The CAP·impact Podcast

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The CAP·impact podcast is production of the Capital Center for Law & Policy at McGeorge School of Law. Host Jon Wainwright talks with law professors around the United States about developments flying under the radar in law and policy at the state and loca

McGeorge Capital Center for Law & Policy


    • Aug 20, 2020 LATEST EPISODE
    • infrequent NEW EPISODES
    • 29m AVG DURATION
    • 76 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from The CAP·impact Podcast

    Episode 68: Voting Rights and Kamala Harris the Vice Presidential Candidate with Franita Tolson

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 20, 2020 30:42


    USC Gould School of Law Vice Dean Franita Tolson talks with Jon about the historic nature of Kamala Harris's spot on the Democratic Party ticket and on the many ongoing fights related to voting rights across the U.S.

    Episode 67: Jessica Levinson Explains SCOTUS's Most Politically Charged Decisions

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 30, 2020 28:40


    Loyola Law School Professor, political commentator, and SCOTUS observer Jessica Levinson comes on the podcast to explain the impacts of the SCOTUS decisions on the electoral college and the President's financial documents.

    Episode 66: Fracking laws and oil and gas regulations

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 2, 2020 26:53


    Florida State University Law Professor and expert on laws surrounding fracking and oil & gas production, Hannah Wiseman, comes on the podcast to talk about the different levels of regulation states have on oil and gas production and where federal regulation could step up and improve.

    BONUS POD! SCOTUS's June Medical Services Decision

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 1, 2020 20:20


    Jon talks with Ederlina Co, Professor of Law at McGeorge School of Law, and Maggy Krell, General Counsel for Planned Parenthood Advocates of California, about the 5-4 SCOTUS decision in June Medical Services.

    BONUS POD! Bostock, LGBTQ+ Rights, and Marriage Equality

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 26, 2020 29:01


    Yale Law Professor William Eskridge comes on the podcast to talk about the impact of the Bostock and Obergefell decisions from SCOTUS for LGBTQ+ persons living in the United States and his new book Marriage Equality: From Outlaws to In-Laws.

    BONUS POD! SCOTUS DACA Decision

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 24, 2020 29:05


    Blake Nordahl, a Professor of Law at McGeorge and the supervising attorney for McGeorge's Immigration Clinic, and Set Hernandez - a documentary filmmaker, media specialist with the California Immigrant Policy Center, and DACA recipient - talk about the legal, personal, and policy impacts of SCOTUS's DACA decision last week.

    Episode 65: Political Brands with Ciara Torres-Spelliscy

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 18, 2020 48:48


    Stetson Law Professor Ciara Torres-Spellicsy comes on the podcast to talk about how SCOTUS is rebranding corruption and truth, how candidates brand themselves, and the most encouraging political rebranding of the 21st century.

    Episode 64: What You Do and Don't Need to Fear in the COVID-19 Crisis

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 5, 2020 37:27


    Leah Fowler - Professor of Law and Research Director and the Health Law & Policy Institute at the University of Houston Law Center - joins the podcast to talk about potential privacy issues with app-based contact tracing, legal misinformation spreading online, and how the COVID-19 pandemic is changing the employee-employer relationship.

    Episode 63: How You Have an Election in a Crisis w Prof. Richard Hasen

    Play Episode Listen Later May 21, 2020 38:02


    Richard Hasen - Chancellor's Professor of Law and Political Science at the University of California, Irvine - joins the pod to talk about his recent book Election Meltdown: Dirty Tricks, Distrust, and the Threat to American Democracy, the recent Fair Elections in a Crisis report, and how US democracy can survive the 2020 election.

    Episode 62: Genetic Duties With Jessica Roberts

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 9, 2020 40:40


    Jessica Roberts - Professor of Law, Professor of Medicine, and Director of the Health Law & Policy Institute at the University of Houston Law Center - comes back on the podcast to talk about the emerging set of issues around genetic reclassification, and what it means from a legal perspective when the results of a genetic test you took change.

    Episode 61: Economic Justice Incubators with Priya Baskaran

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 26, 2020 41:06


    Priya Baskaran, Professor of Law at American University Washington College of Law, talks with Jon about economic justice incubators and her ideas for how to better reintegrate returning citizens into society and the local economies they return to.

