Loyola Law School faculty members pride themselves on being accessible to the media and part of the public discourse on news of legal significance. Visit Loyola's Summary Judgments faculty blog to read faculty opinions on current legal issues. Highlights of recent media appearances and quotations include:
10/29- Associated Press
TAKING A STAND HAS NEW MEANING IN HEAVILY LITIGATED ELECTION
“You know you’re going to see those lawsuits in part because the president has been saying that the election has been fundamentally unfair since the last election,” said Loyola Law School professor Justin Levitt, a former Justice Department elections official. But “the fact that you could file a lawsuit saying the election was fundamentally unfair because ‘fraud, maybe?!’ is not a thing that the courts will pay any attention to,” he said.
10/27- CalMatters
LAWSUITS AND LABOR BACKLASH: PROP. 22’S CUTTHROAT FINAL DAYS
“At the end, when you’re really fighting it out, going to court can accomplish two things,” said Jessica Levinson, a law professor and Director of Loyola Law School’s Public Service Institute. “You can try and vindicate your rights, but it also shows to the world the seriousness of what you’re saying.”
10/27- Reuters
'BAPTISM BY FIRE' FOR NEWLY APPOINTED SUPREME COURT JUSTICE BARRETT
The political pressures put Barrett in a difficult position and she may tread carefully, said Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.
“She could be on the court for four decades. I don’t think she wants her first big ruling to be raising a question about her independence,” Levinson added.
10/26- CNN
WITH BARRETT SEATED, REPUBLICANS PUSH FOR SUPREME COURT HEARING OF PENNSYLVANIA VOTING CASE
"An awful lot of it is about whether the rules we've got for normal conditions also apply during a pandemic, and when the world changes, people asked the courts to see whether the election process should also change," said Justin Levitt, an election law specialist at Loyola Law School. "The fights are magnified both volume and ferocity because of the pandemic."
10/24- Los Angeles Times
GARCETTI FACES NEW QUESTIONS AS TOP AIDE IS ACCUSED OF SEXUAL MISCONDUCT
Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School, said this week that what Garcetti’s office has released to this point about those complaints is insufficient because it relies on citizens to take his office’s word that it was dealt with adequately.
10/23- NBC News
SCOTT PETERSON, WHO KILLED PREGNANT WIFE, FACES DEATH PENALTY AT RESENTENCING
But Loyola Law School professor Stan Goldman, who closely followed the original trial, said he doubts there'll be the kind non-stop cable news coverage that'd necessitate a change of venue.
10/22- Washington Post
SECOND FEDERAL COURT BLOCKS TRUMP MEMO ON EXCLUDING UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS FROM APPORTIONMENT
The Supreme Court could decide to fold the two cases together, or it may decide to broaden its consideration of the New York case to include the issue of constitutionality, said Justin Levitt, a constitutional law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. Either way, he said, “the arguments they have raised will be part of what the Supreme Court considers.”
10/21- CNN
IN THE CALM BEFORE THE POSSIBLE STORM, IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE COURTS WILL DECIDE THE ELECTION
But that outsized attention on courts may be misplaced. The discourse "feels like lawyers and courts are deciding the election and not voters. I don't think that's true," said Justin Levitt, an elections law specialist at Loyola Law School. "There's a feeling of anxiety in 2020 that has translated to an anxiety about the degree to which lawyers and courts will be controlling the election ... Welcome to 2020. Anxiety level is high, period."
10/20- KCRW
SUPREME COURT TO HEAR MAJOR CASES ON ASYLUM SEEKERS AND BORDER WALL FUNDING
The Supreme Court this morning agreed to take up two big immigration cases this term. One deals with whether the Trump administration can make asylum seekers wait in Mexico while their cases are being determined. The other will look at whether Trump can divert billions of dollars in funding for the military to build the wall.
Guest: Jessica Levinson, Professor, LMU's Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.
10/20- NBC News
SOME STATES COUNT BALLOTS IF VOTER DIES BEFORE ELECTION DAY
“There have been umpteen examples of some group claiming a whole bunch of people casting ballots after they died,” said Justin Levitt, an election law expert who has studied voter fraud in depth. “These things don’t pan out.”
10/19- Associated Press
SOME STATES ALLOW BALLOTS IF VOTERS DIE BEFORE ELECTION DAY
“There have been umpteen examples of some group claiming a whole bunch of people casting ballots after they died,” said Justin Levitt, an election law expert who has studied voter fraud in depth. “These things don’t pan out.”
10/18- Los Angeles Times
Legal experts said the judgment may lead to more lawsuits that demand the Sheriff’s Department produce names of deputies whose credibility could be in question. Simona Grossi, a professor at Loyola Law School who teaches federal civil procedure, said a different outcome would have allowed the county and Sheriff’s Department to continue exploiting the system.
10/18- Washington Post
The U.S. House could refuse to accept the numbers, said Justin Levitt, a constitutional law professor at Loyola Law School. “You’ve got to produce a full count, legally, and if the president doesn’t, I don’t think that the House of Representatives has to accept anything else,” he said. “Imagine if instead of a full count, the president handed over a Burger King receipt. I don’t think the House of Representatives is required to say, ‘Oh, California gets two Whoppers.’ ”
10/16- Associated Press
CALIFORNIA DISPUTED BALLOT BOXES REMOVED, ARGUING CONTINUES
Jessica Levinson, an election law professor at Loyola Law School, said it sounds like state officials may want more time to investigate and that Becerra, a Democrat, may be treading carefully to avoid being seen as partisan.
