Higher Education And General Fund. Initiative Statute.

Initiatives

Imposes 12.5 percent tax on value of oil and natural gas extracted in California. Allocates revenues one-third to higher education (half to California State University, half split between University of California and community colleges) and two-thirds to general fund. Provides new education funds shall augment, not count toward, existing education funding requirements. Dedicates 10 percent of new education funds to student grants. Requires California State University to use portion of funding for nursing programs. Prohibits passing tax on to consumers through higher fuel prices.Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local …

Marijuana. Regulation And Taxation Of Medical Use Industry. Reduced Criminal Penalties. Initiative Statute.

Initiatives

Establishes new government agency to regulate medical marijuana cultivation, manufacture, distribution, testing, and sale. Imposes agency fees, and 2.5% tax on medical marijuana retail sales. Allocates new revenues to agency administration, any remainder primarily to medical marijuana research and grants. Preempts local regulation of medical marijuana, except for zoning of medical marijuana dispensaries. Requires one dispensary per 50,000 residents unless limited or banned by local initiative. Bars state and local assistance to federal enforcement against medical marijuana. Reduces criminal penalties for marijuana possession, cultivation, transport, or sale.Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on …

Tax To Benefit Public Schools, Social Services, Public Safety, And Road Maintenance. Initiative Statute.

Initiatives

Adds 3 percent to personal income tax rate on annual earnings over $1,000,000; adds 5 percent for earnings over $2,000,000. Allocates new revenues as follows: 36 percent for K-12 schools, 24 percent for public colleges and universities, 25 percent for services to children and senior citizens, 10 percent for public safety, and 5 percent for road and bridge maintenance. Provides local governments discretion to decide, subject to financial audits, how to spend new funds, except funds cannot go toward capital outlay or certain administrative costs. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state …

Nonprofit Hospitals. Required Minimum Charity Care. Initiative Statute.

Initiatives

Requires nonprofit hospitals to provide free health care to needy patients in amount annually at least 5 percent of their net patient revenues. Exempts hospitals where minimum charity care would result in operating margin less than 1 percent, and hospitals that are part of certain large nonprofit health systems. Requires nonprofit hospitals to give Attorney General annual reports on charity care provided. Authorizes penalties for non compliance, including revocation of tax-exempt status and appointment of Attorney General representative to hospital's board of directors. Makes nonprofit director/officer liability protections inapplicable to enforcement actions.Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of …

Temporary Taxes To Fund Education. Guaranteed Local Public Safety Funding. Initiative Constitutional Amendment

Initiatives

Increases personal income tax on annual earnings over $250,000 for five years. Increases sales and use tax by 1/2 cent for four years. Allocates temporary tax revenues 89 percent to K-12 schools and 11 percent to community colleges. Bars use of funds for administrative costs, but provides local school governing boards discretion to decide, in open meetings and subject to annual audit, how funds are to be spent. Guarantees funding for public safety services realigned from state to local governments. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Increased state …

Temporary Taxes To Fund Education. Guaranteed Local Public Safety Funding. Initiative Constitutional Amendment

Initiatives

Increases personal income tax on annual earnings over $250,000 for five years. Increases sales and use tax by 1/2 cent for four years. Allocates temporary tax revenues 89 percent to K-12 schools and 11 percent to community colleges. Bars use of funds for administrative costs, but provides local school governing boards discretion to decide, in open meetings and subject to annual audit, how funds are to be spent. Guarantees funding for public safety services realigned from state to local governments.Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Increased state revenues …

Reduces Pension Benefits For Public Employees. Initiative Constitutional Amendment.

Initiatives

Reduces pension benefits for current and future public employees, including teachers, nurses, and peace officers, but excluding judges. Eliminates constitutional protections for current and future public employees' vested pension benefits. Limits employer contributions toward pensions for new employees. Prohibits defined-benefit pensions for new employees. Limits cost-of-living adjustments for retired and current employees. Prohibits public retirement systems from providing death or disability benefits to future employees. Requires that current employees add up to three percent of their salary to their pension contribution per year, when pension plan is underfunded.Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact …