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:
9/21- CALmatters
ABOLISH THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE OR AWARD ELECTORS ON A PROPORTIONAL BASIS
Article by LMU Loyola Law School professor Jessica Levinson.
9/20- USA Today
SUPREME COURT IS SHORTHANDED BUT COULD PLAY ROLE IN ELECTION
"I don’t think the Supreme Court wants this fight," said Justin Levitt, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles who specializes in voting rights. "There’s lots of chaos in this election. I don’t think the court wants anything to do with that."
9/19- Fox 11 Los Angeles
THE ISSUE IS: GLORIA ALLRED, JEFF MASON, BOB SHRUM, STANLEY GOLDMAN, AND GOV. JERRY BROWN
To honor the late Justice, Elex Michaelson is joined by attorney Gloria Allred, Reuters White House Correspondent Jeff Mason, political strategist Bob Shrum, and Loyola Law School professor Stanley Goldman.
9/19- NBC News
RUTH BADER GINSBURG'S DYING WISH HIGHLIGHTS TRUMP'S SUPREME COURT HYPOCRISY
Article by LMU Loyola Law School professor Jessica Levinson.
9/18- KCBS-TV
ELECTION 2020: IRVINE REP. KATIE PORTER FACES TOUGH CHALLENGE FROM GREG RATHS FOR 45TH DISTRICT SEAT
“I would be very surprised if she loses, she’s one of the more high-profile freshman, she’s gained a lot of notoriety questioning of Trump administration officials,” Loyola Law School professor Jessica Levinson said.
9/17- New York Times
HOW POLITICS GUTTED EX-FELON VOTING RIGHTS IN FLORIDA
The appeals court also ruled that Florida did not have to create a uniform system for former felons to know if they owe any court debt, a conclusion that struck Justin Levitt, a voting law expert at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles and former deputy assistant attorney general for civil rights in the Obama administration, as wrongheaded.
9/15- The Appeal
THE PERVASIVE VIOLENCE OF THE L.A. COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT
“The sheriff’s department isn’t top of mind, despite the fact that they operate the largest jail in the country, and they’re still one of the largest police forces in the state and in the country,” Priscilla Ocen told The Appeal. Ocen, a professor at Loyola Law School and former civil rights attorney, is one of nine community members who currently sits on the Los Angeles County Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission, which was created in 2016 to monitor the department.
9/15- Los Angeles Loyolan
THE SURPRISING CONNECTION BETWEEN FEDERALISM AND MENTAL HEALTH
Justin Levitt, a constitutional law professor at Loyola Law School, added that federalism also gives power to localized communities to determine the best laws for themselves. This way, he argues, “the regulatory environment can be better responsive to local conditions and presumably more in line with what the local community wants.” If everything was left up to Congress, Levitt argued, it would be much more difficult to reach a solution that a large majority of Americans agreed to.
9/14- KCRW
THE ARREST OF KPCC'S JOSIE HUANG AND FLORIDA VOTING RIGHTS FOR FELONS
The sheriff’s department said in a statement on Twitter that Huang “did not identify herself as press” and charged her with a misdemeanor. But videos released by Huang — and later On Scene TV — show Huang repeatedly saying she was a reporter with KPCC. In the videos, people can also see a press ID hanging around her neck. KCRW talks about the First Amendment rights of journalists in situations like these.
Guest: Jessica Levinson, Professor, LMU's Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.
9/14- TaxProf Blog
Allison Christians (McGill) and Dr. Tarsício Diniz Magalhães (McGill) presents The Rise of Cooperative Surplus Taxation virtually today at Loyola-L.A. today as part of its Tax Policy Colloquium Series hosted by Katie Pratt and Ted Seto.
9/14- CBS News
LAWSUITS AND 50 DAYS TO GO: HOW THE 2020 CAMPAIGN IS ALSO BEING WAGED IN THE COURTS
As of August 31, there have been at least 245 coronavirus election cases filed in 45 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, according to Justin Levitt, a professor at Loyola Law School, who has been tracking the disputes that seek to shape the election rules. He says he started counting the cases a few months ago. Now, he writes, "I've tracked quite a lot of them. (And I'm 100% sure I'm missing some.)."
9/12- The Hill
TRUMP URGES SUPPORTERS TO SHOW UP AT POLLS: 'MAKE SURE YOUR BALLOT COUNTS'
“What the president has advocated ... has the possibility of clogging the polls,” Justin Levitt, an election expert and professor at Loyola Law School, told The Hill in an interview this week.
9/10- The Hill
WISCONSIN SUPREME COURT PAUSES ABSENTEE BALLOTING AMID DISPUTE OVER THIRD-PARTY CANDIDATES
Justin Levitt, an election expert and professor at Loyola Law School, said that although the ruling “puts a real squeeze on Wisconsin election officials,” he expects the issue to be resolved quickly.
9/9- NBC News
E. JEAN CARROLL VS. DOJ: TRUMP AND BARR'S DEFAMATION DEFENSE SETS ANOTHER BAD PRECEDENT
Article by LMU Loyola Law School professor Jessica Levinson.
