Sidebars

In Privacy in Europe, Professors Ken Bamberger and Deirdre Mulligan offer an “on the ground” look at how companies in Spain, France, and Germany are implementing conflicting privacy laws and regulations. This empirical study offers U.S. and E.U. leaders critical insight as they consider privacy law reforms.

Are we on the brink of an Orwellian future? In 2014: Brand Totalitarianism, professor Peter Menell explores what he describes as a real and present threat to expressive freedom, free will, and public well-being posed by the integration of online advertising, mass media, and the Internet.

Professor Stephen Sugarman looks at novel plans to help lower-income families choose private K-12 schools for their children. These Tax Credit School Scholarship Plans offer tax credits to companies or individuals that donate funds to a non-profit group, which in turn provides scholarships to eligible children.

In a new paper, Ken Taymor looks at the E.U. regulation of biotech medicines, which are akin to branded drugs whose patents have expired. These “biosimilars” have saved billions for the E.U., but are still off the U.S. market due to FDA inaction.

A paper co-authored by Professor Victoria Plaut finds that women hesitate to study computer science due to the profession’s “nerdy” image. The Stereotypical Computer Scientist blames the media for perpetuating that outdated view, which can have a chilling effect on women interested in the field.

In Human Rights Backsliding, co-authors Andrew Guzman and Katerina Linos question the idea that international human rights norms always lead to greater protections. Although effective in moderate democracies, they say such norms may lead to fewer protections, not more, in stable democracies.

In Climate Policy in a System of Divided Powers, Professor Dan Farber argues that states and the executive branch can act on environmental mitigation efforts in place of a deadlocked Congress. Farber looks at the constitutional issues in areas where “the Supreme Court has not been a model of clarity.”

Urban water systems are in decline. But Berkeley Law’s Michael Kiparsky says that technology is only part of the solution. A new article he co-authored says engineers must first understand the cultural, economic, and political mechanisms that both hinder and enable innovation.

China has created 95 environmental courts since 2007, but prosecutors are suing low-level rule-breakers far more than major polluters, a new study by faculty member Rachel Stern shows. Stern found that most offenses stem from poverty, mistake, or bad luck—and that most defendants lack education and legal representation.

Professor Paul Schwartz proposes a way to bridge the gap between U.S. and E.U. privacy laws. In Reconciling Personal Information, Schwartz and his co-author argue for a tiered approach to “personally identifiable information” that’s consistent with the principles of both regimes.

Ty Alper thinks the Supreme Court is moving closer to recognizing a right of noncapital defendants to raise claims of ineffective trial counsel. In a recent paper, Alper argues that this development vindicates the bedrock principle embodied in Gideon v. Wainwright.

A new International Human Rights Law Clinic report lays the groundwork for legal reform to combat sexual violence against men during armed conflict. Using Uganda as a case study, the report examines legal remedies and touts international criminal justice as the best vehicle for progress.

Tax expert David Gamage writes that key reforms are needed to prevent Obamacare from hurting low- and moderate-income workers. If not, he says businesses may shift some full-time workers to part-time and cut their salaries to circumvent the employer mandates.

Professor Stephen Sugarman analyzes scholarships funded by state tax credits that allow low- and modest-income families to send children to private schools in grades K-12. The article, which also compares such scholarships to voucher plans, will appear in the Journal of Law and Education.

Assistant Professor Andrew Bradt’s recent paper analyzes multidistrict litigation. This legal area is exploding, due largely to U.S. Supreme Court decisions limiting class action suits. But Bradt says lawyers need to understand “choice-of-law” rules for each claim, or risk jeopardizing their client’s case.

A leading national survey has named Professor Robert Bartlett’s article, Making Banks Transparent, one of the top ten corporate and securities law articles of 2012. Bartlett argues that basic credit risk modeling combined with mandatory bank disclosures would help prevent another round of severe banking crises.

In The Problem of Environmental Monitoring, Professor Eric Biber critiques the way agencies collect and analyze data about our natural environs. He argues that the practice, although critical to the development of environmental laws and regulations, is inherently flawed. The article will appear in the Land Use and Environmental Law Review.

Melissa Murray’’s prize-winning paper What’s So New About the New Illegitimacy debunks the idea of an improved legal climate for out-of-wedlock births. If anything, illegitimacy is making a political comeback. Liberals call it an “injury” forced upon kids of same-sex couples, but Murray warns against using it as an argument for marriage equality.

An article by Kate Jastram examines the legal plight of Haitian children whose dangerous escape by sea from their impoverished homeland ended in military custody on Guantanamo. Jastram argues that it was the Haitian refugees’ legal struggles that set the stage for the post-9/11 litigation over what rights, if any, could be claimed by non-U.S. citizens held there.

Contrary to popular belief, Professor David Sklansky argues that evidentiary jury instructions probably do work, albeit imperfectly. In a law review article, he suggests studying when they’re most likely to fail—and how to improve them. He also says we need to accept that juries are not common oracles, but flawed groups of people capable of reason.

Assistant Professor Rachel Stern’s new book, Environmental Litigation in China, seeks the improbable: legal relief for pollution in a country known for tight political control. Stern argues that litigation can contribute to social change in China and support a nascent environmentalism.

Professor Pamela Samuelson examines a “”troublesome” phrase within the Copyright Act that limits derivatives—creative works based on pre-existing material. In a journal article, she argues that the act was designed to reduce, not expand, protections of original works in an effort to promote innovation and competition.

A new paper by Professor Richard Buxbaum takes a fresh look at reparations through a seminal event: payments for World War II atrocities. Buxbaum says the failure of states to negotiate just compensation for victims of that war has led to individual claims filed under the umbrella of international human rights law.

A report by Berkeley Law’s Human Rights Center describes how hi-tech tools and science can advance criminal investigations and prosecutions at the International Criminal Court. Beyond Reasonable Doubt stems from a workshop at The Hague on the use of DNA analysis, remote sensing, digital evidence, and more.

In his paper, How Democracy in Arab States Can Benefit the West, Jamie O’Connell says emerging democratic Arab nations could reduce the risk of terrorist attacks and bolster economic alliances. O’Connell urges the West to study the nuances of individual Arab states and the preferences of their citizens.

Nearly half of all U.S. university or college students fail to graduate within six years. A new report by a coalition of national leaders, including Berkeley Law Dean Christopher Edley, Jr., recommends a solution: overhauling financial aid programs to increase higher-ed access, affordability, and completion.

JSP Program scholars are emerging as influential thought leaders in socio-legal theory. The new issue of Law & Society Review features articles by student Ashley Rubin and Lynette Chua ’11, reviews of books authored by Kaaryn Gustafson ’97 and Chrysanthi Leon ’06, and book reviews by Hadar Aviram ’05 and Tom Ginsburg ’97.

In his latest article, Assistant Professor Stavros Gadinis describes how the 2007-08 worldwide economic crisis has led to greater political oversight of independent financial institutions. But he warns that such involvement by elected politicians might actually endanger international financial markets, not stabilize them.

In an article on China’s environmental protection efforts, Professor Alex Wang says the regime’s primary focus is economic growth and stability—not true reform. Wang believes greater public supervision is vital to prevent bureaucrats from routinely falsifying information and shutting down pollution controls.