David A Carrillo

September 27, 2024 | The Recorder

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

Lacking 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

The 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 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

"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

"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

A 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

"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

Systems 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

August 10, 2023 | The Recorder

Officials targeted with a recall, the most personal of the direct democracy devices, are unsurprisingly unhappy about having to defend against it. But voters should not be fooled when their targets complain about risks to democracy, according to Joshua Spivak and David Carrillo of Berkeley Law's California Constitution Center.

By Joshua Spivak and David A. Carrillo

5 minute read