Articles

Criminal Law & Justice Center Executive Director Chesa Boudin and Professors Colleen V. Chien ’02, Andrea Roth, and Rebecca Wexler spoke at a recent webinar for lawyers across the state.

From writing amicus curiae briefs to overseeing student projects and organizations to courtroom work, these professors are extending the school’s influence far beyond its walls — and legal academia.

“Indeed, presidential interference with Congress’ budgeted spending violates a federal statute, the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, writes Dean Erwin Chemerinsky. “When a federal statute has been adopted that appropriates money, the president has no authority to refuse to spend it.”

A Bronze Star recipient who served in Afghanistan and later led UC Berkeley Law’s Legal Obstacles Veterans Encounter organization, Lynch relishes advocating for former service members.

A packed pro bono plate and a top role at a journal deliver a law school experience that’s deeply connected to her passion for making systemic change, at the street level and in the academic realm.

Professor Daniel Farber, director of the Center for Law, Energy & the Environment at UC Berkley Law weights in on how the Trump administration’s agenda and policy reversals will impact California.

“For decades, oil and gas companies have been allowed to mislead the public and profit from their products while sticking others with the bill for climate change,” writes Dave Jones, director of the Climate Risk Initiative at UC Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy and the Environment. “That must end.”

Dean Erwin Chemerinksy weighs in on the constitutionality of President Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship.

Dean Erwin Chemerinsky writes “when Trump acts unconstitutionally, the only plausible check will have to come from the courts. But will the judiciary, and especially the Supreme Court, enforce the Constitution against Donald Trump?”

Roxanna Altholz, director of the UC Berkeley School Law’s Human Rights Clinic, Medha Raman the Dale and James J. Pinto Fellow at Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, and Ricky Garza the Border Policy Counsel for Southern Border Communities Coalition argue that the Supreme Court case Barnes v. Felix is a long-overdue opportunity to address a systemic problem: the United States’ woefully inadequate standards for law enforcement use of deadly force.

Dean Erwin Chemerinsky weighs in on the legal status of the Equal Rights Amendment.

Professor John Yoo weighs in on the 14th amendment and Trump’s executive order that seeks to end birthright citizenship.

Mitchell is one of six UC Berkeley graduate students chosen to join the AI Policy Hub, which aims to shape AI’s future by translating scientific research into governance and policy frameworks.

Presented by the school’s Berkeley Center on Comparative Equality & Anti-Discrimination Law, the event draws lawyers and activists in person and virtually to continue efforts to turn the revelations sparked by the #MeToo movement into systemic change.

Dave Jones, director of the Climate Risk Initiative at UC Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy and the Environment, and former California Insurance Commissioner discusses the devastating effects of the ongoing Los Angeles fires and their impacts on California’s home insurance market.

Two students from UC Berkeley Law’s Death Penalty Clinic fuel an amicus brief highlighting the importance of state constitutional independence and California’s deep record of discrimination in administering capital punishment.

Dave Jones, director of the Climate Risk Initiative at UC Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy and the Environment (CLEE) joins Forum to discuss how the fires will impact the state’s insurance industry and the future of insurance in a climate change-charged world.

The Berkeley Center for Law & Technology executive director spent a month at Tribhuvan University creating a blueprint for all of the country’s public law schools.

UC Berkeley experts, including UC Berkeley Law’s David Carrillo and Ken Alex weigh in on potential conflicts between the Trump administration and California.

“We are marching steadily towards an uninsurable future in this country,” says Dave Jones, director of the Climate Risk Initiative at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law.

“We’re marching toward a future where insurance is not going to be available or affordable,” said Dave Jones, director of the Climate Risk Initiative at the University of California at Berkeley’s School of Law.

Ball, an East Bay native, will lead the new Social Enterprise Clinic, while Ferguson will teach and advise students in the law school’s Jurisprudence and Social Policy Program starting this fall.

Dean Erwin Chemerinsky weighs in on what we can expect from SCOTUS in 2025.

Legal consultant at the Permanent Mission of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations, Alabdali represents his country in the main forum that considers legal questions in the UN’s General Assembly.

