December 17, 2024 | The Recorder
Commentary: President Biden Should Commute Death Sentences of All Federal InmatesContributors David A. Carrillo and Brandon V. Stracener ask President Biden to commute the sentences of the 40 inmates currently on federal death row to life in prison without parole.
By David A. Carrillo and Brandon V. Stracener
6 minute read
September 27, 2024 | The Recorder
Why Is California's State Bar Pinching Pennies at the Public's Expense?Protecting the public—not thrift—is the bar's primary regulatory purpose, and its focus on cutting corners has arguably diluted the bar exam from the nation's hardest to something that weakens public protection.
By David A. Carrillo and Stephen M. Duvernay
6 minute read
September 04, 2024 | The Recorder
Only One Resolution to the California Senate's Great EscapeLacking any other good options, the best course here is a political compromise; this is primarily a political issue that needs a political solution.
By David A. Carrillo and Brandon V. Stracener
5 minute read
June 25, 2024 | The Recorder
Oakland's Avoidable Mayoral CarouselThe problems that Oakland and the county are facing were foreseeable when the legislature upended local recall procedures. Either way, this mayoral carousel should inspire Oakland and other charter cities and counties to rethink their recall laws.
By Joshua Spivak and David A. Carrillo
6 minute read
May 31, 2024 | The Recorder
Federalism, Man: A Brief History on the Division of PowerFederalism came about when James Madison solved the problem of how to get two sovereigns to rule the same land in harmony by rejecting part of the premise: his solution to the conflict inherent in joining two sovereigns was allowing them to conflict.
By David A. Carrillo, David Belcher and Michael Belcher
5 minute read
April 23, 2024 | The Recorder
How Alameda County Became Mired in a Recall Rules Roulette"Rather than making a clear choice between the charter or the state rules, the county clerk used both," write Joshua Spivak and David A. Carrillo of the California Constitution Center at Berkeley Law.
By Joshua Spivak and David A. Carrillo
6 minute read
March 14, 2024 | The Recorder
Guess What? Voters Hate Taxes"The electorate and the legislature share the state's lawmaking power, so the electorate's power to propose and adopt tax laws is at least as broad as the legislature's," write David A. Carrillo and Stephen M. Duvernay of the California Constitution Center at Berkeley Law.
By David A. Carrillo and Stephen M. Duvernay
6 minute read
November 27, 2023 | The Recorder
Alameda County's Bait-and-Switch On the Local RecallA proposal seeking to change Alameda County's recall law, linking recall procedure to state law may. might create rather than solve problems, dilute the local electorate's direct democracy powers, and cede local control to the state, according to Joshua Spivak and David A. Carrillo of Berkeley Law's California Constitution Center.
By Joshua Spivak and David A. Carrillo
6 minute read
October 30, 2023 | The Recorder
Gavin Newsom, California's Ambassador"Where is it written that a governor is barred from representing their state's interests abroad?" ask David Carrillo and Stephen Duvernay of the California Constitution Center at Berkeley Law.
By David A. Carrillo and Stephen M. Duvernay
6 minute read
September 14, 2023 | The Recorder
Federal Courts Should Do Judicial Ethics California-StyleSystems already exist that could be extended or borrowed to address the risks that arise from exempting the nation's highest court from rules that apply to every other state and federal judge, according to Nanci Nishimura of Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy and David Carrillo of the California Constitution Center at Berkeley Law.
By Nanci E. Nishimura and David A. Carrillo
6 minute read