Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore joins Larry Mantle for his check-in on AirTalk. We also discuss President Trump's plans to reclaim the $2.5 billion dollars in federal grants California has invested in the high speed rail project; review the Supreme Court's scheduled cases; and more.
No Backsies? Trump administration announces intent to take back California’s high speed rail funding
In a move Governor Newsom has characterized as retaliatory, President Trump has said he plans to reclaim the $2.5 billion dollars in federal grants California has invested in the high speed rail project.
Newsom announced in his State of the State that the bullet train would run a shorter route from Bakersfield to Merced. The Transportation Department says the grant should be returned for lack of progress on the project. Newsom asserts the request is simply punishment for California’s stance against the declaration of a national emergency to fund a border wall. Today, Trump doubled down on his demand to get the grant returned and slammed the project on Twitter.
Can the federal government take back money that has already been spent if it can prove that the state of California violated the terms of the funding agreement for the high speed rail projects? How might the feds look to punish California if they are unable to take back money that has already been spent? What legal recourse might California have if the U.S. Department of Transportation tried to claw the money back?
Guests:
Ralph Vartabedian, national correspondent for the Los Angeles Times who covers the high-speed rail project, who has been following the story; he tweets
James Moore, professor of industrial, systems and civil engineering and director of the Transportation Engineering Program at USC
Ethan Elkind, director of the Climate Program at the Center for Law, Energy & the Environment at UC Berkeley; he tweets
LAPD Chief Moore: police unions suing to block public access to internal records, crime rates going down and more
Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore joins Larry Mantle for his check-in on AirTalk. Topics discussed include:
Potential racial disparities in LAPD traffic stops
Police union efforts to block access to certain officer records, pre-Jan 1, 2019
2018 crime rate numbers
And more
Guest:
Michel Moore, Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department; he tweets
SCOTUS check: Supreme Court’s latest decision, its whopping April caseload and more
The United States Supreme Court announced a unanimous decision to limit local government seizure of property in criminal cases.
Yesterday, the court release an exceptionally long roster of 12 cases scheduled for the month of April. The most high profile case is over the Census including a citizenship question, an addition that opponents say will diminish the accuracy of the count. Census forms are scheduled to be finalized in June adding pressure to expedite the case.
Other notable cases include whether law enforcement can draw blood from an unconscious person to check their blood alcohol level; and if vulgar trademarks are protected under the first amendment. Also on the slate, is visible carrying a firearm tantamount to “an act of violence” or is the definition constitutionally vague?
Also today, the court agreed to hear a case in October that will determine how far the Clean Water Act can reach into local pollution. We review the scheduled cases and their potential impacts and possible outcomes under the current court of justices.
Guests:
Amy Howe, cofounder of SCOTUSBlog and and author of the blog, "Howe on the Courts"; she tweets
Greg Stohr, covering the Supreme Court for Bloomberg News; tweets
As Justice Clarence Thomas criticizes press freedom ruling, we discuss defamation standards
Justice Clarence Thomas says the Supreme Court should consider overturning a 55-year-old landmark ruling that makes it hard for public figures to win libel suits, writing in a case involving a woman who says Bill Cosby raped her.
Thomas took aim at New York Times v. Sullivan and similar cases that followed it, calling them “policy-driven decisions masquerading as constitutional law.”
The opinion comes against the backdrop of President Donald Trump’s repeated calls to make it easier to sue for libel. On Tuesday, the high court rejected an appeal from actress Kathrine McKee, who said Cosby raped her in 1974. McKee sued Cosby for damaging her reputation after a lawyer for the comedian allegedly leaked a letter attacking McKee. Two lower courts ruled against her and dismissed the case, based largely on McKee’s role as a public figure.
The Sullivan case set a very high bar for public officials to win a libel suit and hefty money awards over published false statements that damaged their reputations. The high court extended the 1964 decision in the ensuing decades to make it tough for celebrities, politicians and other public figures to win defamation cases.
We discuss Justice Thomas’ opinion, as well as its likelihood of being taken up by the Supreme Court.
Guests:
Jane Kirtley, professor of media ethics and law at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota
Josh Blackman, associate professor of law at South Texas College of Law Houston; he tweets
Kind of like the Autobahn: New lanes without speed-limits proposed for stretches of California Interstate 5 and State Route 99
A new bill proposed by state senator John Moorlach of Orange County would add two lanes of traffic in both directions to the I-5 and SR-99.
The new lanes, intended to alleviate traffic and air pollution through the Central Valley would not be regulated by speed limits. The faster path is also offered in lieu of the High Speed Rail project Governor Newsom recently announced would first focus on transit between Bakersfield and Merced. While the cost of SB 319 remains unknown, the bill seeks funding from the state’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund created through the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006.
Guest:
John Moorlach, State Senator (R-Costa Mesa) representing the 37th Senate districts, which covers much of Orange County and includes communities of Costa Mesa, Irvine, Laguna Beach, Laguna Woods, and Villa Park; he introduced the bill that calls for adding extra lanes to the I-5 and SR-99; tweets