A report by the Center for Juvenile Law and Policy at Loyola Law School found that since the 1970s there have been 18 deputy cliques within the Sheriff’s Department, some of which remain active. More recently, the agency has been roiled by allegations that groups of deputies with matching tattoos have run roughshod over the East L.A. and Compton sheriff’s stations.
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:
9/27- CalMatters
BETWEEN THE LINES: HIDDEN PARTISANS TRY TO INFLUENCE CALIFORNIA’S INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING
But not disclosing a personal stake may cross an ethical line, said Jessica Levinson, a former member of the Los Angeles Ethics Commission and now a Loyola Law School professor.
“It’s good to hear from the parties about how the lines would benefit and harm them, but we kind of want to know who is speaking to us,” she said. “Knowing who the messenger is allows us to evaluate the message.”
9/27- KCRW-FM
In 2016, the LA County Board of Supervisors created a Civilian Oversight Commission to be a watchdog on the LA County Sheriff’s Department (LASD). Last week, that commission asked California Attorney General Rob Bonta to investigate possible illegal activity by the LASD.
Guest: Priscilla Ocen, Professor, LMU Loyola Law School.
9/26- NBC 4 Los Angeles
REP. KAREN BASS RUNNING FOR MAYOR OF LA
9/24- Los Angeles Times
L.A. COUNTY SHERIFF'S UNIT ACCUSED OF TARGETING POLITICAL ENEMIES, VOCAL CRITICS
9/23- KCRW
LA BANS PROTESTS WITHIN 300 FEET OF HOMES. IT’S LIKELY LEGAL, BUT SOME ANGELENOS ARE FURIOUS
Will LA’s ban hold up in court? Jessica Levinson, who teaches constitutional law at Loyola Law School, says yes — for now.
“Los Angeles has done their legal homework in terms of whether or not this would allow them to still exercise their fundamental speech rights.”
9/23- The Hill
LOS ANGELES COUNTY SHERIFF'S UNIT ACCUSED OF TARGETING CRITICS, POLITICAL OPPONENTS: REPORT
Loyola Law School professor Sean Kennedy, who sits on the county's Civilian Oversight Commission, told the Times that the fact that charges were never filed in these investigations suggested "ulterior motive."
9/22- Rolling Stones
HIS DEPUTIES GOT CAUGHT FORMING GANGS, BUT L.A.’S SHERIFF IS TOO ‘BUSY’ TO TALK ABOUT IT
A defiant Villanueva not only remains in office today, but has allegedly misused his authority in an effort to silence critics. In May, COC commissioner Sean Kennedy, a director at Loyola Law School, called for an investigation into whether Villanueva has been “abusing his power” by launching “highly publicized” criminal investigations into his public detractors, citing nearly half-a-dozen cases.
9/22- MSNBC
TEXAS' ABORTION LAW ARCHITECT IS GIVING WOMEN THE MOST ABSURD, INSULTING ADVICE
After scoring an initial victory in their mission to eviscerate women’s constitutionally protected right to obtain access to an abortion, some in the conservative movement have already explicitly moved on to attacking LGBTQ rights, which suggests they’re gunning for all your constitutionally protected rights — at least those not dealing with guns.
Article by LMU Loyola Law School professor Jessica Levinson.
9/21- LAist
OVERSIGHT PANEL CHAIR ACCUSES LA SHERIFF VILLANUEVA OF ‘DUCKING AND DODGING’ SUBPOENA
The sheriff “is ducking and dodging hard questions,” she said. “That suggests he doesn’t have the real interest or ability to root out intimidation or corruption in the Sheriff’s Department.”
Priscilla Ocen, a Loyola Law School professor, said she will ask her colleagues on the panel to ask that a judge compel Villanueva to answer their questions.
9/20- LAist
“I have made it abundantly clear that I welcome fair and impartial oversight,” Villanueva said in his letter.
“He is testing them again,” said Loyola Law School Professor Laurie Levenson.
If he is a no-show, this will be the third time the sheriff has refused to comply with a subpoena from the panel since voters approved a measure giving it such power in March 2020.
9/20- KCRW
SCOTUS JUSTICES ARGUE THEY’RE NOT POLITICIANS. BUT EXPECT MORE CONSERVATIVE DECISIONS, SAYS LAWYER
This time of year is typically quiet for the Supreme Court. It’s in between terms, and the justices have delivered the big opinions and likely announced any retirements by now.
But over the past few days, a handful of them have been making waves for talking about the politics of the court. Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Clarence Thomas, and Stephen Breyer have all been talking about the role the judicial branch plays in U.S. government.
Guest: Jessica Levinson, Professor, LMU Loyola Law School.
9/19- Los Angeles Times
CITY ATTY. MIKE FEUER WANTS TO DOUBLE THE SIZE OF THE CITY COUNCIL - AND SLASH ITS PAY
9/17- Los Angeles Times
L.A. COUNTY SHERIFF HAS LEGAL POWER TO BAN GANG-LIKE GROUPS OF DEPUTIES, COUNTY LAWYERS SAY
9/17- CNN
THE SUPREME COURT'S ACTIONS ON ABORTION AND VOTING RIGHTS WOULD HAVE STUNNED RBG
"Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg knew that laws about voting rights and reproductive choice are not abstract legal ideals," Jessica A. Levinson of Loyola Law School told CNN. "But she might have been astonished by the breadth and depth of the court's decisions to eviscerate protections for access to the polls and a woman's ability to obtain an abortion."
9/16- WNYC Studios
WHAT DEEPFAKE TECHNOLOGY MEANS FOR WOMEN
Despite some reports that deepfake technologies are being used to target governments and politicians, experts have warned that women, not politicians, are the overwhelming target of these deepfakes. Deepfakes use artificial intelligence to replace someone with another person’s likeness in videos, photos, and other digital content.
