Constitutional Law

“Masked police are common in foreign countries with authoritarian governments,” writes Dean Erwin Chemerinsky. “Police officers there want to hide their identity to prevent being held accountable for their misconduct. But masked police do not exist in countries that operate under the rule of law.”

“Although social media companies are in many ways villains that have not done nearly enough to protect children on their platforms, they nonetheless should not be held liable based on claims that they are creating addictive and harmful online environments,” writes Dean Erwin Chemerinsky.

“After the court in December upheld the Texas legislature’s gerrymandering, intended to benefit Republicans, it did the “right” thing on Feb. 4 in dismissing the challenge to California’s gerrymandering which was to benefit Democrats,” writes Dean Erwin Chemerinsky. “But by allowing unchecked partisan gerrymandering, the court is encouraging ever more extreme efforts and undermining democracy.”

Minnesota should investigate and prosecute the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers who killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti, writes Dean Erwin Chemerinsky. State and local governments have the authority to prosecute federal officials who violate state law when their conduct is “objectively unreasonable.”

Dean Erwin Chemerinsky offers his perspective on the two Fourth Amendment cases before the Supreme Court.

“The Supreme Court has made a mess of the law concerning the Second Amendment,” writes Dean Erwin Chemerinsky.

Dean Erwin Chemerinsky and Professor Christopher Kutz offer opposing perspectives on the suspension of a UC Berkeley lecturer over his pro-Palestinian advocacy. 

“If he carries out his threat to cut off funds to jurisdictions that resist his immigration policies, President Donald Trump will violate the Constitution,” writes Dean Erwin Chemerinsky.

“There is a strong tradition of not using the military for policing in the United States. The image of soldiers roving the streets is something we see in countries with authoritarian governments, not this country,” writes Dean Erwin Chemerinsky. “Police — and not soldiers — are trained to respect constitutional rights in policing and to use deadly force only if necessary.”

Dean Erwin Chemerinsky and Professor John Yoo weigh in on Presidential power over the economy in fight over Fed’s Lisa Cook.