    Episode 60: Gentle Density and Why States Should Play a Bigger Role in Zoning with Anika Singh Lemar

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 12, 2020 38:33


    Anika Singh Lemar is a Clinical Associate Professor of Law at Yale Law School and teaches in the school Community and Economic Development Clinic. She talks with Jon about housing policy issues like zoning and examples of where states have stepped in, flexed their muscles, and pushed localities to change how to zone to address the housing crisis.

    Episode 59: The 2020 Election, The Courts, And Unions For All with Prof. Harold McDougall

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 27, 2020 29:09


    Howard University Law Professor Harold McDougall comes on the podcast to talk about the 2020 election, the US judicial system, some of philosphies behind the policies of presidential candidates, and the unions for all movement and what the impact of that movement succeeding could look like.

    Episode 58: How We Can Fix Our Democracy with Joshua Douglas

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 13, 2020 39:53


    Joshua Douglas is a Professor of Law at the University of Kentucky Rosenberg College of Law, and the author of the book Vote for US. We talk about government and election reforms to improve the US democracy and get voters to trust institutions and their elected officials again.

    Episode 57: The 2020 Election, Taxes, and Furthering Socioeconomic Justice with Jeremy Bearer-Friend

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 30, 2020 34:23


    Episode 57: The 2020 Election, Taxes, and Furthering Socioeconomic Justice with Jeremy Bearer-Friend by McGeorge Capital Center for Law & Policy

    Episode 56: Stopping Shoplifting Shakedown Letters with Ryan Sullivan

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 17, 2020 30:34


    Ryan Sullivan - Professor of Law at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln College of Law - talks with Jon about the successful, first-in-the-nation effort to repeal a state law in Nebraska that allowed retailers to send letters to people they accused of shoplifting demanding money from those accused.

    Episode 55: Why the Tampon Tax is Unconstitutional with Bridget Crawford and Emily Gold Waldman

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 19, 2019 22:36


    Bridget Crawford and Emily Gold Waldman are Professors of Law at Pace University School of Law and are at the forefront of efforts to repeal sales taxes on feminine hygiene products, dubbed the Tampon Tax, across the country. Their research not only points out policy reasons for repealing the Tampon Tax but also puts forth arguments as to why it is unconstitutional as well.

    Episode 54: Fighting Industry to Fix Free Filing of Taxes with Prof. Dennis Ventry

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 12, 2019 42:18


    Dennis Ventry is a Professor of Law at the University of California, Davis School of Law, and a former member and Chair of the IRS Advisory Council. He discusses his work to reform and fix the federal free file program for taxes.

    Episode 53: Data Driven Best Practices for Protecting the Elderly with Professor Katherine Pearson

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 5, 2019 25:13


    Katherine Pearson is a Professor of Law at Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law, and was the only academic to be a member of the Pennslyvania Supreme Court's task force on elder protection. We talk about the impact of her work with the task force, the role models that they looked to, and what other states can adopt from Pennslyvania's progress.

    Episode 52: Who Owns Your DNA with Prof. Jessica Roberts

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 29, 2019 50:11


    Jessica Roberts, Professor of Law and Director of the Health Law & Policy Institute at University of Houston Law Center, discusses what rights you have over your DNA and the data in your DNA, how those rights have evolved, how much of those rights you give up when you take a direct-to-consumer DNA test, and what state legislatures could do to solidify your ownership of your genetic data and material.

    Episode 51: What California Can Learn from Maryland on Bail Reform with Professor Colin Starger

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 22, 2019 33:01


    Colin Starger, Professor of Law at the University of Baltimore, discusses the unintended consequences of a change in Maryland's rules to lessen the use of cash bail and what California can learn from Maryland's reforms to make sure bail reform in the Golden State achieves its intended goals.

    Episode 50: The Rights of Nature with Prof. Heidi Robertson

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 6, 2019 25:56


    Heidi Robertson is a Professor of Law at Cleveland State University College of Law and an environmental law expert. For our 50th episode, she talks with us about the rights of nature in the US and internationally, and how one specific iteration of that movement is playing out in Toledo over Lake Erie.