10/16- Los Angeles Times
HOW SCOTT PETERSON'S MURDER CONVICTIONS WERE SUDDENLY THROWN INTO DOUBT
Loyola’s Levinson said the errors the judge made in the Peterson case and the possible juror misconduct raised questions about less visible death penalty trials.
10/16- CNN
GROUP CLAIMING TO HELP POLICE COLLECTS $10M
While there are no requirements dictating the percentage of money that must go toward political activities, campaign finance expert Rob Pyers has dubbed the group a "Scam PAC" because of its high operating expenses and negligible political spending. Jessica Levinson, a Loyola Law School professor specializing in campaign finance and political corruption, said the fact that the super PAC had spent such a huge proportion of its contributions on its own expenses was "jaw dropping" and that it was equally concerning to hear that fundraisers were going after the elderly who they may consider "easy marks."
10/15- LAist
OVERSIGHT PANEL CALLS FOR RESIGNATION OF LA SHERIFF ALEX VILLANUEVA
"He is the one that closed the door, he's the one that can open it," said Commissioner and Loyola Law School Professor Priscilla Ocen.
10/15- Santa Monica Daily Press
CALIFORNIA GOP CONSIDERS ADDING MORE DISPUTED BALLOT BOXES
Jessica Levinson, an election law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles said labeling the boxes official clearly was illegal. It’s a closer call for drop boxes that don’t carry that label, but Levinson said ultimately she believes those are illegal too because the law covers voters giving their ballots to someone they know, not placing them into a non-government box.
10/15- Mercury News
CALIFORNIA REPUBLICANS CONSIDERS ADDING MORE DISPUTED BALLOT BOXES AROUND THE STATE
10/14- Los Angeles Times
'A REALLY DESTRUCTIVE SCENARIO': PENNSYLVANIA BRACES FOR UPHEAVAL IN PRESIDENTIAL VOTE COUNT
What could prove most important is the public’s agitation in awaiting the final result, said Justin Levitt, a constitutional law professor at Loyola Law School.
10/14- Bloomberg News
HERE’S WHAT COULD GO RIGHT—OR VERY WRONG—ON ELECTION NIGHT
While anxiety about the election going into overtime is understandable, the most likely outcome is that voters, not lawyers, will determine the outcome, said Justin Levitt, a law professor at Loyola Marymount University tracking election-related lawsuits.
10/14- Los Angeles Loyolan
'IT'S A BIG DEAL': STUDENTS EXPRESS EXCITEMENT AND CONCERN ABOUT UPCOMING ELECTION
Research conducted by Loyola Law School professor Justin Levitt provides evidence to support this. Levitt’s work looked at over one billion ballots that have been cast since 2000, and revealed that fraud occurred in fewer than 0.0001 percent of cases.
10/13- Associated Press
CALIFORNIA GOP CONSIDERS ADDING MORE DISPUTED BALLOT BOXES
Jessica Levinson, an election law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles said labeling the boxes official clearly was illegal. It’s a closer call for drop boxes that don’t carry that label, but Levinson said ultimately she believes those are illegal too because the law covers voters giving their ballots to someone they know, not placing them into a non-government box.
10/8- Politico
Loyola Law School professor Jessica Levinson said that with Jenkins' appointment, California’s highest court will likely “lurch to the left.” She said “there’s no doubt” that he will be more liberal on the bench than Justice Ming Chin, who was “a conservative — at least by California standards.”
10/8- NPR
KEY LEGAL FIGHTS OVER VOTING REMAIN UNRESOLVED AS ELECTION DAY DRAWS CLOSE
Justin Levitt of Loyola Law School is more optimistic such an outcome can be avoided. The former Justice Department official thinks one benefit of all the current litigation is that it reduces the chance of a legal challenge after Election Day revolving around such questions as whether ballots received after Election Day can be counted.
10/7- Salon
THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT MAY HAVE VIOLATED ATTORNEY GENERAL BARR’S OWN POLICY MEMO
Justin Levitt, a former deputy assistant attorney general in the DOJ's civil rights division, said the Pennsylvania press release was "flatly inconsistent" with Barr's memo "and shamefully so."
10/6- LAist
FAQ: YOUR 2020 ELECTION QUESTIONS, ANSWERED
If you prefer getting your information directly from humans, you can watch a replay of our live event below, in which I answered voter questions along with Kim Alexander, president of the California Voter Foundation, and Justin Levitt, professor of Law at Loyola Marymount Law School and former deputy assistant attorney general overseeing the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division.
10/6- Marketplace
A NEW MONTH, SAME OL’ BAD ECONOMY
From coast to coast, unemployed workers and their families are facing an uncertain winter. On today’s show, what happens to a local economy when a major industry shuts down, and how furloughed workers are coping. Plus: the warehouse business, telehealth copays and the struggling bars in the pandemic. Featuring LMU Loyola Law School professor Brietta Clark.
10/5- Politico
THE MURKY LEGAL CONCEPT THAT COULD SWING THE ELECTION
One option for the justices in the Pennsylvania case might be to ditch it on standing grounds, noted Loyola Law School professor Justin Levitt, by concluding that legislative leaders or Republican Party officials simply lack authority to litigate on behalf of the state or lack a concrete injury from the state’s plan to keep counting ballots after Election Day.
10/2- Laredo Morning News
CALIFORNIA PROP. 20 WOULD BOOST PUNISHMENTS FOR A VARIETY OF CRIMES, RESTRICT PAROLE
After setbacks in recent years, police and other backers of the measure “are trying to get the pendulum to swing back the other direction,” said Laurie Levenson, a Loyola Law School professor in Los Angeles and former federal prosecutor who opposes Prop. 20.