Professor John Yoo discusses Presidential power and what Trump can and cannot do on his first day in office.

Professor John Yoo joins host Tara Palmeri to discuss the parameters of Donald Trump’s executive power. 

Our fall newsletter highlights alumni successes, faculty contributions, and ongoing efforts to expand our commitment to social justice and legal education.

From a Supreme Court justice’s visit and an innovative leadership initiative to impactful pro bono work and influential AI guidance, the school’s commitment to excellence, community, and public mission was on full display.

“I think we have, by a not insubstantial margin, the deepest and best bench of empirical legal researchers in the country,” Professor Andrew C. Baker says.

David A. Carrillo, executive director of the California Constitution Center at Berkeley Law and Brandon V. Stracener a senior research fellow at the California Constitution Center, ask President Biden to commute the sentences of the 40 inmates currently on federal death row to life in prison without parole.

The school recently hosted a launch event for the Preparing for Law School project, which aims to encourage more applicants from underrepresented backgrounds.

Ken Alex, director of Project Climate at UC Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment discusses what Project 2025 means for California’s climate goals and clean energy transition.

Professors Katerina Linos and Elena Chachko outline the arguments in their new article, “Emergency Powers for Good.”

Professor Amanda Tyler and Jeremy Fogel, director of the Berkeley Judicial Institute at UC Berkeley Law School weigh in on proposed legislation to expand the federal judiciary.

Dean Erwin Chemerinsky weighs in on the free speech implications of the coming ban on TikTok in the United States.

Professor Kenneth A. Bamberger wrote an amicus brief on behalf of a coalition of publishers, book sellers, and libraries in the upcoming Free Speech Coalition, Inc. v. Paxton case.

Jeremy Fogel, executive director of the Berkeley Judicial Institute and a former California federal judge weighs in on the Supreme Court ethics debate.

Louise Bedsworth, executive director at the Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment (CLEE) at Berkeley Law shares an update on the recent UN climate conference.

Initially planning a public sector career, the Super Lawyer Rising Star says Berkeley’s top business law program sparked her interest in “exploring a different path.”

“Underlying this case is the question of who should decide,” writes Dean Erwin Chemerinsky. “Should it be left to transgender youths, their parents and their doctors to decide the course of medical treatment? Or should it be for state legislatures to make this decision?”

David A. Carrillo, executive director of the California Constitution Center at Berkeley Law and Brandon V. Stracener a senior research fellow at the California Constitution Center see the results of the recent election as a time for blue states to reinvigorate state constitutions and present a road map for action blue states can take.

Coached by alums Patrick Johnson ’19 and James Perry ’11, 3Ls William Clark, Melissa Molloy, and Angela Ma and 2L Rachel Talkington bested 15 teams from law schools around the country.

Jeremy Fogel, executive director of the Berkeley Judicial Institute and a former California federal judge weighs in on a push for legislation expanding the judiciary,

Erwin Chemerinsky, the dean of the law school at the University of California, Berkeley, said he expected major new legal fights between Democratic-led states and the Trump administration that could reshape federal and state relations.

Confronting the gender gap in corporate workplaces, the initiative helps participants develop networks and career strategy through visits to major companies, events with top firms, and myriad workshops.

Claudia Polsky, director of the Environmental Law Clinic at UC Berkeley School of Law, weighs in on findings of a study she co-authored on California limits on ‘forever chemicals’ saying “It suggests a tangible public health payoff from the state’s more stringent environmental regulations.” 

Colleen Chien, a law professor at UC Berkeley, has been publishing legal data across California related to RJA and studying legal disparities. “What we’re seeing is that there’s what we already know, there’s a lot of racial disparity in our system, and it’s really pervasive — almost every single county, on every single charge,” she said. “It’s hard to believe that that could just be the product of things that don’t have to do with racism.”

Professor Diana Reddy weighs in on challenges by corporations and Trump to the legal structure of the National Labor Relations Board.

“Rubio may have good reasons for moving into the Cabinet, but improving his prospects in four years is not one of them. Indeed, the Cabinet has long been a graveyard for presidential contenders.,” writes Joshua Spivak a senior research fellow at Berkeley Law’s California Constitution Center.