    Episode 49: From Worst to First with Prof. Sandra Guerra Thompson

    Play Episode Listen Later May 30, 2019 24:59


    Sandra Guerra Thompson is the Newell H. Blakely Professor in Law and Director of the Criminal Justice Institute at the University of Houston Law Center and a founding member of the Board of Directors of the Houston Forensic Science Center. We talk about how Houston transformed the crime lab from one of, if not the, worst in the country, to one getting international attention for its innovations.

    Episode 48: The Pros and Cons of Climate Intervention Technology with Prof. Tracy Hester

    Play Episode Listen Later May 23, 2019 26:21


    Tracy Hester is a Professor of Law at the University of Houston Law Center, as well as co-founder and co-director of the Center for Carbon Management in Energy at University of Houston. We talk about the growth of new climate intervention technology, the benefits of the new tech, and some of the legal and moral issues that they invite.

    Episode 47: How Ohio Did Data Privacy Differently with Prof. Brian E. Ray

    Play Episode Listen Later May 16, 2019 26:33


    Brian E. Ray is a professor of law and the co-founder and Director of the Center for Cybersecurity and Privacy Protection at Cleveland State University's Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. He was also a member of the CyberOhio Advisory Board which drafted the Ohio Data Protection Act.

    CAP·impact Replay: Protecting Domestic Violence Survivors Prof. Natalie Nanasi

    Play Episode Listen Later May 2, 2019 24:45


    Natalie Nanasi is an Assistant Professor of Law at Southern Methodist University's Dedman School of Law, and Director of the Judge Elmo B. Hunter Center for Victims of Crimes Against Women. We talked earlier about her work to increase protections for survivors of domestic violence by getting the law enforcement community in Dallas County to buy in on enforcing a Texas state law that takes guns out of the hands of convicted domestic violence offenders.

    Episode 46: The Perils of Privatization with Prof. Matthew Titolo

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 25, 2019 39:50


    Matthew Titolo is a Professor of Law at West Virginia University College of Law. We talk about his research into the privatization of government services, the pitfalls of privatization for the government's perspective, and what citizens can do to be more aware of privatization and how they can make their voices heard.

    Episode 45: The Ongoing Fight for Voting Rights with Prof. Irving Joyner

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 18, 2019 27:47


    Irving Joyner is a Professor of Law at North Carolina Central University School of Law and Legal Counsel to the North Carolina NAACP. We talk about his ongoing work to protect the voting rights of African Americans in North Carolina, gerrymandering, the overturned election in North Carolina's 9th Congressional District, and compare and contract California and North Carolina voting laws.

    Episode 44: How Getting Into the Weeds Helped Kids in Kansas w/ Prof. Rick Levy

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 11, 2019 28:31


    Richard Levy is the J.B. Smith Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law at Kansas University School of Law. He talks about his work reforming Kansas's Child in Need of Care and Juvenile Offender Codes to improve government service and outcomes for children.

    Episode 43: Climate Change, Utilities, & the Green New Deal w/ Prof. James Van Nostrand

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 4, 2019 24:11


    James Van Nostrand is a Professor of Law at West Virginia University College of Law and Director of the school's Center for Energy and Sustainable Development. We talk today climate change, the evolving energy sector and its impact on the coal industry, utilities, and

    Episode 42: Combating Youth Suicides in Kansas with Prof. Jennifer Schmidt

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 28, 2019 40:24


    Jennifer Schmidt is a Clinical Associate Professor of Law at University of Kansas School of Law and Director of their6th Semester in D.C. & Public Policy Programs, and Director of the school's Field Placement Program. We talk about her recent work on the Kansas Attorney General's Kansas Youth Suicide Prevention Task Force and how Kansas is trying to get to zero youth suicides.

    Episode 41: SMU Law Prof. Mary Spector on the Personal Debt Crisis

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 21, 2019 29:37


    Mary Spector is a Professor of Law as well as Asociate Dean for Clinics and Director of the Civil/Consumer Clinic at Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law in Dallas, Texas. She talks with Jon about the rapid growth of debt in the U.S., the work her clinic students are doing, consumer protection law, and more.

