The CAP·impact Podcast: Recent Episodes
McGeorge Capital Center for Law & Policy
The CAP·impact podcast is production of the Capital Center for Law & Policy at McGeorge School of Law. Host Jon Wainwright talks with law professors around the United States about developments flying under the radar in law and policy at the state and local levels.
USC Gould School of Law Vice Dean Franita Tolson talks with Jon about the historic nature of Kamala Harris's spot on the Democratic Party ticket and on the many ongoing fights related to voting rights across the U.S.
Loyola Law School Professor, political commentator, and SCOTUS observer Jessica Levinson comes on the podcast to explain the impacts of the SCOTUS decisions on the electoral college and the President's financial documents.
Florida State University Law Professor and expert on laws surrounding fracking and oil & gas production, Hannah Wiseman, comes on the podcast to talk about the different levels of regulation states have on oil and gas production and where federal regulation could step up and improve.
Jon talks with Ederlina Co, Professor of Law at McGeorge School of Law, and Maggy Krell, General Counsel for Planned Parenthood Advocates of California, about the 5-4 SCOTUS decision in June Medical Services.
Yale Law Professor William Eskridge comes on the podcast to talk about the impact of the Bostock and Obergefell decisions from SCOTUS for LGBTQ+ persons living in the United States and his new book Marriage Equality: From Outlaws to In-Laws.
Blake Nordahl, a Professor of Law at McGeorge and the supervising attorney for McGeorge's Immigration Clinic, and Set Hernandez - a documentary filmmaker, media specialist with the California Immigrant Policy Center, and DACA recipient - talk about the legal, personal, and policy impacts of SCOTUS's DACA decision last week.
Stetson Law Professor Ciara Torres-Spellicsy comes on the podcast to talk about how SCOTUS is rebranding corruption and truth, how candidates brand themselves, and the most encouraging political rebranding of the 21st century.
Leah Fowler - Professor of Law and Research Director and the Health Law & Policy Institute at the University of Houston Law Center - joins the podcast to talk about potential privacy issues with app-based contact tracing, legal misinformation spreading online, and how the COVID-19 pandemic is changing the employee-employer relationship.
Richard Hasen - Chancellor's Professor of Law and Political Science at the University of California, Irvine - joins the pod to talk about his recent book Election Meltdown: Dirty Tricks, Distrust, and the Threat to American Democracy, the recent Fair Elections in a Crisis report, and how US democracy can survive the 2020 election.
Jessica Roberts - Professor of Law, Professor of Medicine, and Director of the Health Law & Policy Institute at the University of Houston Law Center - comes back on the podcast to talk about the emerging set of issues around genetic reclassification, and what it means from a legal perspective when the results of a genetic test you took change.
Priya Baskaran, Professor of Law at American University Washington College of Law, talks with Jon about economic justice incubators and her ideas for how to better reintegrate returning citizens into society and the local economies they return to.
Anika Singh Lemar is a Clinical Associate Professor of Law at Yale Law School and teaches in the school Community and Economic Development Clinic. She talks with Jon about housing policy issues like zoning and examples of where states have stepped in, flexed their muscles, and pushed localities to change how to zone to address the housing crisis.
Howard University Law Professor Harold McDougall comes on the podcast to talk about the 2020 election, the US judicial system, some of philosphies behind the policies of presidential candidates, and the unions for all movement and what the impact of that movement succeeding could look like.
Joshua Douglas is a Professor of Law at the University of Kentucky Rosenberg College of Law, and the author of the book Vote for US. We talk about government and election reforms to improve the US democracy and get voters to trust institutions and their elected officials again.
Episode 57: The 2020 Election, Taxes, and Furthering Socioeconomic Justice with Jeremy Bearer-Friend by McGeorge Capital Center for Law & Policy
Ryan Sullivan - Professor of Law at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln College of Law - talks with Jon about the successful, first-in-the-nation effort to repeal a state law in Nebraska that allowed retailers to send letters to people they accused of shoplifting demanding money from those accused.