Countless deepfake apps and platforms have emerged that allow you to essentially make nonconsensual porn videos of women with little to zero coding skills. This technology can do everything from “stripping” the clothes off of women to face-swapping a female celebrity’s face onto a porn actor’s body.
For more on this, The Takeaway spoke to Rebecca Delfino, law professor at LMU Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.
9/16- MSNBC
CALIFORNIA'S RECALL ELECTION INVOKED REPUBLICAN ELECTION FRAUD HYSTERIA
The California recall election met a quick and decisive demise when California voters resoundingly rejected efforts to recall Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. But the baseless accusations of voter fraud that poisoned the end of the recall campaign show that unfounded attacks on our elections are here to stay.
Article by LMU Loyola Law School professor Jessica Levinson.
9/15- The Atlantic
THE CALIFORNIA RECALL’S WARNING FOR DEMOCRACY
With Republicans failing to produce any tangible evidence of fraud, any lawsuits from Elder or others always had little chance to succeed, notes Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School who specializes in election law.
If Republicans reverse course to legally challenge the results, she told me, “I think it’s going to be like the postpresidential election period in the sense that there are lawsuits that are filed, they are political arguments wrapped up as legal documents, and they are dismissed up and down, by state court judges and federal court judges.”
9/14- The Hill
WILL THE DOJ MANAGE TO PROTECT OUR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS NOW THAT THE SUPREME COURT REFUSES TO?
In May, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law the Texas Fetal Heartbeat Act, which seeks to overrule Roe vs Wade by prohibiting abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. The law became effective on Sept. 1. In July, a group of healthcare service providers — Whole Woman’s Health and others — challenged the law before a federal court in Texas, suing those who would enforce it, that is, judges, clerks, and a private individual, Mr. Dickson. The defendants managed to stop the litigation, and the plaintiffs filed an emergency application to the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to continue their litigation in trial court to have the Texas law declared unconstitutional. On Sept. 1, at 11:58 p.m. Eastern time, in a one-paragraph, unsigned order, the Supreme Court denied the application through an astute gambit.
Article by LMU Loyola Law School professor Simona Grossi.
9/14- Business Insider
"The more the ballot return numbers come in, the more I feel positive for Newsom. If too many people feel this way, it's over for him. His biggest weakness is the complacency of the electorate," Jessica Levinson, Clinical Professor of Law and Director of Loyola Law School's Public Service Institute, told Insider.
9/13- MSNBC
JUSTICE AMY CONEY BARRETT'S SUPREME COURT REMARKS REVEAL A DEEP IRONY
At the celebration of the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville, established by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., one of the most partisan figures in modern history, Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett told us that the nation’s highest court is not, in fact, partisan.
Article by LMU Loyola Law School professor Jessica Levinson.
9/12- Los Angeles Times
SIRHAN SIRHAN’S POSSIBLE PAROLE CREATES DIVIDE IN KENNEDY FAMILY AND BEYOND
9/9- Los Angeles Times
'THERE ARE NEGATIVE ASSOCIATIONS’: A HOTLY DEBATED ELECTION
Jessica Levinson, an election law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, told The Times that last year’s fight over ballot boxes “was a bad look for both parties.”
“The reason everybody is being squirrelly is because so-called ballot harvesting now has a bad name and it gives people this kind of icky response, like, ‘Is that safe? Should I have a problem with it?’” Levinson said. “There are negative associations that are enough for both sides to feel they’re going to burn their hand if they get too close.”
9/7- Desert Sun
Loyola Law School Professor of Law Laurie Levenson said that the bail industry and bounty hunters have long operated in ways that sworn law enforcement aren't allowed to by law, but any attempt by the prosecution to convince a judge and jury that the fatal shooting was a murder could be challenging.
"We clearly have problems with who is authorized to be a bounty hunter, and the bail industry's lack of oversight," Levenson said.
9/6- Fresno Bee
GAVIN NEWSOM FOCUSES ON ABORTION RIGHTS IN CALIFORNIA RECALL ELECTION IN WAKE OF TEXAS BAN
9/4- Associated Press
SHADOW DOCKET SUPREME COURT DECISIONS COULD AFFECT MILLIONS
“My memory is, typically, if the Supreme Court was acting in July and August, it was really that quintessential emergency appeal, dealing with something like a death penalty situation. It wasn’t like: What is immigration law going to be in our country? It wasn’t: Will tenants have certain rights? It wasn’t the big substantive questions,” said Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School.
9/3- New York Times
WHY NEWSOM IS TELLING CALIFORNIA VOTERS TO LEAVE HALF THE BALLOT BLANK
Jessica Levinson, who teaches election law at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, said it was a “disaster” that members of the Democratic Party, who are supposed to be champions of voting rights, are advising people to leave parts of their ballots blank.
“Why would you say don’t even exercise your right to weigh in for who the next governor could be?” she said.
9/2- Sacramento Bee
NEWSOM LOST THE BATTLE OVER CHURCHES AND COVID. CHURCH LAWYERS RAKED IN MILLIONS FROM IT
Despite the expense, legal expert Jessica Levinson doesn’t fault the state for fighting in court to defend the stay-at-home orders.
“This is not a big legal screwup,” said Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.
9/1- MyNewsLA.com
CALIFORNIA SPENDING BIG MONEY TO GET OUT THE RECALL VOTE
California has almost twice as many registered Democrats as Republicans. That makes it hard to untangle the public policy goal of urging people to exercise their right to vote from the reality that Democrats are likely to benefit, said Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School with a focus on government ethics.