News

Meredith Hankins ’16 spoke to NPR’s Up First on June 12 about the Trump administration’s plans to roll back limits on greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. fossil fuel-fired power plants.

Professor Chimène Keitner wrote a June 16 essay in The Fulcrum about the danger of President Donald Trump’s rhetoric toward Canada, including his threats to annex the United States’ northern neighbor.

Chancellor Gary May has honored Professor Raquel Aldana with a 2025 Chancellor’s Fellowship for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Chancellor’s Fellowships for DEI represent exceptional contributions in supporting, tutoring, mentoring and advising underrepresented students and/or students from underserved communities.

The fellowship includes a one-time award of $5,000 in Academic Enrichment Funding.

Professor and UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences Director Karrigan Börk appeared on the May 29 episode of the Fish Water Trout podcast presented by the conservation nonprofit California Trout.

Börk explained the historical development of water rights, including riparian and appropriative rights, and how the public trust doctrine has evolved to protect ecological interests.

The New York Times quoted Professor Leticia Saucedo in a June 12 story about how President Donald Trump acknowledged that his immigration crackdown is hurting the agriculture and hotel industries.

On June 7, Professor Raquel Aldana spoke as part of the “Tule Lake Concentration Camp: Reflections and Lessons” event hosted by Trinity Cathedral Episcopal church in Sacramento.

The Tule Lake War Relocation Center in Modoc and Siskiyou counties imprisoned Japanese Americans who were forcibly removed from their homes during World War II under the Aliens Enemies Act and by presidential executive order.

Aldana’s talk was titled “The Modern and Universal Dimensions of the Alien Enemies Act.”

In May 7, Professor Raquel Aldana gave a “Know Your Rights” presentation and training for lawyers through Rutgers Law School regarding the legal rights of students who were subject to visa revocation as part of the Trump administration’s effort to quell student-led anti-war protests on behalf of Palestine liberation.

Professor Lisa Pruitt appeared on the May 8 episode of KDVS’ Office Hour podcast hosted by UC Davis Professor of Religious Studies and Undergraduate Faculty Advisor Naomi Janowitz.

Professor David Horton spoke before the California Senate Judiciary Committee on April 22 in support of Senate Bill 82, which bans “infinite” arbitration clauses.

Professor Gabriel “Jack” Chin spoke to the BBC for a May 5 report on President Donald Trump’s claims that he is directing his administration to reopen Alcatraz, the notorious Bay Area prison turned successful tourist destination.

Chin said it would be prohibitively expensive to return the federal prison to functioning order, and noted that Trump does not need the space, since the prison system is down 25% from its peak population.

Professor Kevin R. Johnson appeared on the first episode of Radio Pacific – a new monthly show from Bay Area public radio station KALW.

Johnson spoke to host Eli Benton Cohen about President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts and helped put the first months of Trump’s second term into perspective.

In a May 3 explainer piece in The Conversation, Professor Chimène Keitner answered key questions about Kilmar Abrego Garcia and others who had been deported to El Salvador by President Donald Trump’s  administration.

Professor Karrigan Börk has been appointed director of the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences. Börk had served as the center’s interim director since 2024.

Professor and Immigration Law Clinic Co-director Holly Cooper appeared on PBS NewsHour in April as part of a segment sparked by a federal judge’s accusation that President Donald Trump’s administration had tried to obstruct the truth about the wrongful deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Sal

Professor Gabriel “Jack” Chin submitted an amicus brief to the United States Supreme Court regarding Trump v. CASA, Trump v. Washington and Trump v. New Jersey, through which the Trump administration seeks to lift nationwide injunctions against his executive order ending birthright citizenship.

Professor Gabriel “Jack” Chin spoke to the New York Post on May 14, the eve of Supreme Court oral arguments regarding the Trump administration's attempts to invalidate lower-court injunctions against the president's executive order ending birthright citizenship.

“This is a funny test case, because the underlying law is so clear and because it’s sort of the same exact issue all across the country,” Chin told the Post. 

Professor Kevin R.

Professor Brian Soucek took part in the 2025 Second Circuit Judicial Conference, held June 2-4 at the historic Sagamore Resort in Bolton Landing, N.Y.

Assistant Dean for Academic Success Christopher Ide-Don has been appointed chair of the State Bar of California’s Law School Council for 2025.

Ide-Don has served since November 2020 on the Law School Council, which meets several times a year to advise the State Bar on issues of interest and consequence to American Bar Association-approved law schools in California.

Professor Courtney Joslin co-authored a chapter in the new book Seminal: On Sperm, Health and Politics (NYU Press).

Co-authored with Professors Douglas NeJaime (Yale Law School) and Katherine Kraschel (Northeastern Law School), the chapter is titled “The High Stakes of Gamete Regulation in a Post-Dobbs World.”

Congratulations to environmental law students Adriana Chavez ’26 and Rachel Kennard ’27 on receiving 2025-26 scholarships from The Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law.

Chavez was awarded a $7,500 Francis Hartogh Diversity Outreach Scholarship and Kennard received a $6,750 Foundation Scholarship.

The Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law is an educational nonprofit dedicated to the study of all aspects of natural resources and energy law.

Professor Courtney Joslin  testified before two Illinois General Assembly subcommittees on behalf of the Equality for Every Family Act. Joslin also helped draft the bill, which would update Illinois’ parentage statutes to ensure that all children and families are protected.

CBS Sacramento interviewed Professor Albert Lin for a May 22 report on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s and Attorney General Rob Bonta’s vows to sue the federal government after the U.S. Senate voted to block California’s mandate to phase out new sales of gas-powered vehicles in favor of electric vehicles.

On May 23, Professor Courtney Joslin presented her article “Sperm Rules” at the Law and Society Association Annual Meeting in Chicago.

The article is forthcoming in the Boston University Law Review.

Professor Darien Shanske spoke at a May 30 forum held by Congressional Representatives Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) and Doris Matsui (D-Sacramento) to discuss the potential impact of congressional Republicans’ so-called “Big Beautiful” budget bill on the Sacramento region and surrounding areas.