Bridget Crawford and Emily Gold Waldman are Professors of Law at Pace University School of Law and are at the forefront of efforts to repeal sales taxes on feminine hygiene products, dubbed the Tampon Tax, across the country. Their research not only points out policy reasons for repealing the Tampon Tax but also puts forth arguments as to why it is unconstitutional as well.
Dennis Ventry is a Professor of Law at the University of California, Davis School of Law, and a former member and Chair of the IRS Advisory Council. He discusses his work to reform and fix the federal free file program for taxes.
Katherine Pearson is a Professor of Law at Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law, and was the only academic to be a member of the Pennslyvania Supreme Court's task force on elder protection. We talk about the impact of her work with the task force, the role models that they looked to, and what other states can adopt from Pennslyvania's progress.
Jessica Roberts, Professor of Law and Director of the Health Law & Policy Institute at University of Houston Law Center, discusses what rights you have over your DNA and the data in your DNA, how those rights have evolved, how much of those rights you give up when you take a direct-to-consumer DNA test, and what state legislatures could do to solidify your ownership of your genetic data and material.
Colin Starger, Professor of Law at the University of Baltimore, discusses the unintended consequences of a change in Maryland's rules to lessen the use of cash bail and what California can learn from Maryland's reforms to make sure bail reform in the Golden State achieves its intended goals.
Heidi Robertson is a Professor of Law at Cleveland State University College of Law and an environmental law expert. For our 50th episode, she talks with us about the rights of nature in the US and internationally, and how one specific iteration of that movement is playing out in Toledo over Lake Erie.
Sandra Guerra Thompson is the Newell H. Blakely Professor in Law and Director of the Criminal Justice Institute at the University of Houston Law Center and a founding member of the Board of Directors of the Houston Forensic Science Center. We talk about how Houston transformed the crime lab from one of, if not the, worst in the country, to one getting international attention for its innovations.
Tracy Hester is a Professor of Law at the University of Houston Law Center, as well as co-founder and co-director of the Center for Carbon Management in Energy at University of Houston. We talk about the growth of new climate intervention technology, the benefits of the new tech, and some of the legal and moral issues that they invite.
Brian E. Ray is a professor of law and the co-founder and Director of the Center for Cybersecurity and Privacy Protection at Cleveland State University's Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. He was also a member of the CyberOhio Advisory Board which drafted the Ohio Data Protection Act.
Natalie Nanasi is an Assistant Professor of Law at Southern Methodist University's Dedman School of Law, and Director of the Judge Elmo B. Hunter Center for Victims of Crimes Against Women. We talked earlier about her work to increase protections for survivors of domestic violence by getting the law enforcement community in Dallas County to buy in on enforcing a Texas state law that takes guns out of the hands of convicted domestic violence offenders.
Matthew Titolo is a Professor of Law at West Virginia University College of Law. We talk about his research into the privatization of government services, the pitfalls of privatization for the government's perspective, and what citizens can do to be more aware of privatization and how they can make their voices heard.
Irving Joyner is a Professor of Law at North Carolina Central University School of Law and Legal Counsel to the North Carolina NAACP. We talk about his ongoing work to protect the voting rights of African Americans in North Carolina, gerrymandering, the overturned election in North Carolina's 9th Congressional District, and compare and contract California and North Carolina voting laws.
Richard Levy is the J.B. Smith Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law at Kansas University School of Law. He talks about his work reforming Kansas's Child in Need of Care and Juvenile Offender Codes to improve government service and outcomes for children.
James Van Nostrand is a Professor of Law at West Virginia University College of Law and Director of the school's Center for Energy and Sustainable Development. We talk today climate change, the evolving energy sector and its impact on the coal industry, utilities, and
Jennifer Schmidt is a Clinical Associate Professor of Law at University of Kansas School of Law and Director of their6th Semester in D.C. & Public Policy Programs, and Director of the school's Field Placement Program. We talk about her recent work on the Kansas Attorney General's Kansas Youth Suicide Prevention Task Force and how Kansas is trying to get to zero youth suicides.
