News

Professor and Immigration Law Clinic Co-director Holly Cooper spoke to the Christian Science Monitor for a July 1 story that starts with a visit by President Donald Trump to controversial “Alligator Alcatraz” dete

Professor Raquel Aldana spoke to the San Francisco Chronicle on July 7 about the U.S. Department of Justice’s push to “denaturalize” U.S. citizens whom the government finds to have gained their citizenship illegally.

Professor Kevin R. Johnson spoke to the San Francisco Chronicle on July 14 about federal “border czar” Tom Homan’s suggestion that agents can question people “based on their physical appearance.”

The Wisconsin Supreme Court cited an article co-authored by Professor Lisa Pruitt in reversing a lower court ruling in Wis

In August, UC Davis School of Law welcomed Eric Toscano '09 as the new president of the Alumni Association Board of Directors. Toscano succeeds Errol Dauis '11 who provided excellent leadership and service as past president. 

In an op-ed published Aug. 7 in The Fulcrum, Professor Chimène Keitner discusses President Donald Trump’s position that recognizing a Palestinian state “rewards Hamas.”

Professor Kevin R. Johnson spoke to the San Francisco Chronicle for an August 18 story on the White House blaming California sanctuary policies for a fatal crash in Florida allegedly caused by an undocumented semitruck driver.

Professor Lisa R. Pruitt spoke to The Practice, a magazine published by Harvard Law School's Center on the Legal Profession, for its August issue about legal deserts, or rural areas with too few lawyers and judges to meet demand.

In the noteworthy case of Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy, the U.S. Supreme Court's majority opinion, on June 27, 2024, cited Professor Vikram Amar’s scholarship on the importance of honoring the historical understandings of jury-trial rights under the Seventh Amendment.

On Aug. 20, Professor Vikram Amar participated in the American Bar Association's webinar, “The Roberts Court 2024-25: Trumpeting Presidential Power.”

Lindsay Chuang has been named Assistant Dean of Admission and Financial Aid at UC Davis School of Law.

Chuang joined UC Davis in 2022, and had served as Interim Assistant Dean since June. Before that, she was Senior Director of Admission and Associate Director of Admission. In these capacities, she has been instrumental in shaping the past three classes of exceptionally talented first-year students.

Professor Gabriel “Jack” Chin commented for the Washington Post on Aug. 20 about a recent policy memo from U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services indicating it will increase its efforts to determine whether citizenship applicants display “good moral character.”

Professor Raquel Aldana spoke to the Wyoming Star News for an Aug. 18 analysis of the debate over Gov. Mark Gordon’s decision to align with federal authorities’ immigration enforcement strategies.

The American Bar Association has reappointed Professor Raquel Aldana as a special advisor to the Council of the Latin American and Caribbean division of the Rule of Law Initiative.

Aldana will embark on her  third one-year term as a special advisor after chairing the board for three years and serving on the board before that. As part of her role, Aldana advises the team of lawyers who implement ROLI projects in Latin America.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed Fresno Superior Court Judge Arlan Harrell ’90 to be an associate justice at the California Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District.

Harrell took the bench in Fresno in 2006 after three years as a court commissioner. Before that, he was a deputy district attorney in Fresno County from 1994-2003.

Read the full press release on Newsom’s recent judicial appointments.

Professor Vikram Amar submitted amicus briefs to the United States Courts of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and the Federal Circuit in cases challenging President Donald Trump’s broad authority to impose tariffs.

Amar co-authored the briefs with former Oklahoma Congressman Mickey Edwards.

Professor Vikram Amar debated Chuck Cooper on the topic of birthright citizenship in April at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.

Amar and Cooper, founding member and chairman of Cooper & Kirk PLLC, addressed the question: “Are persons born in the U.S. to temporarily or illegally present parents U.S. citizens by birthright under the Fourteenth Amendment?”

Professor Vikram Amar has co-authored a new series of columns about 2025 Supreme Court cases with his brother, Yale Law School Professor Akhil Amar, as part of the SCOTUSblog’s new format.

Three of the Amars’ “Brothers in Law” pieces address U.S. v. Skrmetti, a case of first impression about what the Constitution says and does not say about transgender issues.

Professor Shayak Sarkar was invited to a workshop held July 14 at the Max Planck Institute in Munich, Germany.

Sarkar commented on the forthcoming book Tax Discrimination and Competition, co-authored by University of Pennsylvania Professor Michael Knoll and University of Virginia Professor Ruth Mason.

Shayak Sarkar's scholarship addresses the structure and legal regulation of inequality. His substantive interests lie in financial regulation, employment law, immigration, and taxation.

Professor Kevin R. Johnson spoke to CalMatters for an Aug. 7 story about the Trump administration filing an emergency appeal with the Supreme Court to lift a temporary ban on the use of "roving" immigration stops in Los Angeles.

Professor Eric Fish spoke to the Marshall Project for a July 15 story about Juan Aguilar, an undocumented immigrant arrested, convicted and deported to Mexico under a Florida immigration law that police and prosecutors had been blocked by a federal judge from enforcing. Aguilar is among at least 27 people arrested despite the judge’s order.

Professor Elizabeth Joh weighed in for New York Times writer Vanessa Friedman’s Aug. 1 Critic’s Notebook piece on the evolving role of masks in our society.

Friedman used immigration enforcement officers’ recent controversial use of masks and other identity-obscuring items during raids as a jumping-off point for her essay exploring the history and nature of masks in the culture.

Professor Kevin R.

The Princeton Review has ranked UC Davis School of Law No. 1 the nation in “greatest resources for women.” In addition, the Review places King Hall at No. 3 in “greatest resources for minority students.”

Professor Elizabeth Joh and longtime podcasting partner Roman Mars are collaborating on the monthly The 99% Invisible Breakdown: The Constitution podcast. The show will examine all 7,591 words of the U.S. Constitution, book club-style, and feature notable guests.