Faculty in the News
USC Law professors are frequently sought by the media to serve as legal experts. This section highlights news citations in which faculty are quoted.
Fall 05 - Spring 06 | Fall 06 - Spring 07 | Fall 07 - Spring 08
July 16, 2008
The New York Times
Prof. Charles Whitebread was quoted in a story about a new film on director Roman Polanski. In the documentary, a former deputy district attorney claims to have coached the judge in the high-profile 1978 court case in which Polanski was found guilty of statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl. Polanski fled the U.S. prior to sentencing, and has not returned since. Some commentators said that the D.A.’s contacts with the judge appeared to violate California law and legal ethics, which could lead to a motion to dismiss the case. However, it would be unusual for a judge to reopen the case, Whitebread said. “That’s not to say that it wouldn’t be justified, or couldn’t happen,” he added.
July 16, 2008
Fox News
re: Susan Estrich
In her “Blue Streak” column, Prof. Susan Estrich wrote about current presidential polls. “The polls make me nervous. Not desperate, not hopeless, not resigned, but nervous. Barack Obama should be ahead right now. Way ahead,” Estrich wrote. “To say Republicans have fallen on hard times doesn’t begin to describe it. George Bush’s approval ratings are down to the immediate family; even die-hard Republicans are wringing their hands… So how can Newsweek have the race at a dead heat?”
July 15, 2008
Daily Journal
re: Kareem Crayton
Prof. Kareem Crayton wrote an op-ed reflecting upon the presidential race so far. Three lessons from the primary season can be drawn: Never make your move too soon, the states’ voting order matters, and expect the unexpected. As for the general election, Crayton predicted a close match-up. “How close? Consider this not-impossible scenario for November: Suppose that only three states switch from their preferred party in 2004 (New Hampshire, Colorado, New Mexico). America would witness the first electoral tie in modern presidential history. In that event, we will learn about an arcane U.S. Constitutional provision governing presidential elections… If you thought Bush v. Gore was controversial, stay tuned!”
July 14, 2008
Los Angeles Times
re: USC Gould School of Law
A story noted that that Sandra Davis Lawrence, who spent 24 years in prison for murdering her lover’s wife, is being represented for free by USC Law professors and students as part of the USC Gould School’s Post-Conviction Justice Project. Lawrence has also addressed law students in the project, the article reported.
July 12, 2008
Daily Pilot
re: USC Gould School of Law
A story noted that Carrie Hempel of the USC Gould School is among 18 founding faculty members of UC Irvine’s new law school.
July 12, 2008
The Washington Post
re: Jennifer Urban
Prof. Jennifer Urban was quoted about technology and privacy issues. The latest iPhone underscores how technology is tracking more and more information, including a user’s geographical location, the story stated. “There’s a disconnect between our expectations of when we will be observed and who will be observing us and how that information will be used and what the technology is allowing companies to do,” Urban said. She was also quoted in a United Press International story.
July 12, 2008
Fox News
re: Susan Estrich
In her “Blue Streak” column, Prof. Susan Estrich wrote about the passing of former White House press secretary Tony Snow. “[F]or me, what defined him was not what was in his head but what was in his heart,” Estrich wrote. “He was a mensch. A good man died today.”
July 9, 2008
Brian Leiter Reports
re: USC Gould School of Law
Two new senior appointments at USC Law were featured. Prof. Suzanne Scotchmer of UC Berkeley will hold a joint appointment with the Law School and the Department of Economics. She works on game theoretical and economic issues related to intellectual property and innovation. In addition, Prof. Gary Watson, a leading writer on free will and cognate issues in action theory and moral philosophy, will take up a joint appointment with USC Law (one-third of the time) and the Philosophy Department at USC
July 9, 2008
Fox News
re: Susan Estrich
In her “Blue Streak” column, Prof. Susan Estrich wrote about Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama’s first joint fundraisers. “It is a whole lot easier to convince Clinton supporters to give to Obama than it is to convince Obama supporters to give to Hillary,” Estrich wrote. “But in the long run, Obama needs to help Hillary at least as much as she needs to help him.”
July 8, 2008
Businessweek
re: Jennifer Urban
Prof. Jennifer Urban was quoted about Google being ordered to turn over YouTube viewer habits as part of Viacom’s copyright infringement lawsuit against the company. While the Digital Millennium Copyright Act limits Web site operator liability, its scope has not yet been fully defined in case law, the story noted. “The law is still developing in this area and that is probably going to happen for a while,” Urban said. While Viacom hasn¹t stated an intention of using the information to sue individuals for copyright infringement, privacy advocates fear that the case sets a precedent for others to do so, Urban said in an interview on National Public Radio’s “Day to Day.” “If this becomes a precedent, then other litigants may not refrain in the way that Viacom said they will,” she explained. Urban is director of the USC Intellectual Property and Technology Law Clinic, the article noted.
July 8, 2008
Press-Telegram
re: Jean Rosenbluth
Prof. Jean Rosenbluth was quoted about a man charged with murder for killing one of two trespassers. Even though the man shot intruders on his property, prosecutors can file murder chargers if they can demonstrate that the defendant wasn’t in immediate danger and didn’t need to shoot to kill, Rosenbluth said. “There is no doubt whatsoever that they did not have a right to be in his yard,” she noted. “That doesn’t give you the right, under any circumstances, to kill them. It gives you the right, under very limited circumstances, to defend yourself.”
July 8, 2008
The Wenatchee World
re: Susan Estrich
In a column, Prof. Susan Estrich wrote about the recurrence of cancer. “Just when you think you’ve found a way to live with it, made your peace with it, adjusted to the new normal – awful though it might be – it comes roaring back,” she wrote. “It’s not a fight, at least not a fair one.”
July 8, 2008
Press-Telegram
re: USC Gould School of Law
A story stated that the USC Gould School is one of the top 20 law schools in the nation.
July 6, 2008
Fox News
re: Susan Estrich
In her “Blue Streak” column, Prof. Susan Estrich wrote about ways in which Barack Obama is “pushing the envelope” in his campaign strategy. For example, Obama is planning to give his nomination acceptance speech in a football stadium to a crowd of some 70,000 people, the column noted. “And while it certainly occurred to me to move Dukakis’ convention speech outside the hall in 1988, and I even suggested it to the Gore people in 2000, there are all kinds of reasons to think that Barack Obama may in fact be the first Democratic candidate since John Kennedy in 1960 who can pull off a speech to a football-size crowd,” Estrich wrote.
July 5, 2008
The Washington Post
re: Kareem Crayton
Prof. Kareem Crayton was quoted about California’s gubernatorial race. Though it is still more than two years off, the race as it is shaping up forces Democrats to decide whether they’re ready to gamble on a splashy contender over a party stalwart, Crayton said. “That’s going to be the hard choice that Democrats have to make,” he added. “Do you go with the new fresh face or do you take the standby, tried and true?” This Associated Press story was carried widely.
July 4, 2008
The Washington Post
re: Jennifer Urban
Prof. Jennifer Urban was quoted in numerous stories about Google being ordered to turn over YouTube viewer habits as part of the copyright infringement lawsuit filed by Viacom. The order has alarmed privacy advocates, the story stated. Even if Viacom does not use the information to sue users for uploading copyrighted material, a future litigant may not keep the information private, Urban said. What videos people view and what books they read have long been considered sensitive information, and are “intensely personal pieces of information we expect people to be able to keep private,” she said. In a Los Angeles Times story, Urban said even if only the IP addresses change hands, "it may be that the database is not kept as secure as it is here, or it's turned over and a party decides to leak the information." If that happens, Urban said, "then the user's expectation that their information stays on a Google server will be completely undermined."
July 4, 2008
Fox News
re: Susan Estrich
Prof. Susan Estrich was interviewed about Barack Obama’s gradual shift to the center on Iraq. The story questioned whether the apparent shift would trigger backlash from the anti-war left. “Here’s the reality of the situation,” Estrich said. “If you’re against the war there are two candidates in this race: One talking about getting the troops home, whether it’s in three months or 18 months or whatever it is; and the other talking about a hundred-year war. I think the good news for Obama is that if he is indeed moving to the center, his base in the anti-war left is certainly secure.” Estrich was the campaign manager for Michael Dukakis’ 1988 presidential campaign. “She has suffered the wounds and knows the joys of high-stakes party politics that can only be experienced when you operate at its epicenter,” the story stated.
July 2, 2008
Agence France-Presse
re: Michael Shapiro
Prof. Michael Shapiro was quoted about the incidence of neglect by hospital staff. Cases of neglect happen more often than people think, Shapiro said.
July 2, 2008
Fox News
re: Susan Estrich
In her “Blue Streak” column, Prof. Susan Estrich wrote about changing attitudes towards coal. “When I first started in politics, coal enjoyed bipartisan protection from political criticism,” Estrich wrote. “Democrats were unwilling to criticize coal because they wanted and needed the votes of the people who worked in the mines; Republicans were mum because they enjoyed the support of the people who owned and ran them,” she added. “But the protection coal enjoyed politically did not protect the public against its harmful impact. It did not protect miners from dying of black lung, or pregnant women from registering high levels of mercury. Speak no evil doesn't make the evil go away.”
July 1, 2008
Los Angeles Times
re: Michael Shapiro
Prof. Michael Shapiro was quoted about a videotape showing staff at King-Harbor hospital ignoring a dying patient. “Many times, people... think, ‘If I keel over, I’m in a hospital, people will take care of me,’” Shapiro said. But that’s not necessarily true, he noted. Such incidents happen more often than people think, he added. “I think it reflects deficiencies in the human character,” he added. Shapiro is a bioethics expert, the story noted.