Mary Spector is a Professor of Law as well as Asociate Dean for Clinics and Director of the Civil/Consumer Clinic at Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law in Dallas, Texas. She talks with Jon about the rapid growth of debt in the U.S., the work her clinic students are doing, consumer protection law, and more.
Associate Dean, Distinguished Professor of Law, and Co-Director of the Center for Law and Energy Resources in the Rockies Sam Kalen got on the phone with Jon Wainwright to talk about some of the clinical opportunities for law students at University of Wyoming, interstate power grids and how those can be created without preempting federal law, NEPA and efforts to curtail some of its impact.
Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 838 by State Senator Robert Hertzberg on September 28th as Chapter 889 and this bill authorizes corporations to include a provision in their articles of incorporation authorizing the use of blockchain technology to record and track the issuance and transfer of stock certificates.
Texas A&M Law Professor William Henning is a former Executive Director of the Uniform Law Commission and has fingerprints on and has his fingerprints on laws in all 50 states, DC, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands that affect your everyday life. He talks with Jon this week about some of the laws he's helped draft and enact, and just how far ranging the work of the ULC is.
This week Jon explores the legal and regulatory frameworks around the growing legalized sports betting industry with Drake University Law School Professor Keith Miller.
This week Jon talks with Notre Dame Clinical Professor Judith Fox about her work as the Director of Notre Dame Economic Justice Clinic and a former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Advisory Board member to protect individuals from predatory actors in the rent-to-own housing market.
This week Jon talks with University of Wyoming Law and School of Energy Professor Tara Righetti about her work in oil and gas law and how the oil and gas industry can help address the climate change crisis with existing technology and infrastructure.
Today with talk with the expert in the field of heirs' property rights, Texas A&M Law Professor Thomas Mitchell. Prof. Mitchell is the primary drafter of a policy crafted through the Uniform Law Commission that is in effect in 12 states and has been introduced in 7 more states and the District of Columbia. We talk about the conversations and research that started Prof. Mitchell down the path to write these laws, some of the biggest challenges that he and his coalition faced getting the policy enacted in one state, and as he puts it, "battling the ghost of Strom Thurmond."
UNLV Boyd School of Law Professor Addie Rolnick talks with Jon Wainwright about her work to improve the juvenile justice system for tribal youth. Professor Rolnick goes over the biggest issues facing tribal youth who enter the juvenile justice system and offers the solutions she thinks are necessary to fix some of the cracks in the system.
I talked with SMU Law Professor, and Director of SMU's Judge Elmo B. Hunter Legal Center for Victims of Crimes Against Women, Natalie Nanasi about the work she, and the Hunter Center, are doing in Dallas County to increase awareness and enforcement of a Texas state law that essentially states that if a person is convicted of a felony or misdemeanor domestic violence crime, that they must surrender all the guns that they own. We walk through the numerous reasons why enforcement of that law has been difficult and what Prof. Nanasi is doing through the Hunter Center to improve that.
I also talk about the parallel I see between Prof. Nanasi's efforts and the tragic death of Davis Police Officer Natalie Corona.
On today's show we talk with Professor of Law and Director of the Immigration Clinic at Western State College of Law Jennifer Koh about her work at the intersection of immigration law and criminal law, her new nonprofit project - the Orange County Justice Fund - and being cited in a Supreme Court ruling by the Notorious RBG.
New year, new style! We're shifting our focus on The CAP·impact Podcast from exclusively looking under the capitol dome in California to capitol domes - the and sprawls of government buildings that make up state departments and agencies - across the U.S.
In today's podcast, I talk with Texas A&m Professor of Law Saurabh Vishnubhakat about his work in the creation and of a new administrative patent review process within the U.S Patent Office called PTAB.
Beyond that, we talk about some of the intricacies of patent law, what makes a good or a bad patent - and different types of bad patents - and some of the reform efforts around patent law that Prof. Vishnubhakat is involved in.
