Capital Center Report - April 2001
Capital Center Hosts
Conference on 2000 Election
On March 17, the Capital Center for Government Law and Policy
hosted a day-long conference that focused on state election
law and federal elections. The conference, entitled, “A
Retrospective on Election 2000,” examined the decisions
by the United States Supreme Court in Bush v. Gore, 121 S.
Ct. 525 (2000) (Bush I), and Bush v. Palm Beach County Canvassing
Board, 121 S. Ct. 471 (2000) (Bush II). The legal analysis
in the opinions in Bush I and Bush II, written in an extraordinarily
compressed time frame, are not fully developed and leave for
the future unresolved questions about the continuing importance,
if any, of state constitutions, the meaning of judicial interpretation
versus judicial legislation, and the reach and scope of the
Fourteenth Amendment. Speakers focused on these questions
and on how the varying answers to these questions may affect
proposal for electoral reform.
The participants of the conference included: Attorney General of California Bill Lockyer; Professor Richard Hasen, Loyola of Los Angeles; Professor Pamela Karlan, Stanford Law School; Professors John Sims and Brian Landsberg, University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law; Bill Wood, Chief Counsel, Secretary of State’s Office; Professor Howard Fink, Ohio State University College of Law; Lloyd Levine, Legislative Director for Assemblyman John Longville; and Fred Woocher, Strumwasser & Woocher.
Video tapes of the program are available for viewing at the
McGeorge School of Law Library. An audio rebroadcast of the
program is available through the McGeorge website under "News
and Events."
Professor Kelso to Chair Earthquake Authority
Governor Gray Davis has appointed Professor J. Clark Kelso
as his designee to the California Earthquake Authority, which
he chairs.
In 1996, the California State Legislature created the California Earthquake Authority (CEA) to offer residents insurance protection against earthquake damage. Created in response to the homeowners insurance availability crisis that followed the Northridge earthquake of 1994, the CEA is now the leading provider of homeowners earthquake insurance in California. The CEA provides earthquake insurance policies to more than two-thirds of the homeowners insurance brokers in California and is equipped to pay over $7.2 billion in claims.
The other members of the CEA Board are State Treasurer Phil Angelides and Insurance Commissioner Harry Low. Speaker of the Assembly Robert M. Hertzberg and Chairperson of the Senate Rules Committee John Burton are non- voting, ex-officio members of the board.
Prof. Landsberg Has Busy Year
Professor Brian Landsberg has had a busy year both writing
and appearing in person to discuss important legal issues.
In March of last year Professor Landsberg published a review
on Paul D. Moreno’s book, From Direct Action to Affirmative
Action: Fair Employment Law and Policy in America. The review,
published in the Law and History Review, takes an analytical
look at issues raised in the book, such as racial discrimination
and equal representation. It offers a legal perspective on
equal employment policies for much of the last century. Professor
Landsberg also participated in a number of conferences designed
to educate the public about constitutional issues. In October,
he was a special guest scholar at a conference on “The
End of School Desegregation?” at the Byron White Center
at the University of Colorado Law School. In September, he
moderated a program on Proposition 38 and vouchers for the
Jewish Community Relations Council at Mosaic Law Congregation
in Sacramento. Professor Landsberg teaches courses on Constitutional
Law, Federal Anti-Discrimination Legislation, State Constitutional
Law, First Amendment, Critical Race Theory, and Federal Courts.
Prof. Kelso Appointed "Scholar-in-Resident"
of AOC
Administrative Director of the California Courts William C.
Vickrey has appointed Professor Clark Kelso as the new Scholar-in-Residence
of the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC).
The AOC serves as the staff agency to the Judicial Council of California. It is responsible for ensuring the consistent, independent, impartial, and accessible administration of justice. The Scholar-in-Residence Program was established last year by the AOC to secure recognized experts in the justice system to work with the AOC in improving the administration of the courts. Professor Kelso will assist the AOC in developing a new Center for Innovative and Effective Court Practices.