    Episode 40: NEPA, Natural Resources, & Energy Policy with Dean Sam Kalen

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 14, 2019 22:57


    Associate Dean, Distinguished Professor of Law, and Co-Director of the Center for Law and Energy Resources in the Rockies Sam Kalen got on the phone with Jon Wainwright to talk about some of the clinical opportunities for law students at University of Wyoming, interstate power grids and how those can be created without preempting federal law, NEPA and efforts to curtail some of its impact.

    SB 838

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 8, 2019 2:20


    Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 838 by State Senator Robert Hertzberg on September 28th as Chapter 889 and this bill authorizes corporations to include a provision in their articles of incorporation authorizing the use of blockchain technology to record and track the issuance and transfer of stock certificates.

    Episode 39: Prof. William Henning & The Most Impactful Organization You've Never Heard Of

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 7, 2019 30:51


    Texas A&M Law Professor William Henning is a former Executive Director of the Uniform Law Commission and has fingerprints on and has his fingerprints on laws in all 50 states, DC, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands that affect your everyday life. He talks with Jon this week about some of the laws he's helped draft and enact, and just how far ranging the work of the ULC is.

    Episode 38: What States Should Know Before Legalizing Sports Betting with Professor Keith Miller

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 28, 2019 29:38


    This week Jon explores the legal and regulatory frameworks around the growing legalized sports betting industry with Drake University Law School Professor Keith Miller.

    Episode 37: The Return of Rent-to-Own Housing & How You Can Protect Yourself w/ Prof. Judith Fox

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 21, 2019 28:36


    This week Jon talks with Notre Dame Clinical Professor Judith Fox about her work as the Director of Notre Dame Economic Justice Clinic and a former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Advisory Board member to protect individuals from predatory actors in the rent-to-own housing market.

    Episode 36: How the Oil & Gas Industry Can Help Save the Environment with Prof. Tara Righetti

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 14, 2019 21:24


    This week Jon talks with University of Wyoming Law and School of Energy Professor Tara Righetti about her work in oil and gas law and how the oil and gas industry can help address the climate change crisis with existing technology and infrastructure.

    Episode 35: Fighting the Ghost of Strom Thurmond with Texas A&M Law Professor Thomas Mitchell

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 7, 2019 42:05


    Today with talk with the expert in the field of heirs' property rights, Texas A&M Law Professor Thomas Mitchell. Prof. Mitchell is the primary drafter of a policy crafted through the Uniform Law Commission that is in effect in 12 states and has been introduced in 7 more states and the District of Columbia. We talk about the conversations and research that started Prof. Mitchell down the path to write these laws, some of the biggest challenges that he and his coalition faced getting the policy enacted in one state, and as he puts it, "battling the ghost of Strom Thurmond."

    Episode 34: Improving Juvenile Justice for Tribal Youth with UNLV Law Prof. Addie Rolnick

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 31, 2019 26:52


    UNLV Boyd School of Law Professor Addie Rolnick talks with Jon Wainwright about her work to improve the juvenile justice system for tribal youth. Professor Rolnick goes over the biggest issues facing tribal youth who enter the juvenile justice system and offers the solutions she thinks are necessary to fix some of the cracks in the system.

    Episode 33: Protecting Domestic Violence Survivors & Enforcing Gun Laws in Texas

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 24, 2019 27:47


    I talked with SMU Law Professor, and Director of SMU's Judge Elmo B. Hunter Legal Center for Victims of Crimes Against Women, Natalie Nanasi about the work she, and the Hunter Center, are doing in Dallas County to increase awareness and enforcement of a Texas state law that essentially states that if a person is convicted of a felony or misdemeanor domestic violence crime, that they must surrender all the guns that they own. We walk through the numerous reasons why enforcement of that law has been difficult and what Prof. Nanasi is doing through the Hunter Center to improve that. I also talk about the parallel I see between Prof. Nanasi's efforts and the tragic death of Davis Police Officer Natalie Corona.