Today's show is part two of our conversation on justice and constitutional law with retired US Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, international Judge Ann Power-Forde, former California Supreme Court Justice Joseph Grodin, and Judge Dr. Wolfgang Brandstetter of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Austria.
McGeorge School of Law brought together a panel of judges and justices from across the United States and the world to discuss issues of constitutional law and justice to celebrate a $1 million gift to the school from the Tsakopoulos Family Foundation. The gift created the new Justice Anthony M. Kennedy Endowed Chair at McGeorge School of Law, and the panel features retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, international Judge Ann Power-Forde, former California Supreme Court Justice Joseph Grodin, and Judge Dr. Wolfgang Brandstetter of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Austria.
Today is our final special edition featuring analysis of California's ballot initiatives. We cover Proposition 8, 10, 11, and 12 on this episode. Most importantly, since Election Day is tomorrow, remember to vote! If you don't know where your polling place is, please visit this link on the California Secretary of State's website: https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/polling-place/
In part 2 of 3 of our series on California ballot initiatives, students in McGeorge's California Initiative Review break down Proposition 5, 6, and 7, on the November 6 ballot in California. Listen in for non-partisan, objective analysis of Prop 5 - changes to Prop 13 - Prop 6 - repeal the gas tax and then some - and Prop 7 - let the Legislature change daylight saving time in California. Check back in with us on Monday for the last four ballot measures. Go vote!
On today's podcast we sit down with Tom McCormick of the California Craft Brewers Association and McGeorge's very own Craft Beer Law Prof Dan Croxall to talk about craft beer, and craft beer law, in California.
With Election Day just around the corner, we're providing you with non-partisan, objective analysis of all 11 ballot measures facing Californians next week. Part 1 is today, and we focus on the four bond measures. Friday will be part 2, covering the tax measures and daylight saving time, and Part 3 will come out on Monday with the remaining ballot initiatives.
On today's show, we talk with Sosan Madanat - a Director at Lighthouse Public Affairs - about her first year of lobbying.
The 2017-18 legislative session was a lively one, as well as the last one ever to overseen by Governor Jerry Brown. To discuss the end of session and some of the historic legislation that came out of it, we talk with Aaron Brieno - Leg. Director to Sen. Ben Hueso - now former lobbyist Lexi Howard - she was a contract lobbyist at the time of recording - and lobbyist and friend of the show Chris Micheli.
In August 2018, Sonoma City Councilmember Rachel Hundley was attacked by an anonymous group of internet trolls. Their tactic? Take pictures that Rachel had posted on her own Instagram account from Burning Man and combine those with some inflammatory accusations on a website. Their goal? Blackmail Rachel into not running for re-election by threatening to take that website public. In a bold move, Rachel countered their move by taking them on head on, calling them out for slut shaming her and trying to blackmail her into not running for re-election in the era of #MeToo. You can see that response at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxnmpqtkUMM
Today, we talk with Councilmember Hundley about that experience, and the additional challenges that she faces both running for and in office as a woman and as a millenial that her male and older counterparts do not have to face.
Laura Curtis, who just finished her first year as a lobbyist, sits down with McGeorge alum and adjunct professor Chris Micheli, to talk about her experience as a lobbyist and being a part of the advocacy at the California Chamber of Commerce.
On today's podcast, lobbyist and McGeorge alum and adjunct professor Chris Micheli talks with his colleague Laura Curtis. Laura recently switched careers - from working in a legal career in the San Francisco Bay Area to lobbying for the California Chamber of Commerce in California's capital. The two talk about her experience switching careers and the biggest differences between being a practicing attorney and a lobbyist.
On this episode, we talk with Lexi Howard and Erinn Ryberg - two McGeorge alumna - who worked to kill AB 638, a bill that would have outlawed immigration consultants in California.
We go over what immigration consultants do, where they fit in the immigration law ecosystem, the actual problem that AB 638 was trying to fix, and why ultimately the bill needed to be killed.
