Faculty workshop series presents Professor Ronald J. Krotoszynski, Jr.

Visiting Professor of Law, Ronald J. Krotoszynski, Jr., the Director of Faculty Research & Professor of Law at the University of Alabama School of Law will present "The Unitary Executive and the Plural Judiciary: Reconsidering the Institutional Power and Authority of the Offices of the Chief Justice and the President" as part of the Faculty workshop series today, Thursday, August 25, 2011, from 11:45 to 1:00pm in the Courtroom of the '90s on the 2nd floor of the Girardi Advcocacy Center.

The Real Cheating Scandal of Standardized Tests

By Professor Kimberly West-Faulcon

This op-ed was published on Miller-McCune.com on August 22, 2011.

"Opinion: The widening circle of cheating scandals on standardized tests should fuel the movement to reduce the stakes these exams have on public education in the U.S.

Last week, Montana became the leader of what is likely to be a number of states that will rebel against the provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind law by refusing to raise test score targets as required by the law. Meanwhile, the list of states and cities plagued by allegations of cheating on standardized tests is likely to grow beyond Washington, Baltimore, Atlanta Pennsylvania and New Jersey. What are we to make of the Obama administration's willingness to waive some of the most extreme penalties under the No Child law but to only offer the rather hollow response of calling for enhanced "test security" to combat test cheating? Instead of a shocking anomaly, it seems that the egregious test cheating uncovered in Atlanta public schools last month may be more common than we as a nation want to believe."

Read the complete op-ed at Miller-McCune.com.

Prof. Dan Lazaroff on the NBA lockout

Professor Dan Lazaroff, director of Loyola's Sports Law Institute, discussed the NBA lockout on Lawyer 2 Lawyer on the Legal Talk Network. Program synopsis:

NBA Lockout and Lawsuits

Coming off the heels of an NFL Lockout, the NBA officially locked out its players on July 1, 2011, when players and owners failed to agree on a new contract. Then, the NBA filed two claims against the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) before union players could file an anti-trust lawsuit against them. Attorneys and co-hosts Bob Ambrogi and J. Craig Williams welcome Professor Daniel E. Lazaroff, Director of the Loyola Sports Law Institute and Professor Gabriel A. Feldman, Director of the Tulane Sports Law Program, to discuss the legal and business issues surrounding the lockout. They take a look at the impact of the lockout on players, employees and fans and the fate of the 2011-2012 season.

Listen now

Dear Californians, You Don't Matter

By Visiting Associate Clinical Professor Jessica Levinson

This op-ed was originally published by KCET.

Well, at least when it comes to picking the next leader of the free world. In a previous post, I queried, "When it Comes to Presidential Politics, Does California Even Matter?" Democrats count on (take for granted) the Golden State and its 55 electoral votes--one-fifth of the total votes needed to win the presidency. Candidates visit our state to raise money, but not much else. Presidential campaigns are won and lost in the battle ground states. California is decidedly not such a state.

Read the complete post at KCET.org.

Summertime Disability Rights

By Visiting Associate Professor of Law and Executive Director of DRLC Paula Pearlman

This op-ed was originally published by the Los Angeles Daily Journal.

It's summertime. That means it is time to pack up the family for a summer vacation, near or far. Recreation is an essential part of the human experience, which everyone deserves and needs. People with disabilities should not have to go to court defending their right to have fun. This year, some of the nation's biggest, and most iconic entertainment destinations and operators are fighting against discrimination allegations.

In 2009, Joe Martinez, who uses a wheelchair because of quadriplegia, along with his wife, was among the 15.9 million visitors to the park in Anaheim. Soon after entering the Magic Kingdom, the spell began to wear off. Disney staff told the couple that they could not board the "Pirates of the Caribbean" ride in his wheelchair, and that this would be the case for most of the other "accessible" rides in the park. Martinez also required the use of family or unisex restrooms, which the couple had difficulty finding because there were no signs and few employees knew where to direct them.

One of the few rides accessible to Martinez was, "It's A Small World," but while onboard, the ride malfunctioned because of a computer glitch. The staff evacuated all the guests except for Martinez and his wife .

While they were waiting, Martinez suffered dysreflexia, a medical condition caused by overstimulation of the nervous system that can quickly lead to a stroke and death if untreated. "Dysreflexia feels like your head is going to explode," Martinez explained. After about 45 minutes, the ride was finally restarted and they were able to exit. Martinez left the park with the paramedics.

Prof. Ted Seto's paper, "Where Do Partners Come From?" summarized in Wall Street Journal Law Blog

Professor of Law and William Rains Fellow, Theodore P. Seto's paper, "Where Do partners Come From?" was featured on the Wall Street Journal law blog on August 5th, 2011.

Seto's paper, to be published in a forthcoming edition of the Journal of Legal Education, analyzes which law schools have produced the most partners in the past quarter century.

Do Californians Have the Right to See the Current Budgets and Expenditures of their Lawmakers?

This op-ed was originally published by KCET.

By Associate Clinical Professor Jessica A. Levinson

Doing absolutely nothing to help their already dismal public approval ratings, the state Assembly has refused requests--submitted under the Legislative Open Records Act--to release records of legislators' 2010 and 2011 budgets (money given to rank and file legislators by the leadership) and expenditures. Now The Sacramento Bee and Los Angeles Times are suing to obtain those records.

The newspapers argue that the budget and spending records document public resources used for public business, and should be released based on a constitutional right to access information about government activities.

The Assembly Rules Committee, on the other hand, claims that it need not release those documents because the records fall under exceptions to the Legislative Open Records Act for "correspondence of and to individual members of the Legislature and their staff," and "preliminary drafts, notes or legislative memoranda." An Assembly administrator has argued that the records of lawmakers' current budgets and spending could contain confidential personnel information. Basically, the Assembly Rules Committee claims that those documents, which detail use of public funds by public officials, are privileged.

Read the complete post at KCET.org.