9/9- CBS News
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT MOVES TO DEFEND TRUMP IN RAPE ACCUSER'S DEFAMATION CASE
9/8- KPCC
BIDEN VS. TRUMP: JUDICIAL NOMINATIONS AND THE IMPACT ON THE COURTS
The Senate has appointed more than 200 federal judges under Trump’s presidency, The Hill reports. Trump, likely in an attempt to gain conservative support like in 2016, is expected to soon release a new list of potential Supreme Court justices. While Trump has pushed ahead with releasing an agenda for the courts, Biden has not. Political experts point to Biden’s inconsistent past with appointing judges as a problem this election cycle, arguing the former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee has a history of playing politics.
9/8- KCRW
THE CENSUS COUNT MUST CONTINUE, AND HOUSE DEMOCRATS INVESTIGATE POSTMASTER GENERAL LOUIS DEJOY
“This has been the weirdest and longest and most winding road to try and get an accurate count of how many people live in our country,” says Jessica Levinson, professor at Loyola Law School.
9/8- Daily Journal
HAPPY 100TH BIRTHDAY, LOYOLA LAW SCHOOL
LMU Loyola Law School first opened its doors in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday, Sept. 8, 1920 at 7:30 p.m. It was an evening-only program with eight students. There was no full-time faculty and no administration. A modest collection of books served as a library. Tuition for the year was $90, payable in four installments of $22.50.
9/4- KTLA
A. JUDGE ORDERS RELEASE OF MAN WHO SPENT NEARLY 2 DECADES IN PRISON AFTER CONVICTION AT AGE 15 (Also appeared in CBS Los Angeles, LAist)
A Compton man who has spent the last 19 years in prison after being convicted in adult court as a juvenile has been ordered to be released from prison by a Los Angeles judge, the Loyola Law School Project for the Innocent announced Friday.
9/4- Los Angeles Times
TRUMP DOUBLES DOWN ON URGING HIS SUPPORTERS TO VOTE TWICE
Justin Levitt, a professor at Loyola Law School who worked on voting rights in the Obama administration, said Trump’s suggestions to vote twice are part of his broader attempts to undermine confidence in an election he might lose.
9/3- POLITICO
THE LAWSUITS THAT COULD DECIDE THE 2020 ELECTION
“The pandemic is a once-in-a-century change in circumstances,” says Justin Levitt, a law professor at Loyola Marymount who specializes in election law. “And in many ways, continuing the status quo as if the world hasn’t changed is its own way to restrict voting.”
9/3- CNN
BILL BARR'S INDEFENSIBLE DEFENSE OF 2020 VOTER FRAUD
A study done by Loyola Law School professor Justin Levitt tracked US elections from 2000 to 2014 in search of voter fraud, or, as he put it, "specific, credible allegation that someone may have pretended to be someone else at the polls." Levitt found 31 examples of fraud out of more than 1 billion instances. A five-year study on voter fraud commissioned by President George W. Bush found, as The New York Times wrote at the time, "virtually no evidence of any organized effort to skew federal elections."
9/2- Los Angeles Times
NANCY PELOSI SAYS HER VISIT TO A HAIR SALON WAS A ‘SETUP.’ STYLIST BACKS HER UP
Jessica Levinson, director of Loyola Law School’s Public Service Institute, compared the video to a “let them eat cake” moment.
“For all we know she had her mask down for 15 seconds and four feet, but the damage it does is enormous,” Levinson said. “It gives us all this great/horrible visual to look at and say, ‘Nancy Pelosi is an elitist who is totally unconcerned for working people and just cares about how she looks on national TV and Democrats don’t feel your pain.’”
9/2- CNN
AS STATES MAKE VOTING EASIER DURING THE PANDEMIC, TENNESSEE IS MOVING IN THE OTHER DIRECTION
"I have not seen another state do another version of 'Oh my god, I'm losing the chess game, throw the board over and completely reset it,'" said Jessica Levinson, a Loyola Law School professor who focuses on election law. "I have not seen another state step onto the dance floor with this aggression."
9/1- KCRW
CAN PRESIDENT TRUMP LEGALLY SEND THE POLICE TO MONITOR POLLING PLACES ON ELECTION DAY?
Part of that strategy could also involve sending law enforcement officers to polling places on election day. It’s an idea that Trump’s been floating recently. If he does do this, it would look like a violation of the law, says Jessica Levinson, law professor at Loyola Law School.
9/1- Yahoo News
"VERY ALARMING": BARR’S ABRUPT REMOVAL OF NATIONAL SECURITY OFFICIAL BEFORE ELECTION SPARKS WORRIES
"Given his past misrepresentations of the Mueller report," added fellow former DOJ prosecutor Justin Levitt, "the American people should look very carefully and very skeptically at absolutely anything Barr announces this year."
9/1- Spectrum News 1
THE ELECTION IS APPROACHING. LAWSUITS ARE PILING UP.
Many legal actions can generally be labeled as either backing the Democrats or the Republicans; the former aim to protect or expand abilities to vote; the latter seek to crack down on perceived voting fraud.
Election scholar Justin Levitt is tracking a number of them here.