On today's episode of The CAP·impact Podcast, I sit down with McGeorge adjunct professor, and very good friend of the podcast, Chris Micheli, to talk about recent California Supreme Court decision in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v Superior Court.
For those unfamiliar with the case, it, in essence, drastically changed how independent contractors are classified in California. Chris and I talk about what the old rules were, how the Dynamex decision will effect employers in the traditional economy space - as well as the new gig economy - and what we can reasonably expect to see the Legislature do in the upcoming year to address some of the issues raised by the business community by Dynamex.
On today's show we talk with Maggy Krell, Chief Legal Counsel for Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California about the impact of US Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy's retirement, the potential impact of Judge Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation to the Supreme Court, the numerous attempted and proposed changes to healthcare policy at the federal level, and what all of that means for Californians. We also talk with McGeorge Professor Ederlina Co about SB 320 by State Senator Connie Leyva (D-Chino), which recently passed the California Legislature and is awaiting Governor Brown's signature, and the significance of that bill in light what has been going on in Congress and at the federal level in regards to healthcare.
On today's podcast, McGeorge Capital Lawyering adjunct professor Chris Micheli breaks down the different vote requirements different types of legislation have to clear, and there's more than just the majority and 2/3 requirements most folks know about. Chris also goes over the different kinds of legislative publications. And to wrap up today's show, we talk with Kim Barnes - the Chief Legislation Editor for University of the Pacific Law Review's Greensheets Edition and host of the podcast In Session - to talk about what to expect from the second season of In Session.
If you've ever wondered about why some states have legalized marijuana and some haven't, or why even though marijuana is legal in it's still illegal to posses or use it, then today's episode is for you. McGeorge Professor of Law Mike Vitiello gives a brief history of the legalization of cannabis in today's episode. It's from one of the Capital Center's Executive Training series, and this piece is the first of a few that we'll be putting out in the next few weeks.
On today's episode we talk with Erin Evan-Fudem - McGeorge School of Law, Class of '12 and Legislative Representative at the League of California Cities - about the wildfires raging across California, some of the factors that have led to the surge in wildfires recently, and the issue of liability - specifically as it pertains to shareholder owned utilities like PG&E.
On today's show we're looking at the California Legislature's unfinished business for the remainder of 2018 with McGeorge alum and adjunct professor Chris Micheli.
In today’s episode, we finish our conversation with Adriana Ruelas and Adrienne Shilton from the Steinberg Institute. Today we talk about SB 1113 and AB 1971. We’re also talking with Lacey Mickleburgh at McGeorge School of Law’s Homeless Advocacy Clinic about the services they’re providing to people experiencing homelessness in the Sacramento region.
On today's show, we have the first part of our conversation with Adriana Ruelas and Adrienne Shilton from the Steinberg Institute. In today's episode we focus in on SB 1004 and AB 1436, as well as briefly touch on AB 2018 and SB 906.
On today's show McGeorge School of Law Capital Lawyering professor Chris Micheli discusses some of the institutional challenges to lawmaking in California. We then have a deep dive conversation with Assembly Member Chad Mayes about how our current state of hyper-partisan politics is affecting governing and lawmaking in California.
Today's episode is Part 2 from the Mike Belote Endowed Lecture on Journalism in the Era of Fake News. Today's episode is the questions from the audience portion the event.
Today's episode is part 1 of a panel discussion recorded live at the Sterling Hotel in Sacramento, California. The panel, which is part of the McGeorge Capital Center for Law & Policy's annual Mike Belote Endowed Capital Lecture series, is on Journalism in the Era of Fake News.
This week we talk with Jacquie Marroquin of the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence and John Finley of CALCASA about their organizations' joint ask for $50 million in California's budget for sexual assault and domestic violence programs. They tell us how that process turned out for them - and while the title of today's show betrays the overall outcome, it doesn't spoil the details.
And since this show is all about the California state budget, we also have McGeorge Capital Lawyering adjunct professor Chris Micheli on the show today to talk about lobbying the state budget.
This week we talk with McGeorge School of Law Professor, and elections expert, Mary-Beth Moylan, about how California got a Top Two primary system and how that system works compared to closed primaries in other states. We also talk with Democratic consultant Brian Brokaw about how the Top Two primary has changed how campaigns reach out to voters.
On today's show we talk with Assembly Member James Gallagher about the Oroville Dam spillway crisis in 2017, some of the factors that led to it, and what he is working on now in the Legislature in response to the crisis.
On today's episode we'll be exploring a bill that's been mentioned in a few previous episodes, AB 931. The bill would change the use of force standard in California from reasonable to necessary. To help explain the bill itself and what that change would mean in practical terms, we talked to the bill's author, Assembly Member Shirley Weber.
On legislation like this - legislation that would make a noticeable impact on how folks go about doing their job on a day to day basis, it's to be expected that the affected groups are going to try to influence the shape and outcome of that legislation. And to explain how groups do that and which pressure points they consider to influence legislation, we talk to veteran lobbyist and adjunct professor in McGeorge School of Law's Capital Lawyering program, Chris Micheli.
In today's episode, we're talking about California's foster care system and, in particular, AB 1784 which is one bill aimed at improving the system. We're talking with Carli Olson about the bill itself. She is the Legislative Aide in Asm. Brian Maienschein's - the bill's author - office.
We'll also talk with the bill's two sponsors, Keri Firth and Michelle Evans, who are both McGeorge students in the school's Legislative and Public Policy Clinic. The conversation we have with them is part a series we have on our blog, www.capimpactca.com, called The Clinic.
In today's episode we continue to explore the myriad of issues surrounding the shooting of Stephon Clark. That starts with a conversation with two law professors at McGeorge School of Law - Leslie Jacobs and Mary-Beth Moylan - who are experts in free speech and campaigns, respectively. With them, we talk about the rights of protesters and the intersection of campaign contributions and public perception of public officials.
We also talk with State Assembly Member Kevin McCarty (D-AD 7) from Sacramento, CA about the impact the shooting and protests have had in his district. We also talk about his push for independent investigations of the use of deadly force.
On today's episode we talk with we talk with four legal experts about the shooting of Stephon Clark and the issues that have risen to the surface since that fateful night. Our experts are: former Deputy District Attorney - and McGeorge alumna – Alana Mathews; criminal defense attorney – and McGeorge alumnus – Keith Staten; civil right and criminal defense attorney Justin Ward; and Dr. Obed Magny, and founding member of the American Society of Evidence Based Policing (ASEBP) and an officer with Sacramento PD in the Professional Standards Unit, Dr. Obed Magny.
This week we're talking with John Finley of the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault about their report - The Cost and Consequences of Sexual Violence in California - and their joint-effort with The California Partnership to End Domestic Violence to get more funding from the state budget to allow them to enact more preventative programs. And since we're talking about a coalition effort, we also have an explainer from Mcgeorge School of Law adjunct professor Chris Micheli on how to successfully utilize a lobbying coalition.
Today's episode takes a look at the impacts of changes at the federal level on the regulated cannabis market in California and looks at how that new market is doing. For the analysis of federal policy changes, primarily the decision in January by US Attorney General Jeff Sessions to rescind the Cole Memorandum, we'll turn to McGeorge School of Law Professor Mike Vitiello. We then chat with Dustin Moore, a Principal at Main Street Strategies and the Deputy Campaign Manager for 2016's Yes on Prop 64 campaign, to talk about how the roll out of the legalized adult use of recreational cannabis is going in California, the challenges new businesses are facing, and some of the solutions being discussed to address those challenges.
In our first episode, we sit down with Erin Scott, the Board Chair of the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence to talk about her organization's effort to get more funding from the California General Fund for domestic violence prevention as well as to enable organizations to implement new and innovative approaches to helping domestic violence survivors. And since our conversation centers on the budget, we'll lead into that conversation with a conversation between veteran lobbyists Ray LeBov and Chris Micheli on their tips for lobbying the budget.