Orientation Program for Judges
Available on the Capital Center Website
A program designed to acquaint members of the judicial branch
of government with the basic principles, ethical rules and
practical considerations that govern interactions with members
of the legislative branch of government is now available on
the Capital Center Website. While a manual and a video are
also available, the Capital Center Website hosts the only
online, interactive version of the program. Professor Clark
Kelso, Director of the Capital Center for Government Law and
Policy, was awarded a grant by the State Justice Institute
(SJI-99-N-003) to create the program. The program, “Judges
and Court Administrators Involved in Legislative Processes,”
was developed as one of a number of “educational programs
that orient judges, court managers, legislators, and legislative
staff to the procedures, perspectives, and problems of each
other’s branches.” (National Center for State Courts
1991) (SJI-89-04X-B-017).
Governmental Affairs Program Adds New Classes
Issues in Government Lawyering and Public Policy Development
are two new classes that have been added to the curriculum
of the Governmental Affairs Program. In Issues in Government
Lawyering, students undertake a comprehensive examination
of issues confronted by public lawyers at all levels of government.
The course explores such topics as client identification,
dual representation and other conflicts of interests, confidentiality,
ethical boundaries between political and governmental activity,
interagency coordination, communications and coordination
between branches of government, litigating for the government,
the roles of lawyers in the legislative branch and the roles
of lawyers in the executive branch. Public Policy Development
examines the nexus between policymaking and law. It explores
the lawyer’s role in developing, modifying and implementing
public policy through legislation, rulemaking, litigation,
executive orders and other less formal mechanisms. In this
course, students will write a major paper of publishable quality
that provides a thorough examination of current public policy
issues, including an analysis of the problem to be solved,
proposed public policy solutions, and a plan for implementation.
CPUC Will Offer Two New Internships
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) will be
offering two additional internship positions in the fall.
Interns will assist the CPUC in complying with Assembly Bill
970, as a response to the Governor’s Clean Energy Green
Team to stabilize and resolve electricity supply and demand.
The positions are available to students working on an LL.M.
in Government and Public Policy. The CPUC was established
in 1911 by Constitutional Amendment to regulate Railroad companies.
It has since expanded its regulatory authority and now regulates
privately owned telecommunications, electric, natural gas,
water, railroad, rail transit, and passenger transportation
companies. The CPUC is responsible for assuring that California
utility customers have safe, reliable utility service at reasonable
rates and protecting utility customers from fraud.
Justice Kennedy’s course to be added
to Governmental Affairs Program
Fundamental Rights in Europe and the United States is a course
now being offered to students in the Governmental Affairs
program. It has been added to the list of Governmental Structure
electives that students may take toward a Certificate in Governmental
Affairs. The course provides a comparative analysis of the
European and American approaches to human rights. It focuses
on the European Convention on Human Rights and the U.S. Bill
of Rights while examining selected topics such as personal
autonomy, free speech, freedom of the press and property.
Anthony M. Kennedy, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, will be teaching the course as a part of the McGeorge International Legal Studies program. The International program is situated in Salzburg, Austria and is taught for three weeks out of the summer.
McGeorge to Offer LL.M. in Government and
Public Policy
The Board of Regents of the University of the Pacific has
given its approval for McGeorge School of Law to offer a Master
of Laws (LL.M.) in Government and Public Policy this fall.
The purpose of the program, the only one of its kind in the
country, is to provide graduate education for lawyers in the
increasingly complex area of public law and public policy
beyond that which may be obtained during study for the Juris
Doctor degree. The one- or two-year program is designed for
(1) recent law school graduates who wish to pursue a career
in the public sector, in a private sector law firm that represents
public agencies, or in the public policy arena; and (2) more
experienced lawyers in private or public sector employment
who wish to explore public sector legal problems in greater
depth in an academic atmosphere. Currently, there are several
full-time internships available with the California Department
of Justice and California Public Utilities Commission for
the 2001-2002 academic year. The program is open to applicants
who have demonstrated academic excellence in addition to interest,
experience and ability in the area of government law and public
policy. Applicants must have a J.D. or equivalent degree from
an ABA-accredited law school.
Further information is available on the McGeorge website or you may contact the Capital Center for Government Law and Policy at (916) 739-7104.
Newsletter published by
Capital Center for Government Law and Policy
University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law
3200 Fifth Avenue
Sacramento, CA 95817
Telephone (916) 739-7104
J. Clark Kelso, Editor-in-Chief
Ryan Marcroft, Articles Editor
Priscilla Dodson, Production