    Episode 32: Immigration Law & Reform with Professor Jennifer Koh

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 17, 2019 27:42


    On today's show we talk with Professor of Law and Director of the Immigration Clinic at Western State College of Law Jennifer Koh about her work at the intersection of immigration law and criminal law, her new nonprofit project - the Orange County Justice Fund - and being cited in a Supreme Court ruling by the Notorious RBG.

    Episode 31: Patent Law with Texas A&M Law Professor Saurabh Vishnubhakat

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 10, 2019 34:52


    New year, new style! We're shifting our focus on The CAP·impact Podcast from exclusively looking under the capitol dome in California to capitol domes - the and sprawls of government buildings that make up state departments and agencies - across the U.S. In today's podcast, I talk with Texas A&m Professor of Law Saurabh Vishnubhakat about his work in the creation and of a new administrative patent review process within the U.S Patent Office called PTAB. Beyond that, we talk about some of the intricacies of patent law, what makes a good or a bad patent - and different types of bad patents - and some of the reform efforts around patent law that Prof. Vishnubhakat is involved in.

    Episode 30: On Justice and Constitutional Law - Part 2

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 15, 2018 37:58


    Today's show is part two of our conversation on justice and constitutional law with retired US Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, international Judge Ann Power-Forde, former California Supreme Court Justice Joseph Grodin, and Judge Dr. Wolfgang Brandstetter of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Austria.

    Episode 29: On Justice and Constitutional Law - Part 1

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 8, 2018 44:42


    McGeorge School of Law brought together a panel of judges and justices from across the United States and the world to discuss issues of constitutional law and justice to celebrate a $1 million gift to the school from the Tsakopoulos Family Foundation. The gift created the new Justice Anthony M. Kennedy Endowed Chair at McGeorge School of Law, and the panel features retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, international Judge Ann Power-Forde, former California Supreme Court Justice Joseph Grodin, and Judge Dr. Wolfgang Brandstetter of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Austria.

    POD SPECIAL - CA Initiative Review: California Props 8, 10, 11 & 12

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 5, 2018 42:16


    Today is our final special edition featuring analysis of California's ballot initiatives. We cover Proposition 8, 10, 11, and 12 on this episode. Most importantly, since Election Day is tomorrow, remember to vote! If you don't know where your polling place is, please visit this link on the California Secretary of State's website: https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/polling-place/

    POD SPECIAL - CA Initiative Review: Taxes & Time

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 2, 2018 31:13


    In part 2 of 3 of our series on California ballot initiatives, students in McGeorge's California Initiative Review break down Proposition 5, 6, and 7, on the November 6 ballot in California. Listen in for non-partisan, objective analysis of Prop 5 - changes to Prop 13 - Prop 6 - repeal the gas tax and then some - and Prop 7 - let the Legislature change daylight saving time in California. Check back in with us on Monday for the last four ballot measures. Go vote!

    Episode 28: California Craft Beer Law

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 1, 2018 18:35


    On today's podcast we sit down with Tom McCormick of the California Craft Brewers Association and McGeorge's very own Craft Beer Law Prof Dan Croxall to talk about craft beer, and craft beer law, in California.

    POD SPECIAL - CA Initiative Review Part 1 of 3

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 31, 2018 34:52


    With Election Day just around the corner, we're providing you with non-partisan, objective analysis of all 11 ballot measures facing Californians next week. Part 1 is today, and we focus on the four bond measures. Friday will be part 2, covering the tax measures and daylight saving time, and Part 3 will come out on Monday with the remaining ballot initiatives.

    Episode 27: Lobbying: Year One - Into the Fire and the Frying Pan

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 25, 2018 20:05


    On today's show, we talk with Sosan Madanat - a Director at Lighthouse Public Affairs - about her first year of lobbying.

    Episode 26: End of Session Roundtable

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 18, 2018 27:12


    The 2017-18 legislative session was a lively one, as well as the last one ever to overseen by Governor Jerry Brown. To discuss the end of session and some of the historic legislation that came out of it, we talk with Aaron Brieno - Leg. Director to Sen. Ben Hueso - now former lobbyist Lexi Howard - she was a contract lobbyist at the time of recording - and lobbyist and friend of the show Chris Micheli.

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