Constitutional Law

“None of us benefit from making professional and graduate schools just for the rich,” writes Dean Erwin Chemerinksy. “We all suffer when talented individuals who would be great doctors, nurses, lawyers, social workers and professors are kept from attending school because they cannot afford the tuition and the money is not there to borrow.”

“It is hard to imagine a worse decision than the Supreme Court’s ruling on Thursday allowing Texas to use its new congressional maps designed to elect five more Republicans to the House of Representatives,” writes Dean Erwin Chemerinksy.

Dean Erwin Chemerinsky and Professor John Yoo weigh in on the legality of Donald Trump’s firing of a Federal Trade Commission member in a major test of presidential power over agencies set up by Congress to be insulated from White House control in a case that could imperil a 90-year-old legal precedent.

“It was not that long ago that the unitary executive theory was emphatically rejected in Morrison v. Olson in an opinion by Rehnquist, himself a conservative,” writes Dean Erwin Chemerinksy. “The court’s current majority seems ready to undo Rehnquist’s work on that front, and to embrace Scalia’s dissent in Morrison calling for a more powerful presidency.”

Dean Erwin Chemerinsky weighs in on two SCOTUS cases that are likely to substantially change the law as to when the president can fire those in the executive branch of government. 

“The fate of Texas’ and perhaps California’s recent redistricting — and thus the political composition of the House of Representatives after the 2026 midterm elections — turns on a principle of law that’s never made much sense before and makes absolutely no sense now,” writes Dean Erwin Chemerinsky.

The fate of successful gerrymandering efforts in California and Texas now comes down to a slate of high-profile court cases. Dean Erwin Chemerinsky weighs in.

“The speech Trump is criticizing simply states the law: soldiers are not to follow unconstitutional or illegal orders,” said Erwin Chemerinsky, the dean of UC Berkeley Law. “The accusation is unfounded and unnecessarily chills criticism of the President’s actions.”

“Although many criticisms have been made of the Supreme Court’s rulings on its emergency docket, one that has not received enough attention is the court’s failure to follow well-established principles for staying a preliminary injunction, which – while it may sound technical – has enormous importance,” writes Dean Erwin Chemerinksy. “This has been evident in many shadow docket decisions, but was particularly evident in the court’s Nov. 6 ruling in Trump v. Orr.”

“The Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled against transgender individuals this year, allowing bans on military service, healthcare and identity recognition,” writes Dean Erwin Chemerinsky. “With key cases on transgender athletes approaching, the Court shows little inclination to protect